Creative Writing for Dummies / Maggie Hamand.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hamand, Maggie, 1953- author.

Series:

--For dummies.

For dummies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Creative writing.

Authorship.

Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (400 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [2023]

Summary:

Unlock your creative potential and write something special. Ever dream of writing a book, article, poem, or play that means something to you—and maybe to someone else as well? Do you have an idea you're ready to get down on paper? In Creative Writing For Dummies, you'll learn how to unleash your creative side and become a confident and productive writer. Discover the essential elements of storytelling, including structure, characterization, setting, dialogue, and plot, as you navigate the countless ways you can express yourself with the written word. Explore the media and methods you can use to help find an audience—from traditional to self-publishing, social media, blogging, and more! A can't-miss roadmap to getting your first—or hundred-and-first—story, poem, or script committed to paper, Creative Writing For Dummies is an essential read for aspiring, amateur, and professional writers everywhere.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Part 1 Getting Started

Chapter 1 You and Your Writing

Focusing on Writing as Well as You Can

Examining Why You Want to Write

Identifying the Kind of Writing You Want to Do

Considering different genres

Confirming your favorite form of expression

Discovering Your Own Specific Talent

Practicing Your Writing

Putting in the hours

Reading and re-reading

Overcoming Common Writing Obstacles

Silencing your inner critic

Thinking creatively

Letting the Ideas Come

Playing with Words

Making nouns and verbs stronger

Taking out adverbs and adjectives

Writing in different tenses

Avoiding cliché

Doing writing exercises

Learning from imitation

Developing an ear for good prose

Offering Tips for New Writers

Don't worry about publication

Write for yourself

Draft, don't edit - yet!

Don't write too fast

Pace yourself

Put aside your ego

Chapter 2 Getting into the Write Mindset

Finding a Writing Time that Works for You

Designating a Writing Space

Writing at home

Clearing the kitchen table

Retreating to the garden shed

Tucking away in a corner

Finding a place nearby

Assembling Your Writing Tools

Avoiding Distractions

Overcoming the Blank Page Syndrome

Understanding the causes

Writing your way off the blank page

When blank page syndrome makes an extended stay: Dealing with writer's block

Separating Drafting and Editing

Organizing Your Writing: Developing a Routine and Sticking to It

Working electronically

Keeping track of all that paper

Learning to Live with a Degree of Chaos

Realizing the importance of not knowing.

Taking time to develop your ideas

Chapter 3 Finding Material to Work With

Writing from Experience

Realizing your own wide experience

Mining memories

Making use of other people's experiences

Writing what you - and other people - know

Engaging Emotions

Taking a Step Back: Reflecting on Your Experiences and Emotions

Trying Techniques to Transform Your Experiences

Making use of myth and reality

Be selective: Focusing on significant moments

Jumping in time

Transforming fact into fiction

Part 2 Introducing the Elements of Creative Writing

Chapter 4 Creating Characters

Defining Different Kinds of Characters

Discovering Where Characters Come From

Detailing Clues about Your Characters

Portraying Personality

Fleshing out your character's . . . well, flesh

Inhabiting a body

Leaving room for imperfection

Sharing a character's thoughts and feelings

Letting actions speak for your characters

Listening to how your characters talk

Revealing Character Indirectly

Gathering friends and enemies

Choosing a name

Putting first names first

Adding last names and family names

Taking care in choosing foreign names

Avoiding Stereotypes and Tapping into Archetypes

Diversifying stereotypes

Uncovering archetypes: The Jungian personality theory

Chapter 5 Giving Characters a Voice with Dialogue

Remembering that Dialogue Is a Two-Way Street

Distinguishing Voices

Creating natural rhythm

Constructing a voice

Talking in Varied Situations

Getting into he said, she said

Speaking face to face

Talking on the telephone

Containing a crowd

Creating a Dynamic with Dialogue

Keeping it short

Paying attention to place

Revealing the Subtext

Using Accents and Dialect

Conveying foreign accents

Remembering historical voices

Laying Out Dialogue.

