The reference materials listed below are by no means inclusive, but rather are part of my personal library and have proved helpful over the years.

–the essentials of English:

Chicago Manual of Style, theUniversity ofChicago Press

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary

Style Check based on The American Heritage Dictionary

Words into Type by Marjorie Skillin and Robert Gay

The Write Source by Patrick Sebranek and Dave Kemper

—on writing:

The Art of Fiction by John Gardner

Bird by Bird by Ann LaMott

Building Believable Characters by Marc McCutcheon

Creative Writing by Lavonne Mueller and Jerry D. Reynolds

One Great Way to Write Short Stories by Ben Nyberg 

On Writing Well, 5^th edition by William Zinsser

Writing Dramatic Nonfiction by William Noble  

Writing down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

The Writing Life by Anne Dillard

Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

Writer’s Market (updated annually) CD-Rom edition available

Filled with useful information, markets, and contests for writers Web:    www.writersmarket.com;  www.writersdigest.com

In addition to the sources listed, many community libraries and local writers groups and associations sponsor writing contests, offer writing classes and conduct critique sessions.  Consult the Yellow Pages or check with the public library for more information.

SMART IDEA:  request editorial needs or submission guidelines for contests or publications before submitting any piece of writing.

(My book journey)…was one of the most unbelievable experiences of my life.  I had this dream, this vision, and I was so excited about it, but I had to remind myself every once in a while that not everyone else understood my passion.

                                                                                                           —Russell Helwig

Regardless if you are writing for personal pleasure, family or close friends or seriously considering attracting an agent or publisher, there are several basic story elements that will help make your idea stand out from all the others.

THE HOOK:

Recall some of your favorite books—the ones you still enjoy rereading.  Chances are what probably grabbed your attention was the opening paragraph, those first hundred words that authors call the hook, the opening scene that pulled you into the story. All writings, whether fiction or nonfiction, need to hook the reader.  Read the following two examples and see if they hook you to continue reading:

           “Stop right there!”

            I kept on running.

            “Stop right there, you son of a bitch, or I’ll put a hole in you.”

            I stopped so fast my feet skidded in the cinders                                                

                                                            – from Hobo, A Depression Odyssey  

                                                                                  Richard Kilroy O’Malley

The first time I got married I knew what I was doing, or so I thought.  I do remember walking down the aisle smiling at the boy waiting for me at the end, and asking myself, “What the heck are you doing?”  Maybe I asked, “What the hell are you doing?”… I   was twenty-one.

The second time I got married, I knew what I was doing.  I did a mental check before I walked down the grassy slope under the cottonwood tree and assured myself that this was right…for now; I had no illusions of forever.  I was thirty.

                                                - from Courtney’s Shoes from the book In Our Shoes

                                                                                                     Courtney Leigh Dyer

THE STORY:

Everyone may have a story to tell, but what separates an ordinary story from an extraordinary one lies in the author’s ability to communicate on paper.  Many people have interesting and fascinating ideas or inspirational and thought-provoking stories to tell, but unfortunately may not be talented when it comes to writing a strong, well-crafted coherent story, while others, whose story plots are mediocre, are skilled writers and keen observers and know how to create meaningful and compelling stories.

A beginning, middle and end:

Writing a narrative, a once-upon-a-time story, needs to employ fiction techniques: a  beginning, middle, and an end; each section is important to develop the plot and needs to be carefully and meaningfully constructed.  Follow the basic story elements as described in Step #8 Shape a Plot.

Believable characters:

There are no perfect people, but there are a lot of interesting, dynamite, and inspiring imperfect people –characters, like real people, have had their share of life’s ups and downs; characters, like real people, have faults and made mistakes; have overcome fears, humiliations, hardships, regrets, and loss; characters, like real people, have made something of themselves, regardless of whatever life dealt them.

Characters are what other people are most interested in – they lie at the heart of all storytelling, and characters need to be believable.  The real question you need to answer is: how did the main character grow, change or gain enlightenment because of conflicts faced or decisions made.  Storybook characters, like real people, have flesh and breathe.  They have an attitude and a voice.  And like all great fiction writers you must reveal your characters to your readers.  Follow the advice of Alexandre Dumas, “…ask three questions: In this situation, what should I do?  What would other people do?  What ought to be done?”

