Ok Writers ~ Let's use our IMAGINATION . . .

Ok Writers ~ Let's use our IMAGINATION . . .

BLOG SESSION

July 2017

It is a new day, and we are back here on the Blog to do something different. . .

Let's pretend for a minute that you are in your vehicle (choose in your mind what type of vehicle you are riding in). Look at the scene at the top of this Blog, and take a moment to imagine that it is the view set before you as you are riding along ~ breathe ~ breathe in newness of life, and exhale your rusty thoughts.

Now grab your Journal and your ink pen. . .

Writer's Journal Exercise

The first thing you are going to do today "gifted" Writer ~ is to use your imagination.  As you look at the scene set before you at the top of this Blog you are going to notice the scenery.  You are going to look to the left, then to the right, then straight ahead.  This is a Writer's Journal Exercise in mental scene shifting.

Why do I want you to do this?  Because, as a Writer you must learn how to use your imagination to shift the atmosphere around you and make of it what you will.  When you have a scene before you, the question is ~ what do you SEE?

Your Vision is your Imagination

Writers, your vision is your imagination at work.  We can all have the same scene set before us, and each of us here on the Blog will SEE something different.  We will look at what is before us, and we will make of it what we will.  We will do this, because our entire life is made up of scenes and our interpretation of what we see becomes our reactions and actions.

The movement of life is based upon how we flow.  Whenever you decide in your mind to freeze up, become stagnant, or procrastinate, the world just keeps on turning . . .

Some of us will write from a place of open vision.  Others of us will be regimented writers.  What I mean be this is that if you are writing from a place of open vision then you will imagine and create what is not readily seen by others.  When you write from a regimented (very strictly organized or controlled stance), then your writing will reflect the cement you have mentally placed yourself in.

As the world turns, the movement of life is bringing forth new things.  The question is will you be a part of the newness of life or not?

Now let's pick up our pens and get ready to write down what it is that we see from our vehicles in the scene at the top of this Blog.

When you look to the left, you will see a patch of light.  When you look to the right, you will see mountains and a darker sky.  When you look straight ahead (middle of the road, you see both light and dark).  Which side of the road are you driving towards?  Are you going to the left or to the right?  Since the road does not allow for you to drive straight ahead, choose which way you are going to go, and make a note of it in your Journal.

In our last Blog Session we discussed your soul and your brain.  And, if you will remember, we said ~ "your soul is the Novelist, and your brain is the Researcher".

With that in mind, your soul already knows which way you are going to go on the road in the scene at the top of this Blog.  It is your brain that is going to research and decide which genre you will choose after you go to the left or to the right.

Remember, we are Writers.  As you make your decision on which way you are going to go, you will also need to choose a genre, because you are writing a Novel . . .

Will you choose Romance?  Fantasy?  Science Fiction?  Historical Fiction?  Humor?  Travel?  Journalism?  Sports?  Documentary? Fiction?  Comedy?  Drama?  Horror?  Non-Fiction?  Realistic?  Satire?  Tragedy?  Tragicomedy?  Mythology?  Memoir?  Crime/Detective?  Fable?  Legend?  Folklore?  Mystery?  Meta Fiction?  Short Story?  Tall Tale?  Suspense/Thriller?  Essay?

In your Journal notes, please make a note of your choices.  Left or right?  Straight ahead or stuck?

Please make a note of your genre choice and why?

What exactly is it that you SEE in the scene that propels you to choose the genre that popped into your brain?

The Scene

Enjoy your Travels Writers!

Brain at work . . .

Write about it!

See you back here for the next exciting

BLOG SESSION

Peace, Love & Light,

René

© Copyright - René Allen - JULY 2017 - All Rights Reserved

Novel Writing for the Newbie

Novel Writing for the Newbie

BLOG SESSION

July 2017

Welcome to another great Blog Session with fellow Writers, Authors, Novelists, Creative Writers, Emerging Authors, Poets, and Aspiring Authors ~

For all the Writing Newbies to our Blog, we have been discussing Novel Writing and Novel Writing Ideas and Tips in our past Blog Sessions.  This afternoon will be a continuation for all Writers following along.

