How to Write Fiction: Part 1 – Ethereal Considerations

This is the first of three articles on How to Write Fiction. I am a fiction writer, so these articles are my take on being a writer. Obviously in three articles you can’t cover everything, but there is enough here to get you going. The first article covers some of the more ethereal things about being a fiction writer. The second article covers the basics of your story line and some ideas on techniques. The third article is what I describe as the “writer’s zone”. If you can relate to and apply the principles in these three articles, then I believe you will be on your way to becoming a fiction writer.

Ethereal Considerations on How to Write Fiction

Are you a fiction writer, or do you want to be? You first have to answer the question, “why?” Is it because you have taken classes in school, or is it because the social systems around you have idolized this form of living? Or is it something deeper. Do you have a story that absolutely needs to be told? That’s a start, but if you are going to devote your life to writing fiction you need to ask yourself why you must write.
In the stillness of the early morning search the recesses of your heart.

If in your questioning you find a deep desire that cannot be removed from your being, then unquestioningly follow it. Build your life around it. Allow time during the days and weeks for this fiction-writing vision to be expressed. If you take this road, then every experience must support your destiny. Every observation must add to your ability to express. Every human interaction becomes an opportunity for asking, “Where is the story?” Every spiritual occurrence becomes a reservoir for a future transmission of truth. If you are a writer, the totality of your being exists for this intention.

Writing as necessity

Rainer Maria Rilke, the great German poet said, “A work of art is good if it has sprung from necessity.” I like that and understand it. For the artist or writer, there seem to be two kinds of necessities. First there is a necessity to eat. Economic reality dictates that all people need to sustain themselves. At a basic level we need food, shelter and clothing. Unless you want death, this reality cannot be denied.

Of course this opens the discussion on how this reality is fulfilled. Writing fiction could be funded through a day job, or the artist might be successful enough to devote full time to art. Besides this necessity, the second necessity for the artist is the necessity to create. This is what Rilke spoke of. For the true artist or writer, this necessity is almost more powerful than the first. Therefore, on a subsistence level the true artist is willing to forsake the ‘things’ of life in order to pursue his or her art. It is a tough road to follow for much of modern society expects us to seek after ‘things’.

But the true artist will be more driven to the second necessity than the first. If you want to be a fiction writer, then this activity must flow from necessity and everything you do in life must support that necessity.

Now in Part Two we explore Practical Techniques on How to Write Fiction.

Write, Edit and Proofread Your Own Documents Effectively

Every one of us finds it necessary to interact with others through text based communication all the time in the daily routine of our fast paced lives. Fortunately, almost all of us can comfortably communicate by means of SMS, chat, email and printed letters too. These forms of communication do not pose any significant challenges to any of us because we possess a ‘reasonable’ degree of literacy and writing aptitude that is adequate for such purposes.

It can prove to be an altogether different proposition though when communication requires the composition of a serious written document that has to be presented in a formal style. When such a need arises, many otherwise capable persons may discover that they are not quite able to grapple with this task. After all, not every person can express himself with sufficient eloquence when complicated descriptions, abstract concepts and novel ideas need to be committed to paper or an electronic medium in such a way as to convey the information clearly and in an attention grabbing manner to the intended readership.

If you believe you belong to this category, think again! It is quite possible to make a dramatic improvement to your own writing by observing certain basic rules of composition, and then following it up with some editing and proofreading work, in accordance with the guidelines suggested here. By adhering to these simple rules, which should not prove too difficult to the majority of English speakers, you will be able to create effective written documents that measure up to acceptable literary standards. Only in the case of certain specialized or highly technical documents would you need to seek the services of a professional editor.

The first thing you need to get right is the sequence in which you are going to present all of the information that you wish to convey to the reader. In order to facilitate a ready understanding and grasp of the subject matter on the reader’s part, you must arrange the snippets of information so that they all follow in a logical order. When imparting information, you should take particular care not to do anything in the nature of putting the horse before the cart. It is common practice to present matters in a chronological sequence but it may be quite appropriate to depart from this approach if you are convinced that the subject matter could be treated with greater clarity by arranging the information in some other order. Also, make it a point to present only the pertinent information and leave out what is irrelevant.

The next thing you should pay attention to is the sentence structure. If you are not an expert writer, the best way to approach this task is to start writing about the subject using short, simple sentences, while observing the correct order of presentation rigorously. Complete the whole document in this manner and then read it through. It will probably look like it has been penned by a Grade 5 student, but do not be discouraged by this. Now start combining the short sentences into longer sentences by joining together those that relate to the same point or idea. Once you begin doing this, each of the short sentences, which sounded so insipid when read in isolation, becomes more interesting and the writing begins to acquire some character and style. How much of these qualities you can add will depend on the skill with which you weave the words together. Fortunately, this is a skill that can be developed with practice.

