Saturday, May 31, 2008

Einstein on Fairy Tales

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales – Albert Einstein
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Friday, May 30, 2008

How To-7: "How to Write a Fantasy Story"


from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Do you want to write a really good fantasy tale? Here are some tips to help you.

Steps

  1. Decide what you want to write. A short children's story? A novella? A full blown fantasy epic? If it's your first writing project, start small, and don't overwhelm yourself.
  2. Develop a plan of characters and plot for your story. Make your characters complicated, make them real and let them have a personality and a life. Think of fantasy stories you have already read and what you liked about these. Even better - go to the source. Authors such as Tolkein and Rowling borrow heavily from traditional myths and legends, and doing the same is the best way to avoid ripping off the best sellers.
  3. Move from reality into fantasy. Will your characters start off in the real world and discover the magical elements hidden beneath the surface? (Harry Potter) Will they be transported into a world where all the rules are different? (Chronicles of Narnia) Or will they start off in a world entirely different from our own, and go on noble quests to slay dragons and defeat evil? (Lord of the Rings)
  4. Create the world. Add things such as talking animals, dragons or even dinosaurs, along with magic. You can make up your own magical species, or use ones borrowed from folklore, or even not have any at all. The same goes for magic. Try to avoid cliches as much as possible - twist and subvert them.
  5. Write. Just write. Don't just write the story, but write histories of your characters, unrelated shorts, and anything else you can think of to flesh out your characters and your world. If you have the plot and an outline in mind, then write out the rough draft first - and only when you're done should you go back and edit.
  6. When you're finished and ready to start editing, create a checklist to work from:
    • Is your plot feasible, at least according to the rules you've set up? Do you explain things enough to create willing suspension of disbelief?
    • Is your world and the rules it's based upon consistent?
    • Are your fantasy characters identifiable, well-described and interesting?
    • Is your theme subtle but well-developed? Don't preach, and don't moralize. People with messages use the post.
    • Is your style and diction consistent and appealing to your target audience?

  7. Finally, let others read your work. It can be just a few close friends at first, but once you start getting good criticism and you start building confidence, you might want to consider trying to publish
  8. Its good to look for other books for inspiration.

Tips

  • Be creative with your settings. Underground dungeons and medieval castles aren't the only places you can find dragons.
  • Avoid info dumping. If you make your character complicated, don't begin the book with seven pages of introduction to them. Same with the world. Spread information throughout the story: this heightens suspense and makes your book a joy to read.
  • Making a character is like making an imaginary friend: make sure that it is believable that the person is real. Become the person and write down what you think they might say and do.
  • Think of verbal and gesture tags for your main character(s) - nail-biting, hair-twirling, calling everyone "love", and catchphrases can all really help with characterization. Moderation, however, is still key.
  • Think of fitting names for your characters. For exotic species, use exotic sounding names, and vice versa.
  • If you're having a hard time coming up with an idea, borrow from the classics. That is, after all, where Shakespeare got all his ideas. But don't just rip-off someone else's writing. Add twists, turns, subversions, deconstructions, and your own unique spin.
  • Don't use an excessive amount of magic. Even if your world is very magic rich, using magic to get out of every scrape becomes very boring after a while.
  • If you want, you can take a book or fairy tale everyone knows and change it into a new, one-of-a-kind creation.

Warnings

  • Plan the story before you start writing it. Give it a:
    • Exposition
    • Inciting Incident/Conflict
    • Rising Action
    • Climax (This is especially important)
    • Falling Action
    • Denouement
  • But not necessarily in that order!

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Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write a Fantasy Story. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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How To-6: "How to Submit a Story to a Magazine"


from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

You've written a story and want to submit to a magazine. Where do you start?

Steps

  1. Pick up a copy of the Novel and Short Story Writer's Market. This is a book that is published each year and lists magazines that specialize in publishing fiction.
  2. Identify potential magazines where the story might fit (i.e., if your story is fantasy, then look for magazines that accept fantasy stories).
  3. Obtain a copy of the magazine's guidelines. Many now have them online.
  4. Read samples of the magazine to get a feel for if your story will fit.
  5. Format the manuscript in proper manuscript format, including any requirements listed in the magazine guidelines.
  6. Write a letter to the magazine and send your story.
  7. Record the details of the submission for later reference.


