Writing

Protagonist, drama, suspense, plot, dialogue, writer's block, characters, setting, and on and on.  If you are a writer or you have taken a writing course, these are just a few words you will be familiar with.

Writing comes easily for some but requires a little more for others to summon out their inner writer.  I never thought of myself as being much of a writer until I started to blog, and then it just took off from there.  I am currently working on two books, one fiction and the other a help guide to homeschooling.  I have also written quite a few of my own literary studies for our homeschool.

I have discovered that neither of my girls want to do assigned writing from me as they prefer to just write on their own.  At first, I had a big problem with this because as a homeschooling parent, I have to make sure they are working on task for writing but I quickly dismissed this idea after reading a little of their writings that they wanted to share.  They are both excellent at writing and since they are writing about topics they have an interest in, it is a double bonus.  I have always stressed how important using proper grammar and proper punctuation in their writings, and it is so nice to see that they have taken this advice, and they do apply it in their writings.  Handing someone a blank sheet of paper and asking them to write can be a little overwhelming and stressful so we do not use that approach.

The main problems for most new writers is it is hard to figure out what to write about.  Where will you begin?  What genre will you choose?  How many characters will you have?  Who do you want to write for?  What are your interests?  What do you like to read?  Why?  Once you can answer a few of those questions, you have a good start on what should follow.

The place you write is also very important.  Do you have a place?  Can you create a small area to place your supplies?

It is always a good idea to keep a small notebook and pen/pencil with you so when you have an idea or see something that inspires you, you can jot it down.  Also, who does not love pencils, pens, sticky notes, pretty paper, scissors, markers, erasers, highlighters, and glue?  Try to organize your writing place with some of the supplies listed above.

Now, the harder part.  To write you must have a theme, character/characters, you must know from what point of view you will be writing, you must also have a setting and a plot.  I know that is a lot but it is necessary for most types of writing.  You must answer the questions who? where? what? when? and why?

Let me break it down a little.

~Theme is really just the focus of your story.  That is a pretty important element for writing.

~Characters are a must in a story of fiction whether they are based on a real person, fictional, human, or from kingdom animalia, you need characters.  But how do you come up with characters?  You can jot down a "cast list."  This means everyone who will be in your story.  Is there a leading man or woman?  Is there a villain or a heroine?  Will your characters be zombies or vampires?  Will your characters have historical ties?  Of course, you will not be able to come up with all of your characters at once, you may add on to your character list once you get started.  Another good idea is to get to know you own characters.  Making up a biography for your characters is a very helpful tip in defining your characters.

~From which point of view will your story be from?  First person, second person, or third person?  I, he/she, you?

~setting-The setting of a story is a lot more than what town your characters live in and what the weather might be so make sure your setting has interesting components to hold your reader's attention.

~And finally the plot. What events make up your story?  How does your plot relate to the characters in the story?

This blog post actually got away from me.  It is not possible to cover all aspects of writing in one post so I will be adding another layer to this writing blog post at a later date.  Below are a few awesome links that we have gain knowledge from in the past.  Happy writing!

Tips from the pros old and new:
Ernest Hemingway
Cassandra Clare
Heather at blogshewrote
Kendra Aussie pumpkin patch
In Our Write Minds
Jimmie's
aerogrammestudio-tips from a few of the greatest writers