The Basics of Fiction Writing

If you are like most people, writing means writing fiction. You, like every would-be author, want to write the next bestseller. You need to understand the five parts of fiction to complete your mission. Fiction consists of a plot, character, setting, theme, and dialog.

The plot is the story's engine. It is the movement from beginning to the end. It follows all the twists and turns that are the changes in between; these changes are caused by the interaction between your hero and villain. Your plot should pique your readers' interests. Try to raise their curiosity your story's next twist. Keep your readers guessing until the end, but give a clear answer at the end.

Your major characters are your input and output devices. Your characters are tools that you use to communicate with your readers. Use them to convey emotions, ideas, and information. You can even propose solutions to real problems.

Your setting(s) is the location, time, and circumstances in which all or part of your novel or short-story takes place. It has a strong influence on the outcome of your story, and on how your characters behave. The key is to match the setting to the kind of story you want to tell. If you want to tell a war-story, set it in the past or present, where limitations make war a necessity; do not set a war-story in the future because there may be alternatives then.

Themes are the issues and ideas in your story. There are many classic themes you can incorporate in your writing - themes such as love, friendship, loyalty, courage, hope, and sacrifice. You can wield great influence by picking your themes carefully. The pen really is mightier than the sword in this case.

Dialog is hardest part writing fiction. Trying to convey information without turning your dialog into a "history lesson" is murder! The more to try not to use gimmicks the more gimmicky you look. Your characters sound like robots. The best advice is to match your characters' dialog to their fictional predicament. Target your jargon and use it moderately. Develop a speech pattern for each character. Let each character be different in timing too.

When rewriting your script, focus on these seven elements in one draft. This will lead to a more cohesive script that will stand up to scrutiny. It will help you get out of the slush-pile faster and stay out for good. Use each of these components to evaluate your work before you send it out. You will see where you did well and where you need to improve.

Knowing these components of fiction will help you get quality scripts out in a reasonable time. Keeping to a dead line is also part of being a writer. Keep in mind you want to show your most polished work, so do your fiction editing.