Tips


  • Reading several copies of the magazine will help keep you from submitting to magazines that may not be a good match.
  • Use Courier/Courier New for the submission letter
  • Always be professional in all correspondence


Warnings


  • Avoid fancy paper, fancy fonts, or graphic headings. It's the story that should stand out, not the paper.
  • Submit only what the magazine is asking for. If you submit a 5,000 word story to a magazine that only takes 3,000 word stories, no matter how good the story is, it's going to get rejected.
    • Pay attention to the editor's name! It is bad form to spell their name wrong.

Things You'll Need

  • Novel and Short Story Writer's Market
  • Formatting and Submitting Your Manuscript

Related wikiHows

How to Manage Your Magazine Subscriptions

Sources and Citations


Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Submit a Story to a Magazine. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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How To-5: "How to Edit a Short Story"


How to Edit a Short Story


from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

You know the characters better than you know your neighbors. You haven't seen the light of day in about a week, but at last, the story is finished. Or is it? Hardly, you still have to edit it.

Steps


  1. Take a breather. It doesn't have to be a long one, just enough to give yourself enough time to achieve an objective viewpoint.
  2. Write a two or three sentence description of your story. You may have done this in creating the original draft, however, characters sure have a way of dragging the writer all over the place and the story may have changed focus.
  3. Cross out any scenes with the red marker that do not relate to the description you have just written. Don't worry if the remaining scenes aren't transitioning well yet, that step is further down.
  4. Circle or underline with the green marker any of the following: character and scenery descriptions, expositions and flashbacks.
  5. Cross out these "pace-slowers" with the red marker until there is no more than 20-40% of the tale for genre and about 40-60% for literary stories.
  6. Print out what remains.
  7. Read this new copy with the red marker in hand. Make notes in the margins.
    • "T" for anyplace that needs a transition.
    • "A" for anything that is awkwardly phrased.
    • "C" for any character based inconsistancies. For example, if your character is allergic to dairy but in one scene he or she is eating ice cream this needs to be explained, eliminated, or altered.
    • "?" for anything else. For example, if it makes you ask the question "Where in the world did this character come from?" then it needs a "?".

  8. Review and repair any areas that you tagged with a question mark.
  9. Fix any transitions and awkward phrasing.
  10. Print out another copy with the new edits.
  11. Repeat steps 3-10 until you are happy with the way the general story looks.
  12. Read it aloud to make sure the text flows smoothly. Use your red marker like you did in step 7 in case of awkwardness, etc.
  13. Repeat steps 8-12 if need be.
  14. Polish up by fixing grammar and spelling errors.


Tips


  • When you're taking a breather, the best activities to do are physical ones. Shoot some hoops, take a walk around the neighborhood, play with the kids or anything that is so far distanced from writing it will somewhat distract you from your story.
  • If the tale required a lot of research in an area you are not an expert in, make sure to double and triple check your facts as if it were an article.
  • If you'll be submitting the tale to anywhere which requires a specific word count (such as a teacher or a magazine) worry about that after you finish your edits, not before.
  • A good idea is to chart out a map of any locations that your characters will be at more than once. It doesn't need to be highly detailed, just enough so you don't place Mr. Smith across the street from Mr. Jones in one scene and in another they're next door neighbors. Same goes for any houses your characters may live in so bedrooms don't move from the first floor to the second.
  • Understanding the direction in which your story takes is crucial. Try and visualise it before writing it!


Warnings


  • Do not throw out early drafts until you are satisfied with the final one. You never know if you'll need a scene or character that you tossed out in the first or third draft when you're on your fifth.


Things You'll Need


  • Red marker
  • Green marker
  • Computer with word processing and printing capabilities


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Sources and Citations





Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Edit a Short Story. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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How To-4: "How to Think of Topics for a Short Story"


from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

You don't need to be someone whose life is filled with drama to think of ideas for a short story.

