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    Write Fiction Like A Pro
    Write Fiction Like A Pro
    Write Fiction Like A Pro
    Ebook95 pages52 minutes

    Write Fiction Like A Pro

    By Florence Witkop

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    About this ebook

    Fifty plus tips and tricks of writing fiction that were learned over the years through trial and error and from other writers, workshops, books and classes. This book allows you to skip the years it normally takes to learn this yourself. Then put it on your closest shelf because you will refer to it time and time again. And congratulations to both aspiring and experienced story-tellers because it is you who fuel the imaginations of present and future generations.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFlorence Witkop
    Release dateAug 20, 2013
    ISBN9781301310562
    Write Fiction Like A Pro
    Author

    Florence Witkop

    FLORENCE WITKOP, STORYTELLER Florence’s stories begin as simple tales of contemporary life, often in small towns or the wilderness she knows so well. Where they go from there is what makes them special. There is always the strong sense of place that brands them as eco-fiction. Sometimes they cross genres and contain paranormal, sci/fi, or fantasy elements. There is usually a romance and characters her readers like and would enjoy having as friends. Most of all, there is a story because what Florence does best is tell stories. Well plotted stories that carry the characters towards a logical conclusion that always includes a happy ending. Stories that shine light on the human condition while they celebrate the world we live in. Stories that her readers relate to and remember long after the reading is over. She writes about people who are as normal as apple pie (most of them, anyway) who unexpectedly find themselves in the middle of situations ranging from the heartwarming through the difficult and all the way to the horrendous. But Florence’s characters choose to act instead of running away. In the process, they survive, thrive, overcome whatever obstacles large or small are thrown in front of them, and while they are at it, they find time to fall in love. Florence was born in the city and has lived in the suburbs, small towns, the country and the wilderness, where she still lives with her husband and a cowardly cat named Smoke. At various times in her career she’s been a confession writer, a copywriter, a ghost writer and an editor. She writes short stories, novellas and novels. Her work has been categorized as romance, science-fiction, fantasy, mainstream and eco-fiction, to name a few genres that it fits beautifully into.

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      Book preview

      Write Fiction Like A Pro - Florence Witkop

      Introduction

      First, what this book is not. It's not a series of lessons after which you'll know how to write fiction. There are other books for that. Lots of them.

      Though, to be honest, Number 3 is a short story template and that's as good as any how-to book I've ever read for plotting fiction and a lot simpler.

      Now that I've got that out of the way, let me tell you what this book is. It's a series of tips on the craft of writing fiction that I've collected over thirty plus years as a professional writer. Some of them I learned for myself through doing something wrong and figuring out how to do it right the next time. Others I learned from workshops, articles, and speeches by really good writers who are famous, infamous and unknown. I've deliberately not named any of those famous writers though if you know your way around the writing world you might figure out where some of the ideas originated.

      Writing good fiction is a craft that can be learned and writers who have been through the mill and learned a thing or two should pass on to new writers those things they feel will be helpful. So that's what I'm doing and that's what this book is. A collection of tips that, taken in its entirety, should help future, new and mid-career writers get past some of the problems they find so they can reach a bit higher in their quest for the best they are capable of.

      I think of what's on the following pages as working writer tips because they provide insight and help for writers who are working hard to put together their next and potentially best story. They are written however they came to me. They are in no particular order or writing style. Some contain personal stuff. Others don't. All have helped me.

      So … on to the first tip.

      1. THE WORST BOOK YOU EVER READ

      It's been the week from hell. Two ER visits complete with follow-up doctor visits, medication, etc, the car needed semi-major repairs, we purchased a dehumidifier because the air conditioners aren't keeping up, and the list goes on... and on.

      Which got me to thinking about other situations that compete for the title of worst situation ever. One that must be included in any such list is putting out a hefty sum to read a book with a great blurb and cover art because you feel like reading a good story and finding out that it's the worst book ever published and is good only for throwing against the wall in a fit of pique. Or for propping up a table leg. Or starting a fire.

      Except maybe that book shouldn't be included in a list of worst situations after all. Because there is one very special use for the worst book ever published. It can become a morale booster for all of us writers who struggle to be published in what can be a difficult business.

      Because if that book got published, then by golly ours can too! Let me illustrate and the following story is close to what I'm trying to say so bear with me.

      I have two daughters. They were still living at home when I first started writing and they became my best and most brutal critics. Then they grew up and moved away.

      A few years later, as a veteran fiction writer, I was asked by an aspiring author to critique a story she'd written. I agreed. I read the story and it was pretty bad. Not as bad as the worst book I'd ever purchased, but bad. My youngest daughter happened to be visiting at the time and, since she was an experienced critic, I asked her opinion. She read the story and agreed with me. It was bad.

      I didn't want to hurt the writer's feelings but I had to tell her something. So I asked my daughter if she had any advice. If she had a suggestion for how to tell the writer tactfully that the story sucked.

      My daughter looked me up and down in that way she has, and asked, What's the big deal about bad writing? You wrote a lot of really bad stuff and it got published. Maybe hers will too.

      Sometimes the worst stories are published even when they shouldn't be and that's how that worst book came into your possession. So now put it to good use. Put it near your writing space where you can see it easily. Look at it occasionally and smile. It'll inspire you because you'll know you're a better writer than the author of that horrific book. Then write what you want. Maybe it'll be great literature, maybe not. Either way, it just might end up being published.

      Maybe I should pin one of my own stories beside that worst book just to remind myself that I'm not perfect and even though I'm not, hundreds of my stories were published and continue to be published regularly.

      2. CHRISTMAS IN JULY

      Once, I submitted a story about two of my kids and settled back to wait a few months to hear from the editors.  Instead, less than a week after putting it in the mail, I got a frantic call from an editor wanting to know how quickly I could sign a contract because they wanted it for the edition that was about to go to press.  Seems it was their Mother's Day issue and, though I'd not thought about it being that kind of story when writing it, they felt it filled a spot in that particular holiday issue.  I jumped through a few hoops and the story was in their magazine in time for Mother's Day.

      Believe me, that's not the norm.  Most of the time, if the holidays are approaching... any holidays... and suddenly a lovely story idea relevant to that particular holiday flits through your mind, by all means, sit down and write it while it's still fresh in your mind.  Then polish it.  Edit it for grammar and flow.  And set it aside for six months.

      Because publishers often work six months ahead for

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