Many of you will be asked a certain question about your writing at one point or another.  Most will be asked this question, "How do you write?"

There is an interesting thing about writing that everyone should make a note of in their Journal, and in particular, make a note of how the question of "How do you write?" was answered by a Specialist in Writing, and it was answered in this way . . .

One word at a time is always the best way to write a Novel.  Flowing with the spirit within you and tapping into your soul, just remember ~ no pressure ~ simply one word at a time.

A good way to gather information for your Novel is to purchase a journal to write down your thoughts.  After writing your thoughts daily for a week or two, you should go back and reflect upon your insights.  Those of you who have Diaries (and faithfully use them), will understand what I am about to say...

Remember, your thoughts may seem meaningless at the point you receive them in your brain, but you'll find a very curious thing happens with time -- when you write them down, and then later go back and reflect upon your thoughts, you will receive insight from what you have written.  I'd like to use the phrase, "Insightful wisdom from the soul".

Your soul may have been introduced to your brain, but your soul is much wiser than your brain.  Your soul knows what your brain does not.  Your soul knows exactly why you are here on earth.  Your brain is simply a tool to use to act on that which your soul already knows.

The Soul of the Novelist

If your soul already knows that you are a "gifted" Writer, then your brain sooner or later will kick in and spring into action to get those Novels written.  Let us just put it this way, your soul is the Novelist, and your brain is the Researcher.

You are a Writer, and all Writers love to read.  It is your brain that will enjoy researching the Internet for topics for your Novel.

You may also want to think about taking a topic and expanding it into several different directions like the branches of a tree. . .

Your ideas can have a wide range relative to one particular topic.  Let's take for instance the topic of building a city.  Your Novel could have a section of town that is being redeveloped.  Or you could have another area of town in your Novel that is being expanded.  In the same Novel, you may have certain buildings that are being demolished.

The above scenario could have many characters working separately and in conflict, or working separately and coming together for the good of the whole.

There is no limit to the various areas you can take off in when you have an idea or topic for your Novel.  The key is to make sure that however you expand on your topic that you tie everything together to make your Novel an interesting and adventurous read.

For Tonight ~

Relax your mind and dream a Dream.

Dream a Dream

Your Dream is the material for your Novel.

See you next Blog Session

Friends & Writers!

Peace, Love & Light,

René

© Copyright - René Allen - JULY 2017 - All Rights Reserved

Thinking about Novel Writing

Thinking about Novel Writing

BLOG SESSION

July 2017

Good afternoon Novelists! ~ We're back for another exciting Blog Session.  Today we are going to be discussing your Novel, and you'll get a little more insight to help you with your Best Selling Novel.

If you are a new member here to the Blog, you'll need to pick up a Journal so that you will be able to take notes whenever you visit here.  If you don't have a Journal at the moment, you can use a nice Notebook or notepad to take your notes, because it is the first thing that we reach for when we come here for our Blog Sessions. . .

Journal Notes

You'll need to get inspired if you are going to write a Novel that will move your Readers.  Novelists understand that writing a Novel is a very creative process, and because of that you'll have to be ready whenever a new idea comes before you or pops up in your mind.  Have your trusty Journal or Notebook and a good writing ink pen handy at all times.  For those of you savvy smartphone users, you already know about the Notepad Apps that are available for download so that you can take Novel Notes on the go.  For all Google Users, you may already know about "Google Keep", which is a very good free App (Note-Taking Tool) to use for your on-the-go-Notes.  You can add it to your Smartphone or to your Tablet.  Laptop users can also make good use of it when traveling from place to place . . .

