Outline that Story

Tell Me A Story




To outline or not, that is the question...

There are a number of authors, who rarely use an outline – and are quite vociferous about their methods. They claim if they know what’s happening, their work won’t be natural. Instead, they start the story with an incident, and let the whole thing develop.

The method undoubtedly works for some - for experienced writers who’ve trod the long and dusty path and understand the problems.

The problem is, can YOU recognize a quality conflict that will continue unfurling for the next 80,000 words, or will yours be electrifying to begin with, only to end in a blind alley. It’s too easy to start with a bang and a flourish of bright ideas, only to wither at chapter four.

Creating Story Appeal

Tell Me A Story

AJ, how do I make my book more interesting to readers. I've invited friends to read it, but they went vacant afterwards. I realise they didn't think much of it, even though they made the right 'noises' about it.

Oh dear, Annie. You need to hook your reader’s from the opening paragraph. Look at books by successful authors to see how they achieved it and why you found them interesting. 

Remember, characters are the most important ingredient in any story. Adventure means nothing if you don’t care what happens to characters. You should burrow into each of your protagonists until they become 'real' to you. How can they feel real to others if they aren’t real to you? Develop them so they exist as people in your mind. Know everything about them, all their faults, assets, likes and dislikes, their favourite music, food, films etc.

Unless YOU feel your character's problems are real, no one else will. 

Before you start to write, go over the story in your mind until you're in the correct mood. Feel the emotions you want to generate in the story, be at one with your characters and the problems they're facing. Have empathy.

You must also make sure you have a central problem running throughout the story. It must be a problem that can't be resolved until the very last few pages of the last chapter of the book. Make the problem one that is of paramount importance to the central characters, something that affects them if it cannot be

resolved. Criss-cross this major problem with minor problems that are resolved within a few chapters.

In this way, reader's keep turning those pages to find out what happens to the story people they have come to care about.

Hope you found this useful.... and keep writing. 

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Are you Serious About Writing?

Tell Me A Story - Writing Tips

A lot of people say they want to write a story - yet most never get around to it. Are YOU serious about writing?

• If you are really serious, the first thing you should do is beg, buy, or borrow, a couple of books on creative writing. All writers need to get to grips with the basics of story telling. The idea of writing may seem like a fire burning into your soul, but unless that fire is fed with the oxygen of skill, those flames will fade and die.
• A textbook on creative writing will show you the right way to tackle your story and help you to become fruitful. You'll appreciate the why and wherefore of what you're doing.
• Artists in every genre - dancers, painters, musicians, all have to learn before they can harness their unrefined gift. They study for YEARS before they find success. They all display flair in the first place of course, but without direction that flair will flounder. Writers are just the same.
• You should stop listening to lay people. You’ll probably find a lot of friends offering advice - telling you how good you are - telling you where you're going wrong..... forget it. Listen ONLY to skilled writers or editors. Friends and family can be too enthusiastic or too critical – they won’t look at it with a qualified eye – they’re too close to you.
• If you're really serious you should join an online Writer’s Circle. They're free, friendly, and full of like minded people - some with years of experience to tap into and take advantage of.
• You should try to find a local writer's group - mixing with other writers will work wonders for your morale, they’ll offer good advice and give a professional critique to your work. you'll soon start to feel like a real writer - what more could you want?

Hope this helps you on your way a little. Don't give up, don't get dispirited - just keep writing and one day it will happen.

The Route To Writing

Tell Me a Story

The Route to Writing

Let’s face it, the majority of people will never write a book. Those who aspire to do so, tend to be curious about those who’ve actually done it - such as how they managed to create an entire book.

I thought it might be fun to ask any of you out there who’ve hit the spot, to share in a small way, how you go about it.

• How do you select what you are going to write about - where did you get the idea for your heroine’s lifestyle?
• Why did you choose to set your latest novel where you did?
• How you physically write - Do you write with a pen or pencil, or do you sit in front of a computer?
• Do you outline a detailed plan, or just jump in with writing?
• How do you know when your book is complete and ready for public consumption?
• Do you picture film stars in your story while you write?
• Where do you put those magic words down - in a study at home, in a corner of a bar, or while your partner watches TV.