Now, exactly how do you set about joining the short sentences together? One way to accomplish this is by using the words listed below:

and, but, because, since, for, or, nor, so, yet

You can also use commas and semicolons with or without the use of additional words like those given below to join short sentences together to build up complex sentences:

therefore, furthermore, in addition, in fact, moreover, however, then, after, nevertheless, though, although, lest, unless, until, while, notwithstanding, despite, consequently

The object of making sentences longer is not to impress people but for the simple reason that complex sentences can usually convey the writer’s meaning more effectively and elegantly. Try writing out each complex sentence in two or three different ways by re-ordering the words, and you will likely hit upon an arrangement that expresses the idea clearly and neatly.

Then you need to focus on the grammar, spelling, capitalization and punctuation. It will take you only 3 or 4 days to brush up on your grammar by visiting and picking up many useful hints and tips from those websites devoted to this topic. It is quicker and easier than trying to learn from textbooks where you would have to wade through a lot of stuff and spend much time separating the wheat from the chaff. After you have taken the trouble to brush up your grammar a bit, you could also get some help from the grammar checker of your word processor. But be cautious, as the corrections suggested by this feature can be frequently misleading! If you make any such corrections, just read out the sentence aloud and check to see if it sounds alright. Use your own version if that sounds better.

The spell checker on the word processor is far more reliable and you can count on same to almost always advise you correctly. Just make sure to set the spelling to US or British English according to your preference and pay attention to all those squiggly lines that appear under words. If in doubt, check using another online dictionary or a printed tome. The capitalization is not all that straightforward but this should not generally pose any problems. Remember that all proper nouns start off with an uppercase letter, except sometimes when they have become common words as in, pasteurize, italics, chinaware, french fries and so on. Ceylon tea, Persian rug, Russian roulette and Siamese fighter are usually spelt with uppercase letters, but do not worry too much about finer points like these. The rules that govern capitalization are not very strict. For instance, ‘Mongolism’ is written as ‘mongolism’ by half the writers.

Punctuation however, does require greater care as it could sometimes amount to a matter of life or death. For example, “Kill him, not spare him” has a startlingly different meaning from, “Kill him not, spare him”. In these cases, simply use common sense. It helps to read out a sentence aloud when you are trying to get the punctuation right. Here, keep in mind that when we read out a sentence aloud, we tend to pause at certain places, but this pause does not necessarily imply there is a comma at that place. Usually there is, but not invariably so.

When writing, it is important to pay attention to the subject / verb agreement. The basic rule requires that a singular subject be paired to a singular verb, while a plural subject is paired to a plural verb. For example, we should say, ‘He rings the bell’ and ‘they ring the bell’. Here, the noun ‘He’ and the verb ‘rings’ are singular, and the noun ‘they’ and the verb ‘ring’ are plural. The exceptions to this general rule are the pronouns ‘I’ and ‘you’, which are treated as plural words, so we must write, ‘I will ring the bell’ and ‘you will ring the bell’ even when ‘you’ refers to just one person.

It does not require any special training to recognize other common faults such as ambiguity, repetition, wordiness and triteness. Be on your guard against the intrusion of shortcomings like these that are bound to detract from the quality of your writing. You can then be sure that you are on your way to producing a convincing document that will achieve its purpose. There are many other rules governing correct English usage, such as avoiding any improper use of the passive voice and things like split infinitives, dangling modifiers and so on but you can learn about these after gaining some practice on the more basic rules discussed here.

Read through what you have written with a thesaurus by your side. Try to substitute a more suitable word or phrase whenever you come across a spot where the wording does not sound quite right. Edit and re-edit your work. The whole exercise will of course take much time at the beginning, but as you gain practice you will discover that you are able to work at a faster pace. Remember, a smooth flow of words will have greater appeal to the reader.

When you are satisfied with your final draft you must perform another important operation, that of proofreading. Strictly speaking, proofreading must be done by another person. Either way, it can be performed more reliably with printed output than on your computer monitor. Errors and typos that were not noticeable on the screen will jump at you when you read the final laser printout on the company letterhead! Therefore, print a draft quality copy on plain paper and scrutinize it carefully before mailing or distributing the document.

The final step in the document processing exercise is the formatting. Good formatting can enhance the impact of any document and so you will have to pay attention to such matters as the choice of typeface, font size, line spacing, margins and the use of bullets etc. The pages of the document should have a balanced look and a pleasing appearance to create a good overall impression.

