How I Put A Story Together

[Rabbit1]

How I put together a story depends on a fair number of things. The last story for level two, well, that was raw emotion that basically came gushing out of me. There's really no character development and there's not much of a plot, per se. It was awfully therapeutic, though, and I'll never reveal why I wrote it. Must protect the innocent, you know. I will say that it is the basis for a novel I'm working on and hope to actually finish.

For short stories, I tend to get an idea in my head, mull it over for a day or two, then just write. I have a fabulous proofreader, who never backs away from telling me where I've messed up and where I can do better.

I have hated outlines ever since I learned they exist. Even for projects like my senior honors thesis (The Role of Religion in the Indian Captivity Narratives of Early Colonial New England -- how's that for sounding stuffy and self-important?), when I had to come up with an outline, I knew I wouldn't stick to it.

I recognize the need for some sort of notes or basic rough outline if I'm going to write something longer than about 1500 words. So, yes, I've been jotting notes about character backgrounds and how I want the story to unfold for My Great American Novel. I can visualize certain scenes in my mind already and I have a tendency to write stories out of order, just so I don't lose some fabulous dialogue or description.

I write when I'm alone, 99% of the time. It's a very personal thing for me. I remember finishing my senior thesis and holding the printed out pages for the first time. It felt like a part of me. I'd never felt that way before about anything. I'd like to feel it again.

Lol ---I have wrote things out of order before ---and yes a outline of sorts helps you put it in the proper place later----and the purpose of this course is not to tell you that you have to have an certain type of outline---but to help you develop your own writing style---one of the novels I had published started out as a short story ----like I said on short stories I usually do not even thing of an outline----but when I finished my short story --more and more kept coming to my mind ---so I used the first part as an out line after I printed it out---using notes and a highliter---I turned it into an outline ---now that is all I use---That is my style----the main purpose of this decussion is hopefully for others to pick up tip to try on their own to help develop their own style ---something they may not have thought of --to make things easier on them. A good proof reader is a great asset---and good luck on your great american novel ---my first one took 5 years to write


your next task is to write a short story about this picture ---you have two weeks to do so

and PM me when the task is completed