Brie
asked
Juliet Marillier:
Hi! I'm a very big Sorcha and Liadan fan ( i absolutely love the names by the way) though i haven't been able to find a copy of Child of the Prophecy yet. i was wondering if you could give me a few tips with writing? I have several stories started ( one of which is a historical/paranormal) and i cannot seem to put enough detail into my words. Thank-you in advance :)
Juliet Marillier
Hi Beecee, and thanks for the question. Most writers start out by imitating the authors they love to read - reading widely is the easiest way to learn about plot, character, style and structure.
You could sketch out a plan for the whole story before you start, including sub-plots (remembering that you can always change the plan as you go.) That way, you know where you are headed. The most important piece of advice I can give you is learn to finish. So many beginning writers have many drafts of half-completed stories, as you do. Choose one, and set yourself a daily or weekly word count, or page count, to complete it by a certain date. Just get it down and don't worry too much about whether it's polished. When you have a first draft done you can go over it and fix/edit/chop and change as you like.
I'm not sure what you mean about putting in detail, but with a historical/paranormal you do need to know your world really well, whether its an invented, magical world or, say, Tudor England. You need to know about ten times as much about how that society works as you will actually put into the story! So, do research reading (for a fantasy, that might be about the time period your world is similar to, or about magic, or creatures from mythology, or anything relevant.) Often you can create a setting well with small specific details, eg something they are using in the kitchen or on the farm; when/why they wear gloves; how people greet each other. But don't include too much detail as that can slow the story down.
I hope that's of some use - it's a really big question, too big to answer properly here. Keep on writing, you will get better and better at it!
all the best, Juliet M
You could sketch out a plan for the whole story before you start, including sub-plots (remembering that you can always change the plan as you go.) That way, you know where you are headed. The most important piece of advice I can give you is learn to finish. So many beginning writers have many drafts of half-completed stories, as you do. Choose one, and set yourself a daily or weekly word count, or page count, to complete it by a certain date. Just get it down and don't worry too much about whether it's polished. When you have a first draft done you can go over it and fix/edit/chop and change as you like.
I'm not sure what you mean about putting in detail, but with a historical/paranormal you do need to know your world really well, whether its an invented, magical world or, say, Tudor England. You need to know about ten times as much about how that society works as you will actually put into the story! So, do research reading (for a fantasy, that might be about the time period your world is similar to, or about magic, or creatures from mythology, or anything relevant.) Often you can create a setting well with small specific details, eg something they are using in the kitchen or on the farm; when/why they wear gloves; how people greet each other. But don't include too much detail as that can slow the story down.
I hope that's of some use - it's a really big question, too big to answer properly here. Keep on writing, you will get better and better at it!
all the best, Juliet M
More Answered Questions
Hannah
asked
Juliet Marillier:
What types of things give you inspiration to write your beautiful stories?
Samantha
asked
Juliet Marillier:
Hi Juliet, I know you get asked a lot of questions about a third WildWood Dancing book. Not sure if anyone has asked you before about crowdfunding? i.e. KickStarter If you could raise enough money to essentially pay yourself a salary for writing the third book - would that be something you would consider?
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