How to Write a Brilliant Novel: The Easy Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Story (Go! Write Something Brilliant) by Susan May Warren Page A
Authors: Susan May Warren
Tags: Fiction, General Fiction, Reference, Writing, Writing; Research & Publishing Guides, Writing Skills
Ads: Link
place you know, because while you’re learning all these other techniques, it’ll be easier to invest yourself in a familiar setting. But if you don’t know it, learn it. Visit the setting. I can’t stress this enough. Take pictures, talk to the people, watch people and their mannerisms that are particular to that place.
Observe: While you’re researching, watch for the details that will make a story come to life. Sights, smells, interesting places for scenes to take place. I’ve had scenes in caves, the Moscow subway, the woods, small airplanes, a monastery, coffee shops, orphanages—even the mall in Washington DC. And I’ve been fortunate to have gone to all those places. But I’ve never been in a house on fire—and I had two scenes in The Perfect Match inside a burning house. So I talked to firefighters and read as much as I could from personal accounts. And, according to the firefighters I talked to, I got it right. So, it is possible to write a scene if you haven’t been to the location, if you’ve done the right research.
Use people as props. Look around you. Who could be in that scene w``ith your character? People are everywhere, and they can help make a scene unforgettable.
This excerpt is from my journal, something I wrote while waiting for a train on the pier in Vladivostok:
Pigeons waddle in the center of the square, over grey cobblestones, searching for treasures, their heads bobbing like royalty.
A couple wrapped in a love pretzel . . .
A sullen man with distant eyes, one of them so mangled from a recent run-in with a fist, it glowed red-blood. He gazed out over the harbor, flicking suspicious glances in my direction.
Across the square, two long-gone drunks search the ads in the paper as if reading the stock quotes. Two benches down, a couple women, their pudgy bodies squeezed into black leggings and fluorescent pink tee-shirts prop each other up, feigning sleep.
The smells of diesel fuel, fresh fish, and dust laden the humid breeze.
The sound of a welder grinds (hisses, snarls…I was searching for the right word) in the background amid the clank and whistles of a working shipyard.
In the far distance, the mangled voice of the train loudspeaker drones announcements.
Overhead, the sky is an enigmatic, mysterious gray, neither ominous nor hopeful, shedding (or casting) a dismal (or despondent) theme upon us travelers.
Obviously, I’m a people watcher, But if you can’t go to your setting, watch movies filmed there, get maps and travel books, read about the area via non-fiction or fiction books. Ask people who’ve been there about their impressions, or search the Internet for information. Consider consulting a Chamber of Commerce site.
Mood: When you’re choosing your setting for your scene, find a place that will work to create conflict for the POV character, whether it’s the mood the scene evokes, or whether it provides physical opposition to your character’s goals. For example, in one scene in The Perfect Match, my character had to investigate a burned out building.. Her goal? To prove herself capable and independent so she could get the job of Fire Chief. However, the setting itself provided the conflict, because it was dangerous, and she found herself in a predicament that devastated her goals.
What is Storyworld?
Storyworld is the sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and rich, focused visual details that convey the impressions, opinions, and overall state of emotion of the POV character, and in turn, the reader.
Storyworld is more than setting, however. You need to know and understand your setting, but that’s just one aspect of Storyworld. I want you to start thinking of your Storyworld as the third character in your novel. Middle Earth. WW II London. Mitford. Narnia. Oz.
Wherever your story is set, it will have a character, a feeling to it that lends itself to the story, and works either with your characters, or against them.
A book without a Storyworld is like watching a movie
Observe: While you’re researching, watch for the details that will make a story come to life. Sights, smells, interesting places for scenes to take place. I’ve had scenes in caves, the Moscow subway, the woods, small airplanes, a monastery, coffee shops, orphanages—even the mall in Washington DC. And I’ve been fortunate to have gone to all those places. But I’ve never been in a house on fire—and I had two scenes in The Perfect Match inside a burning house. So I talked to firefighters and read as much as I could from personal accounts. And, according to the firefighters I talked to, I got it right. So, it is possible to write a scene if you haven’t been to the location, if you’ve done the right research.
Use people as props. Look around you. Who could be in that scene w``ith your character? People are everywhere, and they can help make a scene unforgettable.
This excerpt is from my journal, something I wrote while waiting for a train on the pier in Vladivostok:
Pigeons waddle in the center of the square, over grey cobblestones, searching for treasures, their heads bobbing like royalty.
A couple wrapped in a love pretzel . . .
A sullen man with distant eyes, one of them so mangled from a recent run-in with a fist, it glowed red-blood. He gazed out over the harbor, flicking suspicious glances in my direction.
Across the square, two long-gone drunks search the ads in the paper as if reading the stock quotes. Two benches down, a couple women, their pudgy bodies squeezed into black leggings and fluorescent pink tee-shirts prop each other up, feigning sleep.
The smells of diesel fuel, fresh fish, and dust laden the humid breeze.
The sound of a welder grinds (hisses, snarls…I was searching for the right word) in the background amid the clank and whistles of a working shipyard.
In the far distance, the mangled voice of the train loudspeaker drones announcements.
Overhead, the sky is an enigmatic, mysterious gray, neither ominous nor hopeful, shedding (or casting) a dismal (or despondent) theme upon us travelers.
Obviously, I’m a people watcher, But if you can’t go to your setting, watch movies filmed there, get maps and travel books, read about the area via non-fiction or fiction books. Ask people who’ve been there about their impressions, or search the Internet for information. Consider consulting a Chamber of Commerce site.
Mood: When you’re choosing your setting for your scene, find a place that will work to create conflict for the POV character, whether it’s the mood the scene evokes, or whether it provides physical opposition to your character’s goals. For example, in one scene in The Perfect Match, my character had to investigate a burned out building.. Her goal? To prove herself capable and independent so she could get the job of Fire Chief. However, the setting itself provided the conflict, because it was dangerous, and she found herself in a predicament that devastated her goals.
What is Storyworld?
Storyworld is the sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and rich, focused visual details that convey the impressions, opinions, and overall state of emotion of the POV character, and in turn, the reader.
Storyworld is more than setting, however. You need to know and understand your setting, but that’s just one aspect of Storyworld. I want you to start thinking of your Storyworld as the third character in your novel. Middle Earth. WW II London. Mitford. Narnia. Oz.
Wherever your story is set, it will have a character, a feeling to it that lends itself to the story, and works either with your characters, or against them.
A book without a Storyworld is like watching a movie
Similar Books