Steps


  1. Think of something that puzzled you in the past-- it could be something as simple as the way your roommate looked at you when you first met. Writers write to explain things, so think of something you'd like to explain. You will want to dramatize your explanation, instead of just saying it.
  2. Search your mind for vivid memories. Along the same lines-- think of something you remember vividly. This is often something that was puzzling, but it also could be an epiphany, a shock, a disappointment, or a victory. Write a story in which the character works towards or experiences a similar moment.
  3. Look at short stories you like and list what the topics of those stories were. Have you ever started to read a story, hoping it would be about a particular topic, but found it was about something else? These are topics that you are interested in.
  4. Listen to the stories around you. People tell you stories all the time. Pay attention to what people are saying to you and you will start to hear them.
  5. Remember to write what you know!
  6. It is often a good idea to follow this plot structure:
    • Initial Situation: the beginning, the first incentive that makes the story move.
    • Conflict or Problem: goal that the main character of the story has to achieve
    • Complication: obstacles that the main character has to overcome
    • Climax: highest point in the story
    • Suspence: point of tention (may come before climax)
    • Resolution: what happens to the character after overcoming (of failing to overcome) the desired result and reaching (or not reaching) those goals
    • Conclusion: the end result



Tips


  • cross out your ideas or edit them. Write down everything you think of and think about whether it's a good or bad idea ,then think about whether or not they will work in the story


Warnings


  • You don't always have to start with the topic, and in some cases this may be the wrong approach to writing a story. You can start with an image, a description, or a setting. You can start by creating a character and then as you describe the character you will find that you think of things for him or her to do. Sometimes you discover the topic as you write.


Things You'll Need


  • Paper
  • Pen


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Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Think of Topics for a Short Story. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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How To-3: "How to Appreciate the Message That Is Being Revealed in Short Stories"


from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

The messages of some short stories can sometimes be a little complex and indirect for the readers to appreciate. However, follow these set of instructions when you read your favorite short story and you will definitely be able to appreciate and discover the true beauty of the message that is being revealed.

Steps


  1. Read the story first for pleasure alone. Read the story a second time for the analytical reading.
  2. Read the title and try to interpret and any images that come to mind to help you predict what the plot of the story may be.
  3. While reading, look for some of the following literary techniques: irony, climax, metaphors, imagery, similes, and foreshadowing.
  4. Understand the author's intended purpose by noticing: the tone, the conflict, the solution, the setting, and the type of narration the author uses.
  5. Intrepret the story's message and begin to appreciate the beauty and understanding of it.


Tips


  • If you come across any words that you do not understand make sure to use your dictionary for a clear meaning of the word.
  • Make sure you read at a slow pace in order to get a better and full comprehension of the story. Don't rush to the end!
  • Reading out loud can help you enjoy the story, keep you aware of any literary techniques, and keep you concentrated.
  • Highlighting sections or words can help you identity areas you want to examine more closely.
  • Relating the message of the story to personal experiences and lessons learned can help you appreciate the beauty of the messages more.


Things You'll Need




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Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Appreciate the Message That Is Being Revealed in Short Stories. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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How To-2: "How to Write a Great Short Story"


from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Have you ever read a story and thought, "Wow, I wish I could do that!"? Well, you can. Follow the steps below and you will see that anyone can write an awesome short story!

Steps


  1. Read a short story or two, or three. Some examples: The Lady and the Tiger, The Confidence Game, The Emperor's New Clothes.
  2. Identify components like the climax, main character, and conflict while reading. This will boost your knowledge in short stories.
  3. Start your story!
  4. Think of a main character,conflict, climax, setting. Using worksheets or just thinking a lot about your story is good.
  5. Write the exposition of the story. That's when character's are introduced and setting is introduced. Short stories usually follow the format in these steps.
  6. Transition into writing the rising action. Think about the climax while you write it.
  7. Write the climax! Make your climax dramatic and interesting. It should be the turning point in your story!
  8. Continue with the falling action. This should consist of only a few, less dramatic events.
  9. Write your conclusion/resolution. This should tie up all loose ends, or at least leave the reader happy!
  10. Let family/friends/teachers read and edit your writing. Listen to ALL constructive criticism.
  11. Read your story often to ensure it is how you want it to be.
  12. Type up a final copy! Show it off to everyone!


Tips


  • Everything that happens in the story should matter... it should affect the conflict. Don't have "fluff" in your story!
  • Make sure your conflict is clear. Don't have a confusing story!
  • Take into consideration everything your readers tell you.
  • Add lots of details for setting.
  • Characterize your characters with dialogue, appearance, thoughts, and/or actions.
  • Have fun! Be confident even through the beginning stages!


Warnings


  • Be careful of "fluff".
  • When you're stuck, don't just drop the story. KEEP WRITING IT!