Incidentally, it is advisable for anyone involved in editing work to familiarize himself with the ‘Track Changes’ feature of the MS Word application. This useful feature is accessible under the Review tab at the top of the window. Clicking on ‘Track Changes’ enables one to keep track of all editing changes to the document, such as insertions, deletions and formatting changes. Any text that is added is shown in color font while deleted text is displayed in strikethrough font. Thus, editing changes can be readily spotted. It is also possible for an editor to add useful comments in an adjacent column. The editing changes that get recorded should be retained in the original file for reference. These revisions should be embodied in the final copy too but all telltale signs of editing should be removed and the file saved under a different name.

Witchcraft In Fiction – Any Limits Or None?

WHY BOTHER?

Does witchcraft work? Does it matter? For many centuries, story books have been populated by Giants, Monsters, Ghosts, Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves and all the rest. Why ask the question now? What value would any answer have?

In writing books that include witchcraft I have wondered when the acts of my witchdoctor heroine were just credible and when they wee ridiculous. Speculating may help me, and possibly others, in writing about ‘things unseen’ and extraordinary events.

THE KALILOZI GUN

The spark that ignited my interest was a real world event. In 1957 there was an outbreak of witchcraft in Barotseland – now part of Zambia, but then Northern Rhodesia. It was written up by an anthropologist named Barrie Reynolds. I witnessed one trial, which centred on the use of a Kalilozi Gun. This was an inefficient firearm constructed by witchdoctors as an improvement on the old-fashion pointed stick, powered by magic and spells (which were still included in the action). The trial was all about uncertainty. Was the wound inflicted sufficient to cause death? Was death due to practical violence or to witchcraft? Does witchcraft work?

WITCHCRAFT EXISTS

Witchcraft as an abstract force certainly exists. It exists because of belief. There are many countries where people carry out rituals aimed at harming others, and where others believe that dangerous action has been taken against them. Offensive acts and defensive actions are taken. The effect may be psychological but the actions are real. They have an observable effect.

Is it only a matter of psychology and belief? Or is there some other force that is neither seen nor understood? In medieval times radio waves were in that category. Does some sort of thought wave exist? Is it understood by everybody, or only a few? If an early Christian missionary took a photograph of an African villager, this was witchcraft to the one but not to the other. So, in order to qualify, the force must be both unseen and not understood by anybody, anywhere. Is there any reason to postulate such a force – apart from Hamlet to Horatio – “there are more things in heaven and earth, etc?” Yes, there is.

Poltergeist activity is sufficiently documented to show that mental activity can affect physical objects. There has to be some force at work.
Hypnotism allows a therapist to give instructions to a willing subject while he is unconscious. On waking, he will carry out those instructions. This is non-physical manipulation of actions.
There are states of mind in which the world is perceived in an ‘unreal’ manner. The most common examples are dreams and drugs. They contain images and ideas of which we are not normally aware. These are a new input to our thinking. The poet Coleridge used drugs at times and says, “A damsel with a dulcimer in a vision once I saw.” She was playing and singing, but when Coleridge came out of his trance he could not remember the song. At other times, people can remember.
Shamans claim that they can enter ‘other world’ states at will. Statements about what they did in these states are not evidence, but powers related to control of their own physical bodies have been demonstrated. The most dramatic effect is fire-walking – crossing hot coals without damage to the flesh of the foot. Such mind-over-matter control is real.
Shamanic accounts of their other-world doings have two points of significance. One is the consistency of the claims across many geographic areas and cultures. The other is their comprehensive world view. It is believed by shamans that the universe is a single unity, every part being connected and inter-dependent, and ordered by a principle of harmony.
The concept of an integrated universe where the spiritual and the physical co-exist is similar to ideas current in the field of particle physics. In that field there is a school of thought that at the sub-atomic level all matter is indeed inter-connected. There are also physicists who postulate the existence of alternative realities. This derives from the fact that some sub-atomic particles change their nature between one observation and another – as if they were presenting one face to this universe and another to that one.

CONVERGENT IDEAS

This coming-together of spiritual and scientific views is comparatively recent. For some centuries western science was regarded as the sole means of discovering truth and the demand for physical, verifiable evidence has caused spiritual knowledge to be despised. But two things have happened to change this. Science has brought us particle physics, as mentioned, and the western world has discovered psychology. Work in that field has made many shamanist ideas look credible. There is now talk of the Cartesian Divide, a point in history at which science and logic triumphed over intuitive experience. Einstein was hoping to discover the single underlying principle that governed the universe. Shamans believe they know it.

So belief in some of the practices described as ‘witchcraft’ need not be regarded as stupid and unscientific. Rather, they should be seen as possibilities to be investigated. Sadly, there are barriers. One of these is exclusive dedication to ‘the scientific method’.

