The Wonderful World Of Writing

The Wonderful World Of Writing, guest post by @beverlymcclure. @MCBookTours.


So you want to be a writer. Great! Whether you write for a career or for fun, it’s a rewarding job or hobby or whatever you choose it to be. If you’re already a writer, you know this. If you’re just beginning, I hope it helps you with that first story.

What’s the first thing you need to get started writing your novel or magazine article?

The Wonderful World Of Writing, guest post by @beverlymcclure. @MCBookTours.
http://amzn.to/2t2kWJc
An idea, right? Without an idea you have no story. Okay, but where do ideas come from? 

Everywhere. Family, friends, home, school, hobbies. Ideas are all around you. A walking tour of the historic Charleston, SC, neighborhoods sparked the idea for one of my early novels Listen to the Ghost. Since I knew very little about ghosts, I read several books on the subject, too, and took lots of pictures of supposedly haunted houses and graveyards, and my story began to form.

After you have your idea your story needs characters. (A note here. Sometimes a character may come to you before the idea, and that’s fine.) You let the character tell you his/her idea for a story.

A book has three types of characters:
1. Protagonist: The main character, the person telling the story.
2. Antagonist: The character making trouble for the protagonist
3. Secondary Characters: Other people in the story, family, friends, pets. Yes, our furry friends make great characters.

You need to know your characters as well as you know your own family. A good way to do this is to make character sketches, which usually have things like their name, age, hair color, and other characteristics.

Next, you need a setting, where your story takes place. It can be in the present, the past, the future. It can be a real place or a fantasy place. The setting tells you where and when this story takes  place. It can also be an antagonist for the main character to face. In Karen Hesse’s Out of the Dust, the dust storms and depression era are antagonists against which the main character struggles.

Your story must have conflict. Bruce Colville, the author of My Teacher is an Alien and many other books, says, “Take somebody you really like and get them in trouble.”

Something must be at stake for your main character. There must be obstacles for her/him to overcome.

Then there’s the Story climax: This is where the conflict is solved. The climax answers the question, “What forces the character to either succeed or fail.” The turning point in your story. Does he character get what he/she wants?

The last is the Resolution, end of story. How has the main character changed or grown? Endings are not always happy, but they should give hope.

You should ask yourself “What is the Plot of the story?” The plot is everything that happens. It is what your main character goes through to solve the conflict. The plot has three major parts:
1. Beginning: The first page or two should tell the reader who the story is about, when and where it takes place, and the main conflict of the major character.
2. Middle: A series of scenes where the character attempts to solve the problem.
3. Ending: Here you have the climax, whre the character either succeeds of fails in solving the conflict.

 Ask yourself, “What is my story about?” If you can answer it in one or two sentences, you understand your plot.

Now, you’re ready to write. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar at this point. Just write.

Then revise and edit and those are other stories.

Good luck.

The Wonderful World Of Writing, guest post by @beverlymcclure. @MCBookTours.
Most of the time, you’ll find Award-Winning Author Beverly Stowe McClure at her computer, typing stories young voices whisper in her ears. When she’s not writing, she’s snapping pictures of wildlife, flowers, and clouds. She’s affectionately known as the “Bug Lady.” She’s not telling why. To relax she plays the piano. Her fur babies don’t appreciate good music and hide when she tickles the ivories.

Beverly is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She also teaches a women’s Sunday school class at her church.

For more on Beverly and her writing visit her at her:
Blog: https://beverlystowemcclure.blogspot.com
Website: http://beverlystowemcclure.wordpress.com
Twitter @beverlymcclure
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/beverlysmcclure
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/author/show/11462.Beverly_Stowe_McClure

The Wonderful World Of Writing, guest post by @beverlymcclure. @MCBookTours.




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4 Comments

  1. Mason Canyon10 July 2017 at 12:02

    I like that characters can sometimes come to you first and the story develops from them. Thanks for sharing Beverly's story and for being a part of her tour.

    Mason
    MC Book Tours

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beverly Stowe McClure10 July 2017 at 15:57

    Thank you for hosting Princess Breeze and me today and letting us tell our story. I hope my article helps new writers and others aspiring to write their stores.

    Have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
  3. cleemckenzie10 July 2017 at 18:11

    Just stopping by to wish you the best, Beverly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beverly Stowe McClure10 July 2017 at 22:18

      Thank you, Lee. You're the best. Have a great week.

      Delete

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