Writing Fiction: Session 1 - Introduction to Writing Fiction

Writing fiction is a little harder to define than non-fiction writing, but many of the steps to preparing to write overlap. For example, at some point:

• you'll want to develop an outline;
• you'll have to do some research;
• you'll want to keep track of people for an acknowledgements section; and
• you'll need to develop a note-taking system to keep your information in an orderly manner.

Before you do any of that and before you start writing fiction, you'll need to learn a bit about fiction and some of the ins and outs of writing it. Writing fiction, whether a short story, a novella, or a full length novel, is the art of telling lies. The longer the piece, the more lies you tell.

In order to gain and keep the attention of an audience, you'll need to put enough detail into your fiction writing to make your story believable without slowing it down. Plus when writing fiction, you need characters that ring true, pacing that keeps the story moving, and dialogue that brings your reader right into the conversation and into the story.

We'll work on each of these areas and more in the sessions to come on writing fiction. For now, start dreaming up your story.