Language is also a barrier, because it so often makes other-world tales look ridiculous. Consider the fact that a shaman may talk of observing a ‘spirit’ interfering with a patient. The image created in a western mind might be a story-book devil whispering in the ear of the patients. Not credible. But we might well describe a greedy person as having a ‘greedy spirit’ and the inference would only be psychological. Wholly credible

PROOF? PROOF OF WHAT?

None of the arguments for the existence of a mind-matter link adduced above constitute proof. The effects described are often intermittent, uncertain and unpredictable. But suppose that a unique person in a unique situation triggered by accident some link in a causative chain. It might be ages before the effect was remarked on, and ages more before it was linked back to a putative cause. Possibly some historical events have been caused by witchcraft, but nobody has ever made the connection. An imaginative writer could exploit some of those to advantage,

When a link was postulated, attempts to demonstrate it might fail. This would be because the mechanism was not understood: not because it did not exist.

And we don’t always apply our rules. We accept as ‘real’ various relationships that don’t always ‘work’. Psychology, for instance, has many uncertainties. We accept a degree of patchiness when our knowledge fails. So what is ‘witchcraft’ and what is not? If the effects are erratic and unpredictable – but sometimes effective, does this make a supernatural link impossible? One of the harder tasks for a witchdoctor is causing his victim to see a terrifying image. Can this be done by psychological means? Children, read a terrifying tale at bedtime, sometimes wake up screaming because they have ‘seen’ the ghost/monster/spirit described before the light was turned off. Given strong mental projection by a witchdoctor, and an impressionable subject, this might just happen in the adult world.

THE POWER OF THOUGHT OR THE POWER OF PROPS?

If an evangelical preacher exhorts his audience to make an obvious gesture of commitment, some will do so and some will not. Is this witchcraft? He is performing certain actions aimed at a specific, measurable result and is succeeding sometimes. The results are patchy.

When a beautiful woman toys with her admirers and makes them do things for her that they would not otherwise do, is this witchcraft? Well, the mechanism is not understood and the results are patchy.

In both these cases there are physical factors at work that may or may not explain the effect without any mind-matter link. The preacher has a background, music, microphone, pulpit, visual aids and a well-trained voice. The woman has personal appearance and bearing, perfume, jewellery and an understanding of male psychology. Do these explain the whole matter – including the patchiness of the outcome?

What about this paraphernalia of witchcraft? What about the wax image of the victim with pins stuck into it? What about the evil-working object insinuated into the possession of the victim? There are several possibilities.

It may have no influence on the result at all – the mind-matter link accounting for everything.
It may have no direct influence on the result, but serve as a major aid to the concentration of the witchdoctor.
It may have a direct psychological effect once the action is known to the victim.

All these options provide exciting opportunities for the writer.

There Is No Such Thing As Writer’s Block

There is no such thing as writer’s block – end of story.

Anyone who says they have this so-called affliction is just being lazy and stalling for time.

If you call yourself a writer then that is what you do – write, about anything or anyone. The key to becoming a good writer is simply to write.

I have held many classes for creative writers and I always start with one simple exercise. I tell my students to choose any object in the room – a pencil, book, ruler, glasses case or whatever is within easy reach. Then I ask them to describe that item – the way it looks, feels and smells or even tastes. Take a pencil for example. It may be, say, six inches long and painted red with a logo printed on it. It may contain lead or be a coloured pencil and it could be blunt or sharp. If it has been recently sharpened perhaps you can smell the wood shavings. Then you could start to think about who may have used the pencil before you picked it up and what they may have written with it. After a few minutes you have written a description about a seemingly ordinary object and you have a little story.

When you have a bigger project such as starting a book or trying to come up with the opening for the next chapter, simply write. Our minds are always ticking over and quite often you know what you want to say but you just can’t find the right words to put on the paper. So start with the wrong words, any words, but just start writing. Once you get your initial thoughts on paper you can come back later and rearrange the words to mean your intention. If you think you don’t even have a thought, then you are wrong. The thought may not be related to the subject of your book, but right down your thoughts anyway. Once you start the process of writing then the right words will come to you.

Like actors, a lot of motivation and ideas for writers come from observing people. To get inspiration, take yourself off to the local bus stop, train station or shopping mall and just sit and watch the passing parade. You will get descriptions for your characters – what they look like, the colour of their hair and eyes, the clothes they are wearing, the things they do – and you can create your own characters from the people you observe.

Always carry a little notebook with you and keep a pen and paper by your bedside. I often have great ideas last thing at night but would never remember them if I didn’t write them down before I go to sleep. Sometimes in the morning the idea doesn’t seem as great, but at least it’s there in case I need it.

In summary, there is no reason for anyone to ever say they have writer’s block. If you are truly a writer, then you will always find something to write about. The more you write the better writer you will become.