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Welcome to What’s Your Story? Thank you for joining me – this is the first step on our journey together. Click below to see the master pages for each unit. This page provides you with a master link so that you have all the videos and PDFs that accompany each unit, in one place.
Part 1: What’s the Big Idea?
Click the link above to go to the main page. In Part 1 we will talk about:
- Where do ideas come from?
- What sort of idea is it? A novel or a short story?
- Thinking time is vital – no time is ever wasted in the writing process
- Research around your idea
- Create a story board
- Writing a blurb and why it’s a vital starting point
- Expanding your blurb into a synopsis
- Start building the scaffolding that will support your story
You will find these documents useful:
Part 2: Whose Story Is It?
Click the link above to go to the unit main page. In this unit we look at character and creating the characters who will inhabit your story – it’s one of my favourite parts of the creative process!
In the video below we cover:
- Developing character
- Character names and what they tell you
- Understanding character, asking them questions.
- Create a character bible
- Avoiding cliched characters
- Finding images of your characters
- How many characters should there be in your story?
- Whose story is it? What Point of View should you use?
- Avoid head hopping
You will find these documents useful:
Part 3: To Plot or Not to Plot
Click the link above to go to the main page for this unit. Giving your story structure will help you ensure you have a narrative arc, that they key incidents happen in the right place and that your story development works, but developing a plotting system that suits you is vitally important. Here I discuss what works for me – creating a chapter plan (which I may or may not stick to!) Importantly for me, by creating a table of 30 chapters, I can see if I have enough story for a novel, or if I need to go back to the drawing board!
The chapter plan for The Dressmaker/Little Bones included in this video is available for you to download in the link below.
You will find these documents and additional video useful:
If you aren’t a plotter, find out how Rachel Donoghue develops her ideas in her conversation here with Simon Trewin – a Hennessy Award winning short story writer, her debut novel has been critically acclaimed and her process is completely different to mine!
Part 4: Getting Started
Click the link above to go to the main page. The blank page can be a scary place, but in this unit I will show you how to start your story with confidence!
- The blank page is daunting – ways to ease yourself into the story
- Understanding that nothing is wasted.
- What’s the point of entry to your story?
- Giving yourself permission to write a messy first draft
- Setting yourself achieveable objectives
- What is writers block and how can you deal with it?
- Showing not telling and why it’s vital to master
- Writing in scenes using character action and dialogue to show us what’s happening.
- Using the five senses – and where’s the light coming from?
- Writing in layers
You will find these documents useful:
Part 5: Writing to the End
Click the link above to go to the main page.
The objective of the units in this course is to take you to the end of your first draft, to find your characters, your plot and to write your story. But how do you polish up that first draft? Edit, edit, edit! It’s a huge achievement to finish a full book, many people want to write, still more start, but not everyone manages to finish. But once that last full stop goes down, then the work really begins – the polishing and the rewriting. This video will take you through the key areas that you now need to address.
- Finishing the first draft
- How to approach the second draft
- The editing process, what to look for
- Reading on the screen and in print.
- Ensuring your timeline makes sense
- Character development – do they change as a result of the story?
- Adding character description and detail – painting a picture for the reader
- Dialogue – does it sound real, is it needed, is it ‘saying’ the right thing?
- Does the story need new twists? Is it ‘original and fresh’
- Are the stakes high enough for the main characters to engage us?
You will find these documents useful:
Bonus Video:
Additional links:
All about Scrivener: I use Scrivener to compile all my research, character profiles and images, and location research, although I still use Word to write the actual book. This article (click title link) shows you how Scrivener works and gives you an insight how other authors use it. There are buy links on the end so you can test it out for yourself!
Writers Ink Online Coaching and Mentoring Group: This is a paid group with a monthly susbscription of €59, a vibrant community of supportive writers. I have developed Writers Ink with NLP and Business Coach Maria McHale – we have a series of daily events including an Ask Me Anything, weekly prompts, weekly critique of your work in progress and a weekly live session where we discuss group activities, and give tips. With an author interview each month and bi monthly sessions with literary agent Simon Trewin, members are building their confidence and achieving publishing success.
Writing.ie: One of Europe’s biggest and busiest website, is packed full of information for new authors. All articles are free to view, and there are several submission opportunites where you can see your work published. Find out about joining as an Emerging Writer here – a page on Writing.ie gives you a space on the web that you can link to in submissions and saves having to create your own website or blog, or, if you have your own blog established, offers a powerful highly ranked back-link.
Inkwell Readers Reports: One of the major problems writers face when they reach the end of their manuscript, is getting reliable and expert feedback on the book as a whole. What’s working, what isn’t? Is there a plot hole or a cast of extraneous characters? Are you telling too much and not showing, is your dialogue sparkling and natural and working hard for you? Does that ending really work?
A reader’s report will give you unbiased independent professional feedback on your book. It is designed to kick start your own creativity , to think about the story from a new angle and give you the tools to bring it to the next level.
The Society of Authors: The SoA is the UK trade union for all types of writers, illustrators and literary translators, at all stages of their careers. We have been advising individuals and speaking out for the profession for more than a century.
Members receive unlimited free advice on all aspects of the profession, including confidential clause-by-clause contract vetting, and a wide range of exclusive offers.
The SoA campaign and lobby on the issues that affect authors and hold a wide range of events across the UK. Find out more about membership. Use code VFO20 to get a 20% discount on your first year’s membership