Things You'll Need


  • Pencil & paper if doing rough draft by hand
  • Computer
  • Family/friends/teachers
  • Short stories to read
  • A brain that's willing to work!!
  • Lots of Confidence


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Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write a Great Short Story. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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How To-1: "How to Write a Short Story"


from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Whether you’re an aspiring professional writer or a stay-at-home mom with something to say, the short story is the perfect medium. While writing a novel is a Herculean task, just about anybody can craft and, most importantly, finish, a short story. That doesn’t mean that short stories are easy to write, though, and it certainly doesn’t mean that they aren’t as artistically valuable as novels. With practice, patience, and a passion for writing, they can be every bit as moving and memorable as their much longer cousins.

Steps


  1. Read plenty of short stories. Nothing can help you “learn” how to write a good short story better than reading good short stories. Take note of the style and how they have used the small amount of words to their advantage. Choose authors that you enjoy, and also choose some of the “classics.” Pay attention to how the authors develop their characters, write dialogue, and structure their plots.
  2. Gather ideas for your story. Inspiration can strike at any time, so carry a notepad with you wherever you go so that you can write down story ideas as they come to you. Most of the time, you’ll just think of small snippets of information (a catastrophic event around which you can build a plot, a character’s name or appearance, etc.) but sometimes you’ll get lucky and a whole story will reveal itself to you in a couple of minutes. If you have trouble finding inspiration, or if you need to write a story in a hurry (for a class, for example), learn how to brainstorm.
  3. Choose an idea and flesh it out. At the very least, a story should have an exposition (the story leading up to the climax), a climax (a turning point in a story brought about by conflict between characters or within a character), and a resolution (a satisfying ending to the story in which the central conflict is resolved - or not). Move backward or forward from your starting idea (it may or may not be the beginning of the story), and ask “What happens next?” or “what happened before this?”
  4. Know your characters. For a story to be believable, the characters have to be believable, and their actions should appear inevitable given who they are. In other words, you should know as much as possible about your characters, from what their central motivations are to what their favorite foods are. You won’t include all this information in your story, but the more you know, the more your characters will come to life, both for you and for the reader. Sometimes it helps just to listen to unimportant conversations between characters in your head, even if it won't be in the story.
  5. Limit the breadth of your story. A novel can occur over millions of years and include a multitude of subplots, a variety of locations, and an army of supporting characters. The main events of a short story should occur in a relatively short period of time (days or even minutes), and you typically won’t be able to develop effectively more than one plot, two or three main characters, and one setting. If your story has much more breadth, it probably needs to be a novella or novel.
  6. Decide who will tell the story. There are three main points of view from which to tell a story: first-person (“I”), second-person (“you”), and third-person (“he” or “she”). In a first-person story, a character in the story tells the story; in the second-person the reader is made a character in the story; and in the third-person, an outside narrator tells the story. (Second-person narration is rarely used.) Keep in mind that first-person narrators can only tell what they know (which will be limited to what they see firsthand or are told by others), while third-person narrators can either know everything and explore every character’s thoughts, or be limited to only that which can be observed.
  7. Start writing. Depending on how thoroughly you’ve sketched out your plot and characters, the actual writing process may simply be one of choosing the right words. Generally, however, writing is arduous. You probably won’t know your characters and plot as well as you thought, but it doesn’t matter. Outlines are not the same as stories, and actually writing a story is the only way to complete one.
  8. Come out swinging. The first page—some would say the first sentence—of any writing should grab the reader’s attention and leave him wanting more. A quick start is especially important in short stories because you don’t have much room to tell your story. Don’t dilly-dally with long introductions of the characters or uninteresting descriptions of the setting: get right into the plot, and reveal details about the characters and setting piece-by-piece as you go along.
  9. Keep writing. You’re almost certain to hit some bumps in the road to finishing your story. You’ve got to work through them, though. Set aside a time to write each and every day, and make it a goal to finish, say, a page each day. Even if you end up throwing away what you wrote on that day, you’ve been writing and thinking about the story, and that will keep you going in the long run.
  10. Let the story write itself. As you write your story, you may want to turn your plot in a different direction than you had planned, or you may want to substantially change or remove a character. Listen to your characters if they tell you to do something different, and don’t worry about scrapping your plans altogether if you can make a better story as you go.
  11. Revise and edit. When you’ve finished the story, go back through it and correct mechanical mistakes, as well as logical and semantic errors. In general, make sure the story flows and the characters and their problems are introduced and resolved appropriately. If you have time, put the completed story down for a few days or weeks before editing. Distancing yourself from the story in this way will help you see it more clearly when you pick it back up.
  12. Get some second opinions. Send your revised and edited story off to a trusted friend or relative for revisions, edits, and suggestions. Let your reviewers know that you want to hear their real opinions of the story. Give them time to read it and think about it, and give them a copy that they can write on. Make sure you consider everything that your reviewers tell you—not just the parts you would like to hear. Thank your reviewers for reading your story, and don’t argue with them.
  13. Incorporate whatever edits, revisions, and suggestions you feel are valid. Your writing will be better if you can carefully consider constructive criticism, but you don’t have to follow all the advice you get. Some of the suggestions may not be very good. It’s your story, and you need to make the final call.


