Monday, October 19, 2009

Is it really Monday??? Or, Eight Rules for Writing a Short Story

Hubby worked both days of the weekend and I spent Sunday afternoon in bed with a migraine so I didn't realize it was Sunday until about 11 last night and by then I'd shut the puter down and was almost asleep.    It doesn't feel like Monday at all here but the calendar doesn't lie.

So, this is late, and I copied it from here.  And while it says short stories, most of it applies to novels.

1.  Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2.  Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3.  Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
 
4.  Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.

5.  Start as close to the end as possible.

6.  Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to   them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7.  Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8.  Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

1 comment:

  1. I love #7. So often it can be tempting to adjust your storyling every time you receive a critique, but it doesn't work.

    Sorry to hear about your boo-boo head.

    On a happy note, I decided what I am working on for NaNoWriMo!

    Cheryl

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