Fiction Writing

Fiction writing is an art form separate from the craft of writing itself. When writing non-fiction, there is emphasis on structure and factuality. The same rules apply for fiction, but a writer can take a "no holds barred" approach when it comes to fictitious story telling.

Many writers like to follow a structure, or an outline while writing, but in fiction writing, when pen hits paper or fingers tap at the keyboard, there are no rules, till structure becomes necessary for formatting a story. With the advent of computers, freestyle writing is easy. Some novelists still use pen and paper, and couldn't imagine having to type the entire length of their manuscripts while in the creative process.

Whatever one's tool of choice, fiction writing provides a serious outlet for writers to expose their innermost creative abilities to readers. Not only is one telling a story to the masses, but readers get to experience in their own way different world's or lives other than their own, yet in some ways similar. Unlike film, where the observer follows the director's brand of film-making, reading of a novel is becoming a creative art form sorely lacking from people's lives.

In the modern age of computers, and our fast paced society, many people simply don't have time to read. They go see the movie version, missing out completely on the creative process of the original. We get used to the television being on, feeding us a barrage of garbage and sensationalism. With the novel or short story, readers can exercise their mind and become inspired, and for writers, the more one reads and depending on what is read, the better writer one becomes. In a way, fiction writing is one of the best and least appreciated art forms. But there will always be people that love to curl up with a good book, use their own imaginations to interpret a story and turn the pages, each new adventure waiting to inspire.