Scrapped Stories

Every writer has them. The stories you start out writing. You cut your teeth on them and when you go back and look at them after a few weeks or months or years, what do they look like, a chewed up toy. Yuck!

Keep them around if you want, just be careful who you show them to. Not all words that come through your fingers onto the page or computer screen are glittery gold and there’s always another story to write. That’s what the experience of learning the craft of writing is all about.

If you knit or sew or carve wood or stone or weave baskets, the first few projects you make will be difficult and most likely not come out as well as you’d like. Figure out how to make it better. Read a book, take a class.

Writing is like any other art form you have to learn the craft first. What holds the story up and holds it together? How do you draw the reader in? You may be able to glean these answers just by studying the novels you read. That's never worked for me, though. I get caught up in the story and forget about looking for the hidden architechture.

If you're just starting out, let yourself make some mistakes, but learn from them. Also, be patient with the process. It won't do a thing for your creativitiy to beat up on yourself.

A Word About Genres

Okay, so you’ve decided you want to write, and it’s not just that you want to write, but that you must. You have a story to tell. It might be a love story, or a mystery, or one with vampire, or even one that just follows a character through a difficult point in their lives. These are all examples of different genres. Everyone has seen the romance novels in book stores. Go a few aisles over and you’ll find yourself in the mystery section. An aisle away from that is the Sci Fi/ Fantasy section. The literary fiction section is usually large and sits off by itself somewhere. Next time you're in Barnes and Noble or Books A Million or Borders look at how the books are shelved.


All of these genres have sub-genres. Here are a few of them:

Romance

• Historical

• Chick lit

• Romantic suspense

• Paranormal

Mystery

• Cozy

• Police procedural

• Hard-boiled

• Traditional

SciFi/Fantasy

• Other worlds

• Magical

The SciFi/Fantasy can be broken down and separated further, but I’m not that familiar with it. If you’re interested in writing it, you probably know more about it than I do.

That’s the other thing about writing a certain genre, you have to read it. For example, if you’ve never read Louis L’Amour, don’t try to write a Western novel. The same holds true for romance, mystery and scifi/fantasy or any other genre.

Also, be aware that you might start out writing what you think is a cozy mystery and discover that it is, in fact, romantic suspense or literary fiction. Hey, it happens. Some writers start out with an idea in mind but somewhere along the way, another character shows up or the story takes an unexpected turn that changes it from one genre to another. Getting to the end of the story is an important goal for every writer. And when you get to the end, be flexible and honest about what genre the story fits into.

At the end of the day, the genres just tell the bookseller which section to place it in when it gets to the store.

Taking Classes

You don’t need a degree in Creative Writing or an MFA to write. It might help if you already have one, but I’ve also heard it can get in the way. Since I don’t have either one, I couldn’t tell you the truth of that. However, taking a few classes on the craft of writing can be a good thing. I started with a fiction writing class at a local college.

These days there are all kinds of online classes to take. Check out Writers Digest (http://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/retail/). They have courses for all levels, beginner to advanced. Another course I’ve had success with is Longridge Writers Group (http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/). There are others, I’m sure, all you have to do is look for them online. Google is a wonderful thing.

The only thing you won’t get from an online class is networking with other writers. This doesn't always work out like you want it to, however. At the end of my first writing class, several of us tried to form a critique group, but it fizzled when two of the members started using it as a cover for their affair. (See, you can find stories anywhere!)

The main thing is to find a class that will be just above the level of writing you are already doing. You’ll want to stretch yourself a little and since there aren’t any grades given, it doesn’t matter if you stumble a little. Just take that step.