Come on. Share your secrets with all the struggling people out there.

Generating Tension

Tell Me A Story - writing tips

 From time to time, I’m asked how to go about generating conflict in a story. It isn’t magic; it comes about when a certain mixture of elements in a story, are correctly balanced.

Creating Tension
I can’t claim this to be complete, but here’s a short list that might be useful as a starting point for creating tension in stories.

1. The aims of the central characters should be contradictory, and mutually exclusive.
2. The central characters should be fighting to reach their separate goals autonomously, and to the detriment of the other.
3. The path your characters take in reaching their goals becomes the foundation of action. You should exploit the actions and contradictions - take full advantage to heighten the tension.
4. The plot should have a poignant side.
5. Strong feeling shouldn’t merely be narrated in characters; show by reactions, don't tell.
6. Emotions that you invoke in your readers are what count most.
7. It’s essential you understand the feelings you wish to stir in your reader before you write. You must write with that emotion in mind at all times.
8. The theme of the story should be one about which you care deeply.
9. You must be affected by your characters, and caught up with what happens to them.
10. You should believe in your characters and empathise with their struggle. If you don’t, how can anyone else. Your work will lack the oomph that tempts people to turn pages.

As a final thought, a time restriction can also heighten anxiety. Having to complete something vital, before it adversely affects characters, is often a good way of creating tension.

Getting to Grips With Writing

Tell Me A Story - Creative Writing

AJ, can you help. I have a story hanging around. I know the names of the protagonists and where I want in the story to go - but each time I start to type - it feels wrong, it’s weird. As I begin writing, I lose interest. In a bizarre way I want to write, yet for some reason, I can't.

Thanks for the email. There are a number of things that may help. To start with, if you’re absolutely sure you want to write, nothing should prevent you. Don't let anything get in your way.

• If you are sincere, you need to beg, buy, or borrow, a couple of text books on creative writing (dare I suggest Just About Write  at only 99 cents from Kindle). All writers need to understand the basics of story-telling. The desire to write may feel like a fire burning into your soul, but unless that fire is fed with the oxygen of skill, those flames will dwindle and die.
• A text book on creative writing can help you appreciate the why and wherefore of what you're doing – and point you the right direction to help you become productive.
• Artists of every genre - dancers, painters, musicians, have to study for years before they are able harness their natural gifts. They exhibit talent in the first place of course, but without direction that talent will flounder. Writers are no different.
• Stop listening to people who are not professionally involved in writing. Friends love offering advice - telling you how good you are - telling you where you're going wrong..... forget it. Friends and family can be too enthusiastic or too critical – they don’t read with a qualified eye.
• Join an online Writer’s Circle. They're free, friendly, and full of like-minded people - some with years of experience to tap into and take advantage of.
• Find a local writer's group - mixing with other writers can help your morale. They will offer advice and give a more qualified critique to your work. You'll start feeling like a proper writer - what more could you want?

Hope this helps you on your way a little. Don't give up, don't get dispirited - keep writing and one day it will happen.

The Clan Of The Cave Bear

Tell Me A Story - Review 


The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When her parents are killed by an earthquake, 5-year-old Ayla wanders through the forest completely alone. Cold, hungry, and badly injured by a cave lion, the little girl is as good as gone until she is discovered by a group who call themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear. This clan, left homeless by the same disaster, have little interest in the helpless girl who comes from the tribe they refer to as the "Others." Only their medicine woman sees in Ayla a fellow human, worthy of care.

This is a story of Neanderthals and the physically modern Cro-Magnons.

I read it quite a while ago, yet this surprising book persists amongst those on my much loved shelf.

