Writing Fiction Stories: What You Need to Know
Writing Fiction Stories: What you Need to Know
Writing a fiction story is the wish of many aspiring writers and even authors who have followed different paths, such as poetry and non-fiction. That is because fiction is one of the most seductive styles.
Inspiration comes when you least expect it, and, suddenly, your mind is dominated by universes and characters that do not belong to our reality.
It is the author’s role to explore the wild territory of the imagination and convey his knowledge of this new world in engaging words.
But, with so many disorganized ideas in mind, knowing how to write a fictional story may not be as natural and straightforward as the first light of inspiration makes it seem.
The task goes further: you must write hard and with discipline until you finish a coherent work with a beginning, middle and end.
To help writers & authors find their ways and get their books published, we’ve selected the best ways to write a fictional story with some bonuses!
Start Setting a Daily Word Goal
Discipline is important for a professional author. The flash of inspiration is a gift that only visits the writer sporadically. Suppose you really want to write a complete fiction story. In that case, you must abandon the lack of inspiration and find in the discipline and a new pipeline to harness your creativity.
The truth is that when you stop waiting for inspiration and get your hands dirty every day, chances are you will find a new way to get inspired on your own.
To not give up writing and not be consumed by laziness, setting goals is important. It is essential to follow your writing program.
An interesting way to write a fiction story is to choose a reasonable goal according to your average productivity (e.g., between 500 and 2000 words per day). You will then have a commitment to yourself not to rest until you write that many words a day.
Pros: helps to overcome perfectionism, which has no place in the creation stage, and increase productivity. When you hit goals, it’s a great way to motivate yourself. Let’s you complete the story faster.
Cons: it can be tiring and discourage the writer from thinking correctly about the plot. Writers can “cheat” using too many words to convey simple messages.
ALTERNATIVE: set a limit of words per day. It will take you longer to publish an eBook, especially if the limit is low (500 words), but the limit will stop you from writing while ideas are still flowing.
Open the wings of your Imagination- Disconnect from Reality
Turn off your internet. Hang up your phone. Avoid small talk, no games, distance yourself from o social networks, no distractions. Now it’s you and your book.
This technique, like any other, requires discipline and planning.
To be successful, you need to set aside time every day, for example, 2 hours, when you will do nothing but write. Yes, you read it right: Just write.
Pros: No distractions! Now you can write a fiction story calmly and thoroughly, really putting your soul and dedication into the plot and the words.
Cons: Procrastination. Some people prefer to do anything at all then turn off their phones, and if you write, it means you have to disconnect. Sometimes, the act of writing will be associated with something negative for these people, even unconsciously.
Plan your book- Make a Mind map or Use Spreadsheets.
Planning the plot before you start your eBook is a great way to write a fictional story. There are a few different planning methods.
You can choose to make a timeline of the story or make a sentence, turn it into a paragraph, then into a page, and expand it until it becomes a book. These are just two options out of a multitude of possibilities.
We thoroughly discussed whether it is worth planning a book before writing in the article Storyline: planning or letting go. Some of the pros and cons are:
Pros: You will feel more confident with the continuity of the story. The plot will likely be better structured and consistent, too, without holes and mistakes. Besides, you can feel excited to get to the most interesting parts of the story.
Cons: Some authors feel unmotivated when they already know the ending. You can close your head to new and better ideas. Perhaps after writing half the book, you will realize that planning no longer makes sense.
Write from Start To End (Not Knowing The End)
The main competitor of planning is the technique of merely starting from the beginning and writing your story until it ends—an excellent example of how to let it flow.
This is a natural and exciting method that encourages the writer to imagine and develop his plot as he writes. To stay organized, you can manage the information you already know about the story, avoiding inconsistencies.
It may seem less disorganized than planning, but it also works for many renowned authors. It is really a matter of personal preferences.
Pros: It is a straightforward method. You will get to know your book in the same order as the reader, and this process is fascinating. Your characters will be able to develop with greater freedom without following the plot.
Cons: Maybe the end result is not what you expected. Without planning, the story can take unexpected directions, which are not always so good. You can get discouraged in the most boring parts of the story, but that seems necessary for progression.
Write the Scene that Comes to the Head.
On the other hand, we have another way of writing a fictional story that is even more natural and can be a little disorganized. Basically, you write the scene that comes to mind. Whatever you imagine, you write.
In this format, similar to the puzzle, the story unfolds in a non-linear way. When you feel you have all the necessary pieces, you “assemble” your book, connecting each scene until you have a complete structure.
Pros: You capture the flashes of inspiration that came to each scene you imagined. That way, the story will probably have everything to do with the main themes and ideas you wanted.
Cons: Connecting disconnected scenes can be a lot harder than you thought. You will likely need to rewrite many parts of your book to have a minimum of coherence and consistency.
In the end, the biggest secret to writing a book is merely writing. It is to stop delaying and put the words on the blank screen. It is to start and go to the end, no matter the order of the factors.
Choose the method that seems most interesting or appropriate. What is really important is that you and get started now!