Tips For Writing Fiction

Harry Potter, science fiction and fantasy, fan art and the future

The Harry Potter franchise came to its inevitable conclusion this weekend. Or, at least, formally it did so. There is long precedent for artists to return to the worlds they created, penning stories about minor characters, or little-desired sequels, and, in fact, Potter author J.K. Rowling already introduced a site with the tantalizing name Pottermore. At this moment, the website seems to be an experiment in interactive reading based around the existing Harry Potter books, but, in a sense, Rowling has already revised her novels. After all, in 2007, she declared that Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of the Hogwarts school, was gay, a simple declaration that had the effect of rewriting a major character in her novels. In fact, it doesn't much matter if Rowling ever returns to the world she created. We are in a time in which creators are, instead, accidental collaborators of a sort with their fans. Particularly in the worlds of science fiction and fantasy, the original artist establishes the parameters of a world and its defining characters, and then the fans go about endlessly filling in the details with their own fictions. We can expect millions of words to be written by fans that continue the story of Potter and his world, and this isn't so terribly new. Horror author H.P Lovecraft encouraged his writing friends to create stories that made use of the supernatural mythos he invented, and, as a result, a large percentage of contemporary horror fiction still inhabits his world. Both "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" actively encouraged this sort of storytelling, going so far as to publish the best (or, at least, most marketable) of it. And now fans have started going ahead and making their own movies, some of which are of unexpectedly high quality and sometimes even make use of the actors from the original, replaying the role they originated. I fully expect a complete breakdown of the divide between creator and fan in the future. It's part of my theory that the future belongs to the vernacular. Firstly, I expect that new art will be created using the language and idioms of fan fiction, because popular culture always borrows from mass culture to give it a sense of authenticity.

Tuesday Tips: How to Improve Your Fiction Writing « OMF Literature

Most writers say that it is harder to write fiction than non-fiction. Whether you agree or not, we have to admit that it takes a different skill set to be able to write a story than to write an essay or a blog.

So if you’ve been writing fiction or if you plan to write one soon, here are some tips to help you be better. Share your own tips too!

Start with “What if?”

A lot of stories start with what if questions/statement. Don’t think about the whole plot yet or the complications of the story. Just start with what kind of story you want to tell. Some sample what ifs