Writing short and long fiction is a craft – a working discipline – and no different from music or painting, requiring a high-level of technical skill. It’s not a simple matter of coming up with good ideas and writing them down. It requires mastering tools, no different from mastering a musical instrument or a sculptor’s chisel – and it’s not easy.
The Fiction Shop Tools
Starting with the raw material – our language – the essential components of the craft of fiction are: setting, characters, dialogue, and narrative structure. These are the tools writers employ to craft a book, short story, play or screenplay. These will be addressed in other Suite101 postings.
The Two Mind Approach to Successful Fiction
Every writer should be her or his own best editor. That doesn’t mean kindest or harshest. It means having the objectivity to fix what’s broke and leave be what works. This requires two minds: the writer’s and the editor’s.
Successful authors have the ability to switch between the two. First, to write with discipline and spirit, and then to read and edit as if the piece was written by a stranger. The truth is that no one will ever care as much about your writing as you do. It’s your vision, your time, and your hard work.
Hand Tools of the Fiction Trade
Three-ring binders are a great way to keep work. They have multiple advantages. Pages can be moved around. They’re rigid and act as portable desks for editing. . Binders are kind of like books, which means they provide gratification as they get filled up, starting with the ¾” size, then moving to larger sizes as the pages grow. For an entire book, multiple binders will be required. It’s the kind of problem a writer wants.
Index cards fit in a pocket and are easy to use for keeping notes and especially for storyboarding.
Finally, red pens are the editor’s swords - and good writers do a lot of editing.
While these might seem minor details, anything that helps a writer’s momentum is worthwhile.
A Word on Formatting
Be clear on the format that editors and agents expect. It’s fairly rigid – very rigid for screenplays.
These parameters will provide a good starting point:
- Everything is double-spaced -- except for breaks inside chapters, which are single-spaced.
- A standard serif typeface such as Times New Roman.
- One-inch margins all the way around.
- A header with the title of the work and the author’s name.
- A footer with the page number centered.
Editors and agents can spot an amateur a mile away by the use of fancy typefaces and other gimmicks. They appreciate writers who have respect for protocol. Save creative crafting for the words on the page.
A Place of One’s Own
Writing fiction is a matter of self-discipline. That’s hard for some people. It can be developed over time by starting small. This means finding a time and place to write every day. Even if it’s only for fifteen minutes, the idea is to make it part of the day’s schedule -- not unlike meditation. In any case, the fifteen minutes will grow to a half-hour, then an hour, and with each step forward, writing becomes more important. As it must be, in order to succeeed. It’s not a place for dabblers.
 |
