Learning How to Write Great Fiction by Heather Marie

There was a time in my writing where I really felt like I didn't quite understand certain aspects on how to execute a story. I had to admit to myself that I needed help understanding dialogue tags and how much description and settings was really needed, as well as help with properly showing character emotion. I knew that my first few manuscripts were seriously lacking and, to me, they were just practice books anyway. With each one I was growing as a writer but I couldn't deny that my writing was in a slump.

It was really eating at me for the longest time and I realized I needed to do some research to fully understand what I was missing. One day after work I stopped by Barnes and Noble to pick up a few books on writing. Everyone recommended On Writing by Stephen King and Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. I don't doubt that those books are amazing but after looking at them, I knew they weren't the kind of books I was looking for. But what I did find is this wonderful collection called Write Great Fiction.

You can find them here.

What I love about these books is how they break down everything little by little (almost like a Writing for Dummies sort of a thing) and they help you understand the steps to portraying a solid story. Each books gives examples and even some exercises at the end of each chapter to really make the concept click in your head. These were by my side the whole time I was writing DROWNING BAILEY and that manuscript just so happened to be the one that nabbed an agent. I should also mention that I had some awesome CPs that helped me make DB a clean manuscript, but I can't deny how much the story improved after studying these books. I still have them and turn to them when needed and recommend them to every fiction writer. 

I swear by these books and I think you will too. 

World Building Without the Info Dump

As you guys know, I was asking for questions on Twitter regarding writing, critiquing, etc. I only got a few but there was one that really captured my attention. So I decided I would focus on this one question this time around because I feel it's pretty important. But don't worry! For those who asked a question, I'll answer you individually.

Here's the question I received: In fantasy, how do you build a culture in 1-2 chapters without being guilty of dumping?

Let's be honest, we're all guilty of info dumping at some point or another. Whether it's in your first draft and you're just discovering this new idea OR you're really pushing for a certain word count. It's easy to get caught up in the world you're creating and going in depth about what it is you want the reader to experience.

But as a reader, what I look for in a SF/F is the idea that I'm experiencing it with the MC as if I'm right beside him/her. It should feel like it's an every day situation for this character and I want to see it through their eyes. I don't necessarily need everything explained to me. Just throw me in there! Literary agent Victoria Marini (Gelfman Schneider Literary Agency) once said on her blog something about jumping into the manuscript head on and letting the reader catch up. That always stuck with me because when I first started writing I was guilty of info dumping like crazy in my first chapter. I felt the need to explain every little detail so the reader would know exactly what I meant, but in reality, they don't need that. They have their imagination to do the work for them. And isn't that the point? 

Another piece of advice came from my good friend Shannon Dittemore (Angel Eyes Trilogy). What she said made so much sense and is actually the biggest piece of advice I've ever been given. It was this: 

In order to get a better idea of the genre you're writing, you must read the genre in which you're writing. 

Writing is like anything else. In order to perfect your craft, you have to take the initiative to learn more about it. The more you write, the more your writing grows. Same goes for reading. When researching your genre, reading books similar to yours gives you an understanding of the setup and how much or how little background you need to establish your world right off that bat. Now, that's not saying that you can't change it up and drop a bit more in the details than others. I'm not saying you need to do EXACTLY what someone else is doing. What I'm saying is: Get a feel for the way other people have tackled the situation and learn from it. 

When I decided that my writing was more supernatural/horror, I read a ton of books to get a feel for the tension, the buildup, the scares. Things that are really important for that genre. The things that really make it count. Whenever my writing is in a slump, I always pick up a couple of books for inspiration. The characters and their interactions, their dialogue and their adventures––those things put me in the mood to write because sometimes you just need a refresher. 

So before you start on that shiny new idea, take some time to acquaint yourself with the genre. Let's face it, is reading a couple of awesome books ever a bad thing?