Post by Jeff Gerke on Feb 17, 2007 21:21:58 GMT -5
I'm of the opinion that there are at least three categories of novelists:
I also have a writer friend who says she's a murder-first novelist. She comes up with the murder and then tries to figure out the story that leads up to it.
Whatever kind of novelist you are, I'm guessing you're very strong with that part of your writing and probably pretty weak in the other parts.
Writers who are plot-first novelists usually have a hard time coming up with characters who aren't stereotypes or cardboard cutouts. For those writers (of whom I am a card-carrying member) I created my character creation system: Character Creation for the Plot-First Novelist (www.wherethemapends.com/products/products.htm).
Writers who come up with settings first may have trouble creating interesting characters or exciting plots.
And writers who come up with great characters sometimes have no idea what to have those fascinating story people actually do.
If that's you, or if you struggle with plot or structure at all, I recommend two books.
The first is Plot & Structure by my good friend James Scott Bell.
The second is Plot by Ansen Dibell.
You may also enjoy 20 Master Plots and How To Build Them by Ronald B. Tobias.
If you need inspiration, be sure to check out the exhaustive Booklist of Christian speculative fiction over at the main WhereTheMapEnds site: www.wherethemapends.com/Booklist/booklist_intro.htm.
You can find more books on the craft of fiction at this page: www.wherethemapends.com/writerstools/writers_tools_pages/books_on_writing.htm.
Finally, for fun with a random story generator--something that might spark your creative juices--go here: www.wherethemapends.com/writerstools/writers_tools_pages/randomizer.htm.
Hope that's helpful to you!
Jeff
- Those who come up with plots like nobody's business (plot-first novelists)
- Those who come up with characters with the greatest of ease (character-first novelists)
- And those who come up with settings and locations before anything else occurs to them (setting-first novelists)
I also have a writer friend who says she's a murder-first novelist. She comes up with the murder and then tries to figure out the story that leads up to it.
Whatever kind of novelist you are, I'm guessing you're very strong with that part of your writing and probably pretty weak in the other parts.
Writers who are plot-first novelists usually have a hard time coming up with characters who aren't stereotypes or cardboard cutouts. For those writers (of whom I am a card-carrying member) I created my character creation system: Character Creation for the Plot-First Novelist (www.wherethemapends.com/products/products.htm).
Writers who come up with settings first may have trouble creating interesting characters or exciting plots.
And writers who come up with great characters sometimes have no idea what to have those fascinating story people actually do.
If that's you, or if you struggle with plot or structure at all, I recommend two books.
The first is Plot & Structure by my good friend James Scott Bell.
The second is Plot by Ansen Dibell.
You may also enjoy 20 Master Plots and How To Build Them by Ronald B. Tobias.
If you need inspiration, be sure to check out the exhaustive Booklist of Christian speculative fiction over at the main WhereTheMapEnds site: www.wherethemapends.com/Booklist/booklist_intro.htm.
You can find more books on the craft of fiction at this page: www.wherethemapends.com/writerstools/writers_tools_pages/books_on_writing.htm.
Finally, for fun with a random story generator--something that might spark your creative juices--go here: www.wherethemapends.com/writerstools/writers_tools_pages/randomizer.htm.
Hope that's helpful to you!
Jeff