HOW TO WRITE FICTION

A NEW GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS

Having now published ten novels, I decided to take a break from fiction writing and put together all my teaching material from nearly three decades as a creative writing tutor.

The result is How to write FICTION, which you can now buy on Amazon as a Kindle e-book for £1.29.

It's full of guidelines and encouragement for beginners, and covers everything from how and where to find ideas, creating characters that come to life, and planning and plotting to get yourself organised so you don't lose the plot!

I hope you enjoy it.

WHAT CAN I WRITE ABOUT? - PART TWO

MORE WAYS TO FIND IDEAS

The bible is a never ending source of ideas. Conflict, love, war, domination, betrayal, sin, faith, temptation - how about a modern day Judas? A team of young men spreading the word about - what? A man - or woman - resisting temptation to give up or give in?
Take an emotional situation - bereavement, illness, homelessness, infidelity, envy - apply this to your main character and see what happens.
Just another handful of starting points for your short story or novel!

How about fairy stories? Hansel and Gretel? Jack climbing the ladder (of success) and finding a hostile giant at the top? Rapunzel locked in her tower - perhaps a young woman locked away in an attic. Update the characters, change the setting and you're away!

Think of a location - a prison,  a retirement home, a school, a hospital. What sort of characters will you find there, and what will they be up to?

WHAT CAN I WRITE ABOUT?

IS YOUR BRAIN EMPTY OF NEW IDEAS? PICK UP A NEWSPAPER!

If you're a writer and you're suddenly needing new inspiration, check out your local or national newspapers.

Not the inch high headlines but the small paragraphs that  are hoarded by editors to be used as fillers on their pages.

Odd, intriguing, funny or just plain weird, they're a wonderful storehouse of starting points for short story writers or novelists. 

Here are a few which I've keyed into my IDEAS file :

A FRENCH HUNTER HAS HAD HIS RIGHT HAND AMPUTATED AFTER BEING SHOT BY HIS DOG WHILE DEER HUNTING

BELGIAN WOMAN SETS OUT TO DRIVE 38 MILES TO BRUSSELS USING HER SATNAV,  ARRIVES IN THE CROATIAN CAPITAL ZAGREB 2 DAYS AND 901 MILES LATER.

PUB LANDLORD FINDS DEAD BODY OF REGULAR CUSTOMER IN THE GENTS' LAVATORY. FEARING THE POLICE WOULD CLOSE THE PUB FOR INVESTIGATIONS, HE HIDES THE BODY IN ONE OF THE PUB'S BEDROOMS FOR 4 DAYS.

AMERICAN FARMER EATEN BY OWN PIGS - here's one for the horror fiction writers. ALL THAT'S FOUND IS HIS SET OF FALSE TEETH.

COMA MOTHER LOSES 13 YEARS OF MEMORIES.

MOTHER RUNS BROTHEL TO PAY FOR CHILDREN'S SCHOOL FEES.

These are all genuine reports - mainly from my regular English  newspaper, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH.

And here's my own favourite, possibly my next project:|

WOMAN LEAVES NOTICE ON DOOR OF HER ANTIQUE SHOP - 'BACK IN 2 MINUTES'. THIRTY  YEARS LATER SHE STILL HASN'T RETURNED.