Fiction technique

Fiction technique is a set of rules for writers who want to write quality fiction for novels, novellas, or short stories. They were developed through trial and error by fiction writers throughout history, including authors from ancient Greece. Some rules are rigid, whereas others are flexible. It is the astute writer who endeavors to master fiction writing that will know which rules to adhere and which to break.

This is a work in progress and is a HOW TO manual on developing good fiction writing skills. It should not contain content for "How to get an agent", "How to submit a manuscript", "How to get out of the slushpile", "Negotiating contracts", "Dealing with rejection", or English grammar advice. Those don't describe how to write good fiction. The following is a suggested outline of the planned article structure. This comment should be removed once the sections are fleshed out.

The 3 Acts

The Greek play

Beginning, Middle, End

Character Development

Protagonist(s): the hero(es)

Antagonist(s): the villian(s)

Three, two, and one dimensional characters

Supporting characters

Developing character biography and back story

Plot Development

Conflict and turmoil

The opening scene: getting to the conflict quickly

Showing versus telling

Narrative and exposition

Weaving back story

Plants and how to use them unobstrusively

The basic plots (there are fewer than 25 original plots)

Which comes first? The character or the plot.

Secondary plots

Climax and Plot Conclusion

The reader expects closure: satisfying the reader

The rise and climax of conflict

When to quit

Setting and Scene

Where, when, who

Scene as the driver of plot

Beats

How to arrange and order scenes

Keeping the story moving and keeping the reader interested

Alternation of fast action and slow action

What scenes are needed, which are useless

Dialogue

Showing through dialogue

Revealing back story through dialogue (and making it sound natural)

Interior monologue

Self Editing

Less is more and eliminating redundancy and useless words

Eliminating errors and rooting out plot mistakes

The overuse of adverbs (the -ly kind) to substitute for weak prose

Speaker attributions

_____, he said. Not ____, said he.

Limiting descriptions on attributions _____, he groaned. ______, she cried. _____, they beckoned. etc

Adverbs and attributions

Paragraphing

The cliche and hackneyed

Deus Ex Machina

Mastering Fiction

Getting organized

Writing an outline or synopsis

Using index cards

Research: locale, history, people, customs, etc

Writing as habit

Ideas

Allusion

Metaphore

Theme

Prose as art

Rhythm, word selection, sentence and paragraph length, variation

Reading (and imitating) the works of the great authors

Writer's Block

Techniques to break through

Resources for Fiction Writers

Web

Books on writing

• Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Brown and Dave King, technique

  Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, by Janet Burroway, technique

  The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers, by John Gardner, technique

  Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg, inspirational

  On Writing, by Stephen King, inspirational

  Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott, inspirational

  Writing to Sell, by Scott Meredith, technique

  The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr., technique