Chapter 6 Choosing a Narrator

Defining Voices

Focusing on first and third person

Surprising with the second-person voice

Finding the Right Point of View

Getting personal with first person

Becoming a traditional storyteller

Riding a stream of consciousness

Conniving with the unreliable narrator

Using a journal format

Writing letters

Representing one character's view

Switching perspectives

Being the all-seeing, all-knowing narrator

Observing from a distance

Recording past history

Deciding How Close to Be to the Character

Handling Multiple Narrators

Chapter 7 Describing Your World

Recognizing the Power of Description

Signaling importance

Observing the details

Being authentic

Using All the Senses

Employing the Tools of Description

Comparing with similes and metaphors

Exploring symbols

Creating a Sense of Place

Tantalizing with exotic places

Imagining places of fantasy

Creating Mood and Suspense

Chapter 8 Plotting Your Way

Exploring Classic Plots

Seeing the classic plots in everyday life

Managing main plots and sub-plots

Plotting Consciously and Unconsciously

Thinking stories through ahead of time

Writing off the cuff

Merging conscious and unconscious plotting

Keeping focused

Asking the Central Question and Including the Essential Elements

Seeing character as plot

Balancing plot and character

Revealing motivation

Handling connection and coincidence

Delivering a punch

Including conflict

Concluding with the climax

Resolving the question

Hooking Your Reader

Creating suspense

Foreshadowing

Springing surprises

Chapter 9 Setting Up a Solid Structure

Dividing Your Work into Chapters and Parts

Creating chapters and scenes

Using acts and scenes in plays and screenplays

Making verses and stanzas.

Following the Three-Act Structure

Making a good beginning

Setting the scene

Crafting an alluring opening line

Starting in the middle with an inciting incident

Keeping the tension going in the middle

Ending well

Building to the climax and resolution

Examining types of endings

Writing within a Time Frame

Lining up a linear narrative

Going linear with flashbacks

Writing backward

Jumping around in time

Leaving a gap in the narrative

Connecting short stories

Telling a story within a story

Going around in circles stories

Chapter 10 From Drafting to Rewriting and Editing: Making Your Work Shine

Producing the First Draft

Trying different techniques

Letting it go and coming back later

Becoming Your Own Editor

Reviewing your first draft

Correcting common English errors

Staying on top of spelling

Grasping the basics of grammar

Paying attention to sentence construction

Eliminating overused words and phrases

Ensuring that the structure's sound

Cutting and pasting to improve readability

Adding texture

Paring down

Eliminating backstory

Recruiting a Trusted Reader

Part 3 Writing Fiction

Chapter 11 When Less is More: Crafting Short Stories

Defining the Short Story

Writing the Short Story

Structuring a short story

Making every word count

Joining stories together

Exploring Short-Story Genres

Finding Short-Story Ideas

Developing Your Writing Skills: Entering Short-Story Competitions

Considering competition basics

Making your story stand out from the crowd

Finding an Outlet for Your Short Fiction

Literary magazines

Anthologies

Women's magazines

Science fiction magazines

Radio

The Internet

Live events

Growing a Short Story into a Novella

Chapter 12 Writing the Novel

Aspiring to the Literary Novel.

Considering the characteristics of the literary novel

Exploring experimental fiction

Creating Entertaining Commercial Fiction

Romancing the fiction

Conforming to the basic requirements of romantic fiction

Playing with variations on the romantic theme

Uncovering crime and detective fiction

Increasing the excitement with thrillers and adventure stories

Imagining science fiction and fantasy

Categorizing science fiction

Focusing on fantasy

Embracing horror

Trying erotic fiction

Chapter 13 Once Upon a Time: Writing for Children

Dispelling the "It's Easy to Write for Kids" Myth

Before Schooling Begins: Writing for the Under 5s

Following the three "Rs"

Feeling the rhythm

Taking time to rhyme

Repeating yourself

Sounding out words

Making objects come to life

Showing coping skills

Learning to Read Alone: Writing for 5- to 9-Year-Olds

Captivating the Confident Reader: Age 9 to 13

Moving Toward More Mature Themes: Teenage Readers

Crossover fiction

Retelling old tales

Exploring the Variety of Books for Children

Crafting comic books

Considering nonfiction for children

Chapter 14 Penning Plays

Setting Up the Dramatic Structure

Going over some ground rules

Sticking with the classic three-act structure

Getting Started and Developing Your Play

Putting a Play Together: The Artistic Process

Sorting Out Types of Play

Formatting Your Script

Seeing Theater Spaces

Writing for Radio

Creating interest with sound

Conveying mood with music

Getting Your Work Out There

Chapter 15 Writing Screenplays

Writing a Screenplay: The Stages

Crafting an enticing logline

Expanding on your idea with the synopsis

Giving your idea the full treatment

Preparing for the Collaborative Process

Adapting an Existing Story

Securing options.

Simplifying the story.

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-394-19669-5

OCLC:

1402181731