Learning how to write a novel begins with writing short stories. This is because they do not require as much time and space as the novels do. A typical story is between 200 to 6000 words while a novel is more than this. The more time you spend on a piece of prose, the more you deviate from the short story concept. It should not take you more than 50 hours to submit short stories for a competition.
It is good to start up with a premise. A premise can be anything to give the reader an overview of what the story is about. The premise should comprise few sentences to describe a basic point or lesson that the story intends to give. You may say one or two things about the evil of corruption or the benefits of hard work. By the time your story ends, it is important that everything in it agrees with the premise.
You are supposed to get things set before you start writing. You should spend a considerable amount of time in your first sitting so that you can pour out your thoughts at once to avoid any possible loss of idea. The more breaks you have, the more the possibility of getting tired to finish what you have started. You can prevent this by having a comfortable chair, table, enough books, pens and dictionaries.
Sometimes, the main points that make the story superb are not gotten when the writer sits down to start. Instead, the main inspiration can be gotten when you are doing something odd and least prepared to start narrating. This makes it needful to always be with a jotter and pen so that you can always put down those ideas when they come.
Another thing to bear in mind is the characters of the story. Choose your characters and define them by their actions. When defining the characters, it is not good to give them roles that counter their underlying premise. For example, if you have initially defined a character as one that fights corruption, it will be wrong to give him a role that shows he takes bribe without remorse.
There should be a confinement when writing to win a story contest. Unlike novels where different scenes are allowed, a story is not supposed to take up more than one scene even though two scenes may be permitted. The characters should also operate within a specific time frame or season.
Also think about the narrator of the story. Narrators of stories may be first person, second person or third person. In first person narration, the writer of the story is the narrator who gives a breakdown of events while in the second person style, the reader is considered as one of the characters. Third person narration enables the writer to explore the thoughts of his characters even though this is also risky if done improperly as the reader may not know the character to focus on at the point where he becomes confused.
First time story tellers may not find it easy to write. To overcome the anxiety, it is advisable to start anyhow. Even if you have not yet decided what the entire thing should talk about, your first sentences can spur you to do more especially when the opening lines are quite interesting.
It is good to start up with a premise. A premise can be anything to give the reader an overview of what the story is about. The premise should comprise few sentences to describe a basic point or lesson that the story intends to give. You may say one or two things about the evil of corruption or the benefits of hard work. By the time your story ends, it is important that everything in it agrees with the premise.
You are supposed to get things set before you start writing. You should spend a considerable amount of time in your first sitting so that you can pour out your thoughts at once to avoid any possible loss of idea. The more breaks you have, the more the possibility of getting tired to finish what you have started. You can prevent this by having a comfortable chair, table, enough books, pens and dictionaries.
Sometimes, the main points that make the story superb are not gotten when the writer sits down to start. Instead, the main inspiration can be gotten when you are doing something odd and least prepared to start narrating. This makes it needful to always be with a jotter and pen so that you can always put down those ideas when they come.
Another thing to bear in mind is the characters of the story. Choose your characters and define them by their actions. When defining the characters, it is not good to give them roles that counter their underlying premise. For example, if you have initially defined a character as one that fights corruption, it will be wrong to give him a role that shows he takes bribe without remorse.
There should be a confinement when writing to win a story contest. Unlike novels where different scenes are allowed, a story is not supposed to take up more than one scene even though two scenes may be permitted. The characters should also operate within a specific time frame or season.
Also think about the narrator of the story. Narrators of stories may be first person, second person or third person. In first person narration, the writer of the story is the narrator who gives a breakdown of events while in the second person style, the reader is considered as one of the characters. Third person narration enables the writer to explore the thoughts of his characters even though this is also risky if done improperly as the reader may not know the character to focus on at the point where he becomes confused.
First time story tellers may not find it easy to write. To overcome the anxiety, it is advisable to start anyhow. Even if you have not yet decided what the entire thing should talk about, your first sentences can spur you to do more especially when the opening lines are quite interesting.
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