~ Janet Fitch Tip 2: Generate New Story Ideas by Asking – What If? Once language has been overly handled, it no longer leaves a clear imprint. A cliche is like a coin that has been handled too much. We read so that we can be moved by a new way of looking at things. By writing a story that only you can tell, instead of borrowing from popular formulas, it will be fairly easy to avoid common plot pitfalls.

It’s important to think about how cliches annoy you when you come across them, so you’ll be less likely to include them in your own work. We all know a cliche when we see it in a movie or read it in a book. 5 Tips on Crafting Compelling Storylines Tip 1: Avoid Common Plot Cliches No matter where you’re at in the writing process your Library can help! We have a ton of great writing resources to help you from start to finish. I’d highly recommend this book for anyone who’s looking to get better at craft.Are you an aspiring writer trying to get started on that next bestselling novel?Are you an experienced writer, but need a little help creating compelling storylines or dynamic dialogue? I have highlighted and sticky-noted this book everywhere, and even though I’m in a space where I know most of what’s in this book, I am keeping this book next to me as I write anything from now on. Each chapter has a list of books/short stories to check out that compliment what she’s discussing in the chapter, as well as a series of writing prompts to try out the craft. Burroway is honest about the process – it’s tough, it sucks, it takes time, and it’s never perfect and there’s no formula – and she’s clear and concise about the ways that young writers can practice tackling the tough, sucky, imperfect process. While for me, there’s a lot in here that reads as ‘yes, well of course I know that now,’ this book puts into words all the things I’ve been piecing together about the writing process over the last ten years. James Woods’ How Fiction Works, and even Francine Prose’s Reading like a Writer tackle craft in a more amorphous, theoretical way, that while I gave them both 5 stars in past reviews, have nothing on the down-to-business accessibility of Janet Burroway. But unlike other craft guides, (looking at you How Fiction Works) Burroway’s talking specifics and practicality. Like most craft books, she uses examples from the classics, both modern and old to show how the best have crafted their literary legacies. My mentor introduced me to Janet Burroway’s Writing Fiction, last semester, and good God, if only I had had this book ten years ago….īroken down into comprehensive chapters on everything from point-of-view, setting, characterization, and revising, Burroway takes a no-holds barred approach to guiding young writers through the craft process. Teaching writing has introduced me to so many resources that would have been beyond helpful when I was bumbling around as a stupid twenty-something trying to figure out how to write.

A guide to narrative craft