Tips


  • Can’t find friends or relatives honest enough to tell you what they really think about your story? Consider joining a writers’ group, where you can learn tips and tricks from other writers and get (hopefully) quality critiques. You can probably find a local club, but there are also online groups.
  • You can write about a past event or a fantasy that you have. Your main character can be an adaptation of yourself or someone you know. But be careful, because real people are often not as dynamic as story characters.
  • Do research. Yes, really. If you are trying to set a story in the 1950's, research the family dynamics, clothing, slang, etc. of the period. If you try to write without knowing the background of what you are writing about, the story will probably seem amateurish.
  • You may not need or want to go through the brainstorming and pre-writing work; many writers skip these steps, and you may find going through all the steps of the writing process superfluous. That said, everybody should try pre-writing at some point, even if it’s just once. Also, without planning beforehand, it is very unlikely you will have a good story.
  • If you're having trouble brainstorming, try making a web or table; create about five main sentences for your short story. It might help to do a "freewrite" which is to simply write or type everything that comes into your mind for a certain time period, usually between 5 and 30 minutes.
  • Develop your own style. Your unique voice will only come through practice. You can start by imitating other writers or, if you are trying to write for a particular genre, you can try to tune your thoughts to that “frequency.” In the end, though, you just need to write voluminously to develop your voice.
  • Make sure you don't work your mind too hard at any one time. If you're having trouble coming up with ideas, just do something else. Come back to your story after a few hours or after a good night's sleep, and you'll be amazed at what you can then come up with!
  • While you may sometimes want to scrap a story, make sure you’ve got a good reason—not just an excuse—to do so. If you’re just stuck temporarily try to work through it. Sometimes you’ll come up with another idea that you’re more excited about. You may want to work on the new idea, but if this happens frequently, it can turn into a problem: you’ll start a lot of stories, but you won’t ever actually complete one.
  • Design a format. This is not particularly necessary unless you are showing it to other people. For instance: Is the story in center alignment? Are there chapters? Do the fonts differ? Are there paragraphs? Do you indent at the beginning of each paragraph? All of the above things are simply ideas that can help to organize your writing for better results if shown to others.
  • Is there a song or type of music that gets you connected to the emotions and events you want to convey through your writing? Try playing some during or before you start writing.
  • Think carefully about all the elements of a story, for example main character, setting, time period, genre, supporting characters, enemies and conflict, and plot.


Warnings


  • Don't become too proud of your story after you've finished it! Don't set yourself up for disappointment, which, in all likelihood, will come--especially if you submit the story for publication. Instead, remain professionally detached from it, as you would if you were taking care of a friend's dog.
  • Don’t get discouraged. If you’re trying to get your story published, it will most likely be rejected. Rejection is a big part of being a writer; sometimes it’s warranted, but sometimes it’s not. Be proud that you have completed a story—no easy task, at that—and keep practicing your craft if you enjoy it.
  • Don't get lazy about spelling and grammar! Show the readers you know what you're doing by presenting an error-free story.
  • Short stories are the hardest kind of fiction to write. You have to do everything that happens in a novel (introduce characters, create conflict, develop characters, resolve conflict) inside of twenty or thirty pages. Respect the genre. It isn't easy.
  • Do not steal published ideas, this is a serious crime. You may read and get story ideas but don't steal the author's plot.


Things You'll Need


  • pencil & paper (or computer)
  • patience
  • friends or fellow writers to critique you
  • brain
  • creativity
  • you should have confidence in your self


Related wikiHows




Sources and Citations





Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write a Short Story. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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