Melissa's Writing Tips to Remember:

  • Every story is about a WHAT (the premise) happening to a WHO (the main character).  The biggest thing to consider before writing a story is whether or not it deserves to or should be written— mainly, will there be an audience for it?  The second thing to consider is in what way (medium) the story could be best told-- as a book, play, or screenplay?
  • All characters have always represented themselves at their most worst or best moments— think of the “extremes” when creating where they are when your story takes place and what they have to learn, achieve, lose, or overcome by the end of their journey to be in a different place.
  • Combine characters by contrasting them-- use “opposite types” of characters to bring out certain qualities in certain situations.  Keep in mind that it’s what all the characters do together that creates the story’s effect and emotions.
  • Stories should go from “emotion to emotion” in every scene… be aware of the feelings each scene is creating as you write and make sure it’s coming across. 
  • Conflicts, arguments, and obstacles all keep a story going and more interesting to engage in.  Without these in every scene stories become boring fast.
  • Every single event and word spoken in a story is there for a reason— to move the story along in an interesting way.  (If it doesn’t, it should not be in it.)


Recommended Books

For Writing:

  • Aristotle’s Poetics
  • Making A Good Script Great (2nd Edition) by Linda Seger
  • Use baby name books for finding strong character first names and a phone book for finding unique last names.  (Note: Try not to use the name of a real person for fictional stories.)
  • Grammar always matters:  The Chicago Manual of Style (15th Edition) by The University of Chicago Press is the industry standard.
  • The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. is a classic writing manual.
  • Always have at least 3-5 thesauruses on hand to help keep your writing speckled with great words that keep it entertaining and interesting to read without any repetition.

For Marketing Your Work:

  • For Books:  The Writer's Market (comes out annually)
  • For Plays:  The Playwright's Companion (discontinued/find old copies)
  • For Screenplays/TV Material:  The Hollywood Creative Directory (comes out twice a year and is also available on the internet)

Note: I recommend registering the first draft of your project with the Library of Congress as soon as possible to ensure the earliest copyright date.

                      Happy Writing! --Your Writing Muse.com