The point of view in any story is important because it provides a guide to manage the execution of your story. Most works of fiction use one point of view although a second perspective can be brought into the story for a short period of time. Third Person Perspective is the most common method of conveying a work of fiction. This method allows the narrator to have at least limited omniscience. The narrator has limited access to the knowledge and feelings of the characters i...

Want new short story ideas? Start writing, because work usually precedes inspiration. Then use these methods to come up with new short stories.

When an author decides to write fiction one the primary methods of storytelling is through a first person perspective. For many writers this is the most comfortable manner of storytelling. In a first person narrative the reader is allowed to relate to the story one dimensionally. The story is presented to the reader from the viewpoint of a character in the story. The narrator might be the main character attempting to relate their own story. The story might also be told fro...

If you want to grab the readers attention you must pay attention with the introductory passage. This is the lead in for the rest of your story.

Have you given much thought to the voice of your narrator? Perhaps you assumed the narrator in your novel should remain neutral. Many writers believe that the narrator should have little in the way of identity and the use of a narrator is essentially a necessary means of moving the story from one scene to the next. It may come as a surprise to learn that your narrator can, and SHOULD, have a distinctive voice. The narrator should be used to do more than simply take the rea...

If you are a student, writing a book report is something you will probably have to do at some time whether you want to or not.It has never been a favorite activity for most but it is always valuable. It is valuable because it allows you to think about the book you have read, in terms of the setting, characters, plot and finally examine your feelings and thoughts about what you have read. You learn how to give an analysis and develop your own point of view. Is it any wonder th...

Many of the best stories in fiction have both an antagonist and a protagonist. The protagonist is the main character or hero that we cheer on and hope conquers all. The antagonist is the story’s villain. The best bad guys are the ones we love to hate. We don’t need to know why they are bad, we don’t need a play by play of the choices they made early in life, we simply recognize they are bad and we don’t want them to win. A story can operate without an antagonist; how...

Most people think writing a novel is just writing. I have lost count of the number of people who say “I want to write a novel” and think that they will just sit down, put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, and the whole thing will just unfold before them. I’ve read a few novels, they think, why can’t I write one? If only it were that easy! The process of writing any story is exactly that, a process. And whether you are tackling a novel, a short story, an essay or a no...

Writers are an interesting breed of humanity – they can make us feel joy, sadness, anger and empathy. Sometimes they can cause us to feel all these emotions simultaneously. There are certainly more lucrative methods of gaining an income, yet everyday thousands of individuals will sit down at their keyboard pounding out a story that may never actually be published. There is a creative energy required to create a meaningful story. It is hard to invest that energy into a s...