My Simple Formula for Writing Fiction

You may think that writing is hard.  It is not.  Once you figure out your voice, you can write about anything. 

For a time, I thought I could be a novelist. I even wrote one romance novel.  Since that book, I have had a harsh reaction to ideas of writing another one.

I may not write another one.  However, today I thought I would share my formula for writing.

Now you may think you know the essentials.  You may.  However, many people want to write but cannot.

This article is for you.  I like to write about a paradise vision of life.  Why write about bad stuff? 

When I write, I concentrate on the senses.  I try to tell the author what stuff taste, smells, sounds, looks, and feels.  The word feels here is speaking of tactile sensation.

I do tie in emotions with sense experiences.  When I used to read, it was for an entertaining diversion.  The type of books I liked to read  were human dramas.  

Then I grew up and realized most of fiction is peculiar emotional garbage.  The authors have a superficial understanding of life and they think that emotions justify actions.

I do not think emotions justify actions.  I once had to guard a person who had thrown him self out of a moving truck. I found the action completely confusing. 

Then this person explained he has having trouble with his boyfriend.  Most people think that because they feel love they can pursue it.  Woman who date married men justify it by saying they are in love.  Most people use this excuse.  This individual thought that because his so called love was giving him pain; it was acceptable to jump out of a moving vehicle.

Most fiction writers write with this flaw. It is annoying.  It is the reason I will not read fiction anymore.

It is true that all writing is about the struggle between good and evil.  The first thing I would tell a person who wants to write is to get over their fear of being criticized.  No matter what people will criticize you.

Once you realize that you can get to writing.  I have figured my moral conflict at the center of the book’s topic after I have written a lot of it. However, even if you say you are not moralizing you will be writing about that constant struggle in your book.

Now, who are you?  A better question is what is your writer’s voice.  We all have something to say. Again, I like to write about how to enjoy life. Spanish Isla: A Romance with Life is filled with good food, fun friends, good family, romance, and the triumph of the spirit.

Of course, no part of that book would have been possible if it was not for Windows Word.  I am a bad speller and grammar is a major problem for me.  Sometimes I get so frustrated that I do not even look for the proper correction.

Remember, as much as you may have great ideas, they need to be in book form.  Proper sentence structure, good paragraphs, comas, quotations, and all that other stuff are necessary.  

In addition, it is not hard.  When I change a thought, I write a new paragraph.  Moreover, when I edit I work on a good flow between paragraphs.  I tie the last thought of the previous paragraph to the beginning though of the following paragraph.

I also concentrate on a central theme and tie chapters and paragraphs to that central theme.  Lets say I sense that I am writing about the evils of materialism and hoping to emphasize the value of family and friends.  In this circumstance, I would add emotions, perceptions, and sensual pleasure behind this theme.  If the word sensual offends you, keep in mind that all it means is pleasure from the senses. 

Okay did I accomplish anything?  This is a good question. I spoke on the moral conflict in a story.  I also wrote about describing the sense experiences of the characters.

Ah good, I just remembered the characters.  For me character development is not hard.  I think it is all that psychology I studied.

Another important aspect of writing is background.  Readers like to know locations, color of walls, and other details about the types of places the scenes are taking place in that they are reading.

Now, other people may write in a different manner.  It is a free world.  People can write how they want. Especially today in the age of self-publishing.

The important thing is to have a central message, good characters, and good description.  Describing things gives me trouble.  The good thing is that there is an Internet where a person can find where things are made and  out of what material.