Fiction Writing 101

Always wanted to write fiction, whether it's a short story, novel, play or screenplay? There's one thing writers do that people who want to write, people who mean to write, and people who have great ideas don't. They actually sit down and write. It doesn't matter if it's every morning, or Monday, Wednesday and Friday before bed. But you must set a time and be consistent. Some basic preparation can help you get started.

If you don't know what you want to write about, take some deep breaths and then just write, an uncensored stream of consciousness. This can be personally revelatory and lead you to ideas. Or use a guided stream of consciousness such as: you're walking through an airport terminal and coming toward you is someone from your past, or a lost child, a celebrity ducking paparazzi, a flaming meteor. What happens next?

You may already have ideas but are not sure which one to start with. List them. You'll get to the others, but now pick one. Write down everything you "know" so far about your idea. Bits of plot, characters, dialogue, locale, even tiny details like food or cars. Or theme, perhaps bigotry or unrequited love. Maybe you have an idea for an unusual character, like a female bounty hunter in Katmandu.

The most basic tenant of storytelling is that there is a beginning, middle, and end. In screenwriting, it's called the three act structure. Or exposition, conflict, and resolution. Start with an event, a high-powered yet honest executive gets fired, or an Irish family in 1905 boards a boat for Ellis Island. Powerful stories are about the pivotal moment in someone's life. Will the executive destroy her own morality with an elaborate sabotage scheme, or will she finally have time to fall in love, have kids and run a bike shop in Maui? Know where you're going. Almost all writers do some kind of outlining.