Writing Course - Novel Mechanics

Class 1: Getting organized

·      Are you a Pantser or a planner

·      Plot – the driver of your story

o   The brief synopsis of your plot to be your road map

·      Researching your plot

o   Setting up your files so your info is always near at hand

·      The Oreo Cookie!

·      The importance of taking breaks

·      Other tips / Q & A

Class 2: Decision time – How are we going to reveal the story?

·      Points of View – what are they and what are their pluses and minuses

o   First person - First person is used when the main character is telling the story. This is the kind that uses the "I" narrator. As a reader, you can only experience the story through this person's eyes. So you won't know anything about the people or events that this character hasn't personally experienced.

First Person Peripheral: This is when the narrator is a supporting character in the story, not the main character. It still uses the "I" narrator but since the narrator is not the protagonist, there are events and scenes that will happen to the protagonist that the narrator will not have access to.

o   Second Person - Second person point of view is generally only used in instructional writing. It is told from the perspective of "you".

o   Third Person - Third person POV is used when your narrator is not a character in the story. Third person uses the "he/she/it" narrator and it is the most commonly used POV in writing.

There are 3 main types of Third Person POV:

• Third Person Limited: Limited means that the POV is limited to only one character. Which means that the narrator only knows what that character knows. With third person limited you can choose to view the action from right inside the character's head, or from further away, where the narrator has more access to information outside the protagonist's viewpoint.

• Third Person Multiple: This type is still in the "he/she/it" category, but now the narrator can follow multiple characters in the story. The challenge is making sure that the reader knows when you are switching from one character to another. Make the switch obvious with chapter or section breaks.

• Third Person Omniscient: This point of view still uses the "he/she/it" narration but now the narrator knows EVERYTHING. The narrator isn't limited by what one character knows, sort of like the narrator is God. The narrator can know things that others don't, can make comments about what's happening, and can see inside the minds of other characters.

·      Narrative prose – what we choose to show our reader

o   Description

Class 3: Characterization – The heart of your story

·      Characterization –

o   Goals, Motivation and Conflict

o   Making our characters three dimensional

·      Direct and indirect thought – powerful tools!

·      Making a place, entity, city or landscape a character

·      Dramatic emotions – when, where and how much. Less is more!

Class 4: Dialogue

·      Formatting

o   Quotes and punctuation

o   Attribution

o   Dialect and accents

·      Making your words count – avoiding the mundane!

·      Segues – why they are important.

Class 5: Driving your novel

·      Pacing and Tone

·      Flashbacks and dream sequences.

·      Setting up large sweeping scenes: for battles, parties, celebrations, etc.

Class 6: The little details that make a difference

·      Parts of language and punctuation

·      Adverbs and adjectives

·      Words and clichés to avoid.

·      Redundancy

Class 7: Editing your work

·      Editing – what the marks mean

·      Doing on the fly or sitting on your hands till the end

·      Working on hard copy versus on the screen

·      Reading your work aloud!

·      Find a beta reader

·      Critique groups

·      Misc. tips