Google Keep

For all you Radio, Web, and YouTube Listeners, Readers & Watchers ~ your Journals, Notebooks and Notepads can come in handy for the Novel that you are planning to write.  Keep your eyes and ears open to capture interesting material for your Novel.

Think about . . .

The various emotions that you deal with every day. Think about those people that you come in contact with who need anger management.  Think about those individuals who have a compassionate nature and how they relate to others.  Think on the people that you know or come in contact with who are dealing with grief.  Emotions play a huge role in the "feeling" of your Novel.  Do the emotions that are going on in your Novel feel believable?  Can the Reader relate to the emotions that your characters are displaying?  Can you, as the Writer, actually feel the emotions that are written on the page?  It is important to step back and remember that "feelings" and "emotions" are a crucial element of Novel writing.

Just the same as music can move people to tears, laughter, or thought ~ so will your Novel.

We'll be back in a flash Novelists ~

Look forward to . . .

Another great Blog Session!

Until then Friends ~

Peace, Love & Light,

René

© Copyright - René Allen - JULY 2017 - All Rights Reserved 

Novel Ideas & NOVEL WRITING

Novel Ideas

&

NOVEL WRITING

BLOG SESSION

July 2017

Good Morning Writers, Authors, Novelists, Creative Writers, Fiction Writers, Science Fiction Writers, Memoir Writers, Emerging Authors, Aspiring Authors & Poets!

Our Blog Session today will be enlightening and inspirational.  We are going to discuss your Novel Ideas, and Novel Writing.  You'll need to get your Journal out so that you can take notes . . .

Journal Notes

If you are interested in writing a fresh new Novel, the first thing you should add in your Journal is the caption, "Novel Ideas".  This is the area in your Journal where you will list all of the Novel Ideas that you have for your Novel(s).  Start with the title of the novels that you have considered writing.  List each of the titles that you have come up with.

Following the title of your Novel Ideas, insert the genre, i.e. Fiction, Science Fiction, Romance, Chic Lit, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, etc.  If you are familiar with the various genres, this will be an easy task for you.  If you are not familiar with the various genres, take a moment to do research so that you may know in which genre your Novel fits.  We have discussed genres in a previous Blog Session, which you can take a look at here:  Blog Session ~ Fiction Books

You may also want to check out our other Blog Session to get further tips if you are a Fiction Writer:  Blog Session ~ Writers, we're talking about FICTION!

If you have not yet signed up to receive our Blog Sessions by email, be sure to add your email address into the spot where it says, "Follow by Email" over in the far right-hand column under my eyeball.  Then simply click the "Submit" button.  That way, you will receive every Blog Session in a timely manner.

Now let's move on to the topic of Novel Writing . . .

Keep in mind that you can definitely gain a great deal of inspiration from reading other Novels, or from the Media.  Your past experiences play a vital role in writing a great Novel.  You can also rely on stories you have heard from others, or subjects that you are interested in.

Keep your Journal handy!

As always, you should carry a notepad or notebook around with you at all times and write down any words, sentences, or descriptions that come to your mind in your daily travels.  We stress keeping a Journal if you are a Writer because it is a very valuable source of wisdom when it comes to your writing, and if you write it, you won't forget it.  You'll be amazed at all of the information that will come to you out of the blue, and if you are diligent about making a note of those flash ideas, then you will be thankful for having your trusty Journal by your side.

Make sure that you have a vision of where your story will take place.  Do your research on the country or countries, city or cities, towns or villages that will be in your Novel.  Take photos of the scenes, or cut out photos from magazines of the places that will be in your Novel to add to your Journal for reference.  For instance, in the Novel that I am writing for Camp NaNoWriMo, the location of the story takes place on the Samoan Islands, so I have a picture of the Samoan Islands to keep the vision of the location in the forefront of my mind.

Samoan Islands

Also make sure that you have a strong idea of your characters, their backgrounds, their personalities, their descriptions, and their motives and intents in your story.  This will help you to get a feeling for your storyline, and it will help your story to flow easily because you will already have your characters in your mind.  The key is to embody the people in your story just as if you are among them.

