"You write in order to change the world...if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it." ~James Baldwin
Even when writing for pleasure, there are some guidelines that must be followed in order to write EPIC content for your fiction or creative nonfiction story. The guidelines below are useful when writing a novel, short story, screenplay, stage play or film.
All good stories must:
- Have a beginning
- Have a middle
- Have an end
- Show, not tell
- Have strong characterization
- Be believable
- Have a solid, vibrant plot
- Be written with an active voice
- Include symbolism
- Use real life experiences to inspire imagination
- Include literary devices to make your story stand out
Try starting with a vignette, or a "snap shot" of a real or imagined event. It can be anywhere in the story. Then, write around it. Take a look at my attempt!
A Short Story : The Magic Pot
Once upon a time a farmer, Gopi, lived in a village. He had few acres of land. One hot afternoon, the poor farmer was digging his field. All of a sudden, his spade hit something. Then he continued his digging. “It is a big metal pot," said Gopi. It was big enough to boil rice for more than hundred people. “It does not seem to be of any use to me. I will dig deeper. May be I will find something else," thought Gopi. He continued to dig.
After he had dug for a long time, Gopi felt tired. “It is of no use. There is nothing in this field" he thought. Then at once, he threw the spade into the pot in frustration and sat under a tree to take rest for a while.
After a while, when he got up to leave, he could not believe his eyes. There were one hundred spades in the pot. “This is a magical pot. I will put this mango inside the pot and see what happens," Gopi thought. Then Gopi put a mango into the pot. To his astonishment, he found one hundred mangoes in the pot. Gopi carried the pot to his home and kept in a secret place so that no one would become aware of it.
After that, he put many things in that and everything became hundred folds. With that pot, he became a rich man. The King came to know of the pot and its whereabouts. The King was curious to know about it and he was a greedy King. “I want to find out the secret of the magical pot. If it is valuable, it should be in the King treasury," the King thought. Then at once, the King ordered his men to bring the farmer and his pot.
When the magic pot was brought to the King’s chamber, he did not know what to do. The King thought, “Let me see what is there inside this pot which makes this pot so magical?" He peered inside. Inadvertently, he slipped and fell inside the pot. When he climbed out of the magic pot, he was shocked to find that there were one hundred Kings.
All the kings then started to climb the throne. They fought among themselves and died. The magic pot lay in the King’s treasury. “The foolish King took away the magic pot from me out of curiosity and eventually he died. This magic pot has killed the King himself," said the farmer and he to be safe left the magic pot at the treasury of the King itself.
After he had dug for a long time, Gopi felt tired. “It is of no use. There is nothing in this field" he thought. Then at once, he threw the spade into the pot in frustration and sat under a tree to take rest for a while.
After a while, when he got up to leave, he could not believe his eyes. There were one hundred spades in the pot. “This is a magical pot. I will put this mango inside the pot and see what happens," Gopi thought. Then Gopi put a mango into the pot. To his astonishment, he found one hundred mangoes in the pot. Gopi carried the pot to his home and kept in a secret place so that no one would become aware of it.
After that, he put many things in that and everything became hundred folds. With that pot, he became a rich man. The King came to know of the pot and its whereabouts. The King was curious to know about it and he was a greedy King. “I want to find out the secret of the magical pot. If it is valuable, it should be in the King treasury," the King thought. Then at once, the King ordered his men to bring the farmer and his pot.
When the magic pot was brought to the King’s chamber, he did not know what to do. The King thought, “Let me see what is there inside this pot which makes this pot so magical?" He peered inside. Inadvertently, he slipped and fell inside the pot. When he climbed out of the magic pot, he was shocked to find that there were one hundred Kings.
All the kings then started to climb the throne. They fought among themselves and died. The magic pot lay in the King’s treasury. “The foolish King took away the magic pot from me out of curiosity and eventually he died. This magic pot has killed the King himself," said the farmer and he to be safe left the magic pot at the treasury of the King itself.
Script Writing
ScriptFaze, one of the best resources I've researched for script writing is an extremely useful site if you're stuck trying to write and format a screenplay, short film, TV show, TV movie or TV drama. (Click the name to access the great information waiting to be explored on the site!)
My one-act is coming soon!
My one-act is coming soon!