GETTING STARTED

In my last posting, I mentioned how I began writing my first novel by jumping into the project with wild enthusiasm. Don’t do it. First do some research and arm yourself with the proper tools. It will save you a lot of time and frustration.

You can start before your nest is empty by teaching your students the basics of story writing: structure, plot development, character development, dialogue, point of view. There are myriads of books that concentrate on specific aspects of story telling. To get started, you only need a few.

First on the list are a couple dictionaries. I was amazed to find several words that appear in my mom’s dictionary are missing in newer editions. Likewise, new words like google and tweet don’t appear in the older editions. Get both to broaden your vocabulary. I also have Spanish and German dictionaries for foreign words I may wish to sprinkle into my manuscripts, when appropriate.

A thesaurus is a must. I use Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus. It assists with word choice and explains differences in meaning between similar words.

A couple classics are Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. Elements teaches one to write with simplicity and orderliness. Self-Editing introduces editing techniques used by professionals.

The best comprehensive book I’ve come across is Dwight V. Swain’s Techniques of the Selling Writer. It demonstrates how to group words into scenes and scenes into stories.

My favorite newer book is The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell. It gives a battle plan for writing a novel, covering tactics and strategies for developing, finishing, and publishing a story,

I found all these books at my local bookstore. They are also available through Amazon.—Quinn

TEACHING A YOUNG CHILD TO WRITE

My homeschooling adventure began on day one with my first child. At first, I did what every mom does. I talked and sang to her. This served to stimulate her brain development. Early on, I began reading to her as well. By age one, she played with wipe-able books, which were placed within easy access with the rest of her toys. I read and sang nursery rhymes at story time. This taught her the rhythm and syntax of language.

As she grew, I further stimulated her brain development by allowing her to explore her world. We provided many age appropriate learning experiences. She went to parks, zoos, the beach, the snow, the airport. At the grocery store, we talked about the foods. I allowed her to “help” as I worked in the home and garden.

Between ages one and three, she sat beside me on the couch reading picture books. I’d point to the pictures and we’d talk about what we saw and what the characters were doing. This built her vocabulary. Soon, she learned to sing the alphabet. While she learned the letters, I pointed to words as I read to her. This way she connected the symbols with sounds. Around age three, when she seemed ready, I made up cards that contained phonetically similar words (at, bat, cat; book, look, cook; can, fan man). I found several first readers that used this method. She was delighted when she opened them and found she could read!

My little student dictated her first story (about a princess) to me at about three and a half. Over the next year or so as she acquired a larger vocabulary and continued to make up stories, I gently introduced the story format: beginning, middle, end. By five, she was writing and illustrating her own little picture books. At six, she began a family newsletter, The Snoopy News, to keep our clan informed about our family’s activities. Now, many years and a few degrees later, she is about to publish her first monograph.—Quinn

YOU TOO CAN E-PUBLISH

In an earlier blog (What Happens After the End, 9/22/15), I chronicled the steps in traditional publishing. Another option which is gaining a large slice of the market share is self-publishing. Writers no longer have to wait up to two years to see their book on a store shelf. It can take as little as 24 hours for an e-book to be on sale at Amazon.

There are two routes in self-publishing. The first is working with a so-called vanity press. In this method, the author pays a publisher several thousand dollars to go through the publishing process. This might be good for a book that promotes a business and has limited circulation. The second is indie publishing where the book is published free by an on-line store such as Amazon for worldwide distribution.

The process is easy. All you need to do is upload the manuscript, a blurb, keywords, and a cover. That should take five to ten minutes. If you are using Amazon, they will take a bit of time to review then within 24 hours you’ll be published.

Edit carefully before you submit your story. If it’s within your budget, hire a professional editor for this. After that you’ll need to format by using the easy to follow directions in Building Your Book for Kindle, which is free on Amazon.

 Amazon offers book covers. However, you can hire a professional to customize one for $40 and up. They must be 100x1600 pixels.

Have a book blurb ready that describes your story. Examples can be found on the back of book covers or by browsing through book pages on Amazon. Decide ahead of time what your categories are. These are equivalent to directions to the particular stack in a library where your book may be found. You are also allowed up to seven keywords or keyword phrases. These are used to direct readers to your book, so select these carefully.

E-publishing is easy and your book will never be out of print until you decide to remove it. You or your student might want to start with short stories.—Quinn

THE MRU REVISITED

Motivation reaction units are so important, I thought I should repost my blog entry, What in the World is an MRU? MRUs are the engines that move a story along and keep it interesting. Mastering this technique will take you or your homeschool student a long way in becoming an accomplished story teller.

Let’s talk about motivation reaction units (MRUs). The first time I heard these explained was by Randy Ingermanson, creator of the Snowflake Method. He read about them in Dwight V. Swain’s classic. Techniques of the Selling Writer, which is available on Amazon.com.

So what is a motivation-reaction-unit? An MRU is the fundamental grouping of words that form a story.

The first component of the MRU is a sentence or several sentences which comprise a cause. The cause is something the reader can see. It is totally outside of the point-of-view (POV) character, and can be anything tangible or intangible, conscious or unconscious that stimulates a change in the character. Neither the POV’s name nor pronouns that refer to him may appear in this part of the MRU.

The paragraph that follows contains the second half of the MRU. It is a sentence or group of sentences that show the effect of the stimulus. It is about the POV character and shows the change in his behavior or state of mind in response to the motivating stimulus.

The following is an excerpt from the prologue of my novel Kokoweef, which may be accessed by clicking the tab under the banner. I’ve labeled the alternating pattern of motivation and reaction. Notice that the motivating sentences are completely outside the POV. Also note how the stimulus produces a change in the POV that moves the story along

The soldiers assumed their posts. Commander Lucifer positioned himself on high ground opposite the wormhole, his generals at his sides. [MOTIVATION]

Malum drew his swords. With Michael and his army vanquished, what would Lord Lucifer do next? Attack High Heaven? It had been eons since the Enemy cast them out. A victorious return would be joyous. [REACTION]

The wormhole rumbled, and Lucifer raised his hands. [MOTIVATION]

Malum’s swords shook. Steady. Only moments until Lucifer signals to attack. [REACTION]

A low whine grumbled in the passage. [MOTIVATION]

Malum tightened his grips. [REACTION]

The noise rose in pitch and volume. The tunnel’s crystalline walls vibrated. [MOTIVATION]

He swallowed, and his breaths quickened. The surface on which he stood rolled and swayed. He fought for traction then furrowed his brows. Something was wrong. The resonance frequency had changed. An operational wormhole never made that high, warbling sound. What was Michael up to? [REACTION]

Fire roared from the wormhole and incinerated several soldiers. The tunnel warped. Squealed. Folded inward. In a blink, it disappeared. [MOTIVATION]

Malum cursed, and turned his attention to Lucifer. [REACTION]

Rage contorted the commander’s faces. He bellowed and lashed out with his swords. The heads of his generals rolled down slope to Malum’s feet. [MOTIVATION]

His hearts lurched. [REACTION]

So why are the MRUs important? They provide the momentum that moves the story along. Strings of MRUs form scenes and sequences. Alternating scenes and sequences then produce the story pattern.—Quinn