Show don’t tell:

Your English teachers probably said, “Show, don’t tell.” about a hundred times each week.  Now that you are a writer, you realize the importance of those words.  In writing you must show that comical grandfather, eccentric co-worker, grouchy boss, flirtatious neighbor, or stingy spouse.  What did they look like?  How did they act?  What was important to them?  What did others say or think about them?

These personalities need to become believable characters in your story, placed in situations faced by everyday people.  Readers will be able to judge what kinds of people these characters are by their actions. And by creating dialogue for certain situations, you can pack a lot of important insights about a character’s attitude and values.  Dialogue adds richness to an account, it can provide more realism and reader involvement than just straight narrative.  Note the difference:

Tell:       During Prohibition whiskey was the most expensive and hardest to obtain ingredient we needed for our fruitcakes.  My friend knew she could get some at Mr. Haha’s café.  We knocked on his door, and when he opened it, my friend said we needed to buy a quart of whiskey for making fruitcakes.  We paid him, and as we were leaving, he gave us back our money and said we could give him a fruitcake instead. 

Show:   For a moment we are too paralyzed to tell.  Presently my friend half-finds her voice, a whispery voice at best:  “If you please, Mr. Haha, we’d like a quart of your finest whiskey.”

His eyes tilt more.  Would you believe it?  Haha is smiling!  Laughing, too.  “Which one of you is a drinkin’ man?”

 “It’s for making fruitcakes, Mr. Haha.  Cooking.”

This sobers him.  He frowns.  “That’s no way to waste good whiskey.”   Nevertheless, he retreats into the shadowed café and seconds later appears carrying a bottle of daisy yellow unlabeled liquor.  He demonstrates its sparkle in the sunlight and says:  “Two dollars.”

We pay him with nickels and dimes and pennies.  Suddenly, jangling the coins in his hand like a fistful of dice, his face softens.  “Tell you what,” he proposes, pouring the money back onto our bead purse, “just send me one of them fruitcakes instead.”

                                                                                   – from A Christmas Memory

                                                                                                        Truman Capote

Read, read, read:

            I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has            read.                                                                                    —Samuel Johnson

Read plenty of books, articles, passages, both fiction and non-fiction, written by professional authors.  Read outside your genre, even if you find it boring or tedious, force yourself to read several pages if only to get the feel for that kind of writing.  By appreciating great writing, you will enhance your own work. 

Edit, edit, edit:

Writing is never finished.  There is always another or better way to say something.  You learn to write by writing; revisions help fine-tune your work and make it clear and concise.  Besides you owe it to yourself to reread your manuscript several times over, looking for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation, and for places where you could improve the sentence structure or clarity of thought.  It’s a good idea to print out a hard copy of your work and edit this copy, and then make the changes into your computer.  Many times mistakes are missed when read on the screen.  Use the following checklist as a guide when editing your written material:

   -  Make sure you have a dictionary, thesaurus, grammar handbook, and other effective writing reference books close at hand.

   -  If you are editing your own work, you should at least have it reviewed by someone who understands grammar, correct usage, and punctuation rules.                

   - Pay attention not only to grammatical errors, but also to your tone, audience, and purpose.  Know who you are writing for and the reasons why you are writing.  Check that the entire manuscript agrees with your purpose.

      - Look for the Five Cs in your manuscript: Consistency, Clarity, Conciseness, Completeness, and Coherence.

      -  Use strong verbs, avoid unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, vary sentence lengths, avoid clichés and redundancy, and use the active voice whenever possible.

      -  Triple check for accuracy when including dates, names, and other factual information that is important to your story.

      -  Read through your work at least three times to make sure that you said what you intended to say; sort through the details and use only those to make each situation  clear, and are crucial to move the story along and help draw the reader into the scene with you.

      -  Read your work out loud or read into a tape recorder and listen to your words.  Hearing what you wrote, you will see and hear what you missed, catch awkward passages, repetitive phrases and sentence patterns, and irrelevant facts.

       -  Think language when editing your narrative.  Language is the basis for how your words will appear on the printed page.  In the editing process, take time to focus on language – listen carefully to what you have said.  Be more creative; add flesh and blood to those characters’ faces, and bold, vivid, colorful details to scenes and happenings.  It’s time to play with words to raise your narrative a class above all the others.

Now it is time to package those ideas into a marketable story, novel or drama.  But that’s another book in its own right.

                                           Look, then into thine heart and write.

    —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow