Change of Plans/The Fundamentals of Fictional Writing

First, I would like to say I'm sorry my previous topic "Let's Try Digital Art Tutorials" didn't really launch. I figure some people may be disappointed since they may want to improve their Photoshop/Illustrator skills throughout this semester. I do too, but I should have known that I need to invest my time better. Perhaps this isn't the correct semester for me to develop a relatively new skill (fresh from previous semester really...)

So at the very least, I'll compensate by providing some sources in which you can learn to construct graphic arts. I am sure most of you are familiar with lynda.com, which has many different art tutorials for Photoshop and Illustrator. If you don't like online tutorials that much, you can always buy some textbooks from Amazon. I find trying out some textbooks during your free time is very helpful when learning/developing a new skill. Here are some I found on Amazon:

• Beginner's Guide to Digital Painting in Photoshop: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0955153077/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
• Digital Painting Techniques: Practical Techniques of Digital Art Masters: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0240521749/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
• Design Graphics: Drawing Techniques for Design Professionals: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/013713696X/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Now that we got that out of the way, let me explain the title of this post. I got hammered down with all sorts of schoolwork and outside work, so spending a couple of hours or more on a single Photoshop tutorial didn't quite cut it for me. So, I'm changing the topic to "Creative Writing Tutorials." Yes yes, I'm sure I can keep up this time.

I learned about writing fiction on my own free time, even before I came to UoH. I learned mainly from reading books about writing and looking at examples (actual novels, of course) to see what entails good writing and bad writing. I actually plan to launch a website for writing fan fiction (yes, fan fiction, problem?) sometime during the summer, so this will certainly help me. And as such, writing fan fiction still follows general creative writing guidelines, just like with original fiction.

So, let's get started.

The Fundamentals of Fictional Writing

If you want to become better at storytelling, then it's important that you are at least familiar with these concepts:

• character - "who"; the people in your story
• plot - "what"; what if {this character} does {this}?
• setting - "where/when"; where and what time period does the story take place?
• theme - "why"; the topic of the story itself, including the morals, beliefs, lessons, inner message, etc.
• style - "how"; are you writing from first-person or third-person narrative? Will you use present tense or past tense as your dominant tense? How is the narration's "voice" defined?

Some stories can go without a theme (which basically narrows down to having no particular point), but all of these are necessary for a fully composed story.

The character is the central focus of your story, for he/she helps drive the plot forward. Without characters to breathe life into your prose, there is no story. You can write about mountains and the climate in detail, but it doesn't necessarily mean the writing is a story. You. Need. Characters.

The plot is the premise, or "goal," of your story; what are your characters trying to accomplish in the end? Take for instance the Harry Potter series, which is about a wizard boy confronting a powerful dark wizard who wants him dead. That's the condensed version of the plot, but let's not focus on that for now.

The setting is the world, or the "stage," of your story; does it take place in Rome or at planet Mars? Is it during the middle ages or is it set deep into the future? The setting is important for shaping the backstories and various traits of your characters.

The theme is the central idea, or "moral," of your story; think about Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The story is about a grouchy, old miser undergoing a series of life-changing dreams depicting his past, present, and future in the middle of Christmas Eve/Christmas morning. At the end of the story, after realizing how his bitter demeanor and bitter affects the people around him negatively (including himself), Scrooge realizes the best treasure in life is to share his joy and appreciation of life with the other people.

The style is how your prose is written. Every writer has a different writing style, whether it's through personal preference through all of their novels or whether they are experimenting with different styles for each novel. The narrative is part of the style, which most people recognize as who is telling the story. "First person" narrative uses the pronouns "I" and "me," directly viewing the story through another person's eyes. "Third person" narrative is more distant, referring to characters as "he," "she," "it," etc; never "you" or "I." Another form of writing style is diction (the vocabulary). It's a given that simple diction is often used in fiction to clearly convey the story to the general reader, while more complicated diction is aimed towards intellectuals. Depending on who your target audience is, select your diction with care.

There is a LOT more to discuss for each sub-topic, but I'll save those for other days. So for the next post, I'll dive into brainstorming and how to get started on your story. Until then, au revoir.