What is your central conflict in your story?

Think about the central conflict of your story, and branch out from that point to fill in your story.  All of the issues in your story should center around the core conflict.

You can make an Outline to keep you focused, and add your research notes to your Outline, or keep your research notes in a separate Journal.

Other tips for your Novel Writing:

Establish a writing routine that you can stick to on a regular basis.

Create your First Draft, and do your editing.  Then show your First Draft to a few other friends or family members, receive their feedback, and then revise as necessary.  When you feel satisfied with what you've created, then you are ready to put your story in Manuscript form.

Upcoming Blog Session:

More about Novel Writing!

We'll be back in a flash!

Until then Friends,

Peace, Love & Light,

René

© Copyright - René Allen - JULY 2017 - All Rights Reserved

Editing your Prologue

The Editor

BLOG SESSION

July 2017

Editing your Prologue

Good Morning Writers, Authors, Novelists, Journalists, Poets & Creative Writers of every genre!

We are here today to continue where we left off.  In our last Blog Session we discussed writing our Prologues for our Novels.  Now we are going to go a step further and dive into the topic of Editing your Prologue.

Grab your Journal ~ Here is what you need to know and jot down in your Notes . . .

Journal Notes

First item for your Journal:  Keep your Prologue short and to the point.

A good prologue is usually no more than three to four pages total.  Do read over your draft and trim it down.  Remove any details that are not necessary to the overall story or that lead your story in a direction that you do not care to go.  Keeping your prologue short and to the point will make it more effective and trimming will also ensure that your readers stay engaged enough to move on to Chapter One.

Second item for your Journal:  Keep your pace in your Prologue fast and engaging.

The pace of your prologue should be quick and brisk.  Avoid over explaining anything or giving away too much information to your readers.  You will have your entire Novel to explain.  There is no reason to cram the prologue with information that may fit somewhere else in your Novel.  Keep only the essential details that are needed.

The best way to check the pace of your prologue is to read it out loud to yourself or to your friends and family members.  Mark any run~on sentences or awkward moments in the draft of your prologue, and be sure to work them over until they sound smooth and to the point.

Third item for your Journal:  Take a look at how your prologue fits with the rest of your Novel.

Once you have edited your prologue, you should place it in front of your Chapter One and look at how it fits.  Does it feel like an engaging start?  Does your prologue contain any information that is also in Chapter One?  Does the prologue strengthen your Novel overall? 

Your prologue should be strong enough to stand on its own, separate from your Novel.  Your prologue should almost read like a short story, and it should have a contained story line and a conflict.  However, unlike a short story, the ending of your prologue should remain open.  Your prologue can introduce a conflict that will be resolved or addressed later in your Novel.  You must remember to leave the readers wanting more, thus your prologue should remain open.

Editing your Prologue 

FURTHER PROLOGUE EDITING TIPS:

A prologue is typically only one section.  If you have too much material for your prologue, then insert some of it into the first chapter.

A prologue that is written as a hook can work well if it has just four lines as long as it draws the readers in.  Four lines written well can definitely make for an effective prologue.

Your plot itself should not be a part of your prologue.  Remember, y0ur prologue is a teaser.  Your prologue can reference a major point in your Novel (although it will not be a major plot point yet).  Your prologue can also hint at a character or characters who will eventually shake things up.  In any case, your prologue should not explain a lot of information, and it should not include the main character.

Your prologue can contain two character's points of view as long as it is not too long or too confusing.  You may use headlines with characters' names, or find some other way to differentiate whose point of view (POV) is being given so the readers are not confused.

Enjoy writing and editing your Prologue!

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Until our next Blog Session dear Friends ~

Peace, Love & Light,

René

© Copyright - René Allen - JULY 2017 - All Rights Reserved