With a few clever brush strokes, Jean M. Auel paints a believable story, with a well-researched backdrop, an absorbing plot, and endearing characters. I can ask for no more in a novel – yet somehow, Clan Of The Cave Bear goes beyond that. Perhaps it strikes some deep ancestral chord. Whatever, I found I couldn’t stop reading it. This probably outshines most other fantasy novels out there.




View all my reviews

What To Do After A Rejection Slip

Tell Me A Story

So you’ve finished your novel, polished it until it gleams, sent it off, but it’s been rejected. Justifiably you feel hacked off with the system. What are you going to do next?

Well first off, read through the manuscript again to see if there's something you’ve missed. Ask someone you trust to check it over, or if you're feeling wealthy, try sending the first three chapters to a critique service. 

If you’re certain it’s okay, the next step is to send your baby off again - and again, and again, if you have to. A rejection means nothing. Live with it. A rejection is one person's opinion, nothing more. All authors suffer it, even the best. 

Take a look at some of these statistics taken from Online College – it might just give you heart…

1. William Golding's Lord of the Flies was rejected 20 times before becoming published.
2. Agatha Christie had to wait four years for her first book to be published.
3. Zane Grey self-published his first book after dozens of rejections.
4. John Grisham's A Time to Kill was rejected by 16 publishers before finding an agent who eventually rejected him as well.
5. Richard Hooker, the book that inspired the film and TV show M*A*S*H* was denied by 21 publishers.
6. Madeline L'Engle's masterpiece A Wrinkle in Time faced rejection 26 times before willing the Newberry Medal.
7. In one rejection letter, Rudyard Kipling was told he didn’t know how to use the English language.
8. J.K. Rowling submitted Harry Potter to 12 publishing houses, all of which rejected it.
9. Before reaching print, Frank Herbert's Dune was rejected 20 times.
10. Gone With the Wind faced rejection 38 times.

If it happened to these great authors, it can happen to anyone - and believe me, it does. Writing is not for the faint-hearted. Stick at it, and you might just find success. Give up, and you never will...

For an interesting look from the publisher's side read this
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A Plot is a Plot is a Plot.....

Tell Me A Story - plot

You’re writing your first novel and you're full of anticipation. Your plot sets off with a super concept, which of course is your main conflict - it is isn't it? So, what do you tackle next?

Getting the plot right

1. Now you must bring about, in the most unaffected way you can, one intriguing setback after another. There must be nothing contrived about the plot. Flukes, misunderstandings, and Acts Of God are NOT allowed in modern writing. 
2. The challenges in the plot should come in a progression of highs and lows, one sub plot crisscrossing with another.
3. The most astonishing point of the main plot should not be reached until just before the end of your novel.
4. Before you reach this ‘astonishing’ point, all sub plots should be resolved. This supreme climax of drama should come about only from the original main conflict.
5. Combined with, and part of, this ‘astonishing’ point, should be the bleakest moment of the whole story.
6. At the ‘astonishing’ point, the central characters must appear to be up against an impenetrable barrier, but make sure you don't make this predicament so tortuous there is no way out. Each time you come up with a situation, scrutinize it. Work out how it affects the characters, and the previous and following parts of the plot.
7. Your reader must be convinced there is no way to resolve the predicament – until suddenly, the plot is disentangled, and the story is over.
8. Do it quickly. Tie up all loose ends, leave no threads hanging.

So you’ve written the end. The novel is finally closed.
Your reader MUST now be satisfied the characters have overcome all problems.

Readers should feel that your novel was about convincing people, facing plausible problems, who found realistic solutions... If they don't, you're in trouble!

Let it Bleed - a review

Tell Me A Story


Let It Bleed by Ian Rankin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Another nail-biting book from one of my favourite authors. As always, you become drawn into the dark life that surrounds Rankin's infamous, Inspector Rebus.

Rankin's stories are always overwrought, always insistent, and always completely electrifying in content. At the centre of them is Rebus, a police detective with bad habits and a large measure of corrosive humour - as human and flawed as the criminals he chases. 

Rebus has always understood that murder is inspired by passion or greed, but in 'Let It Bleed', when bodies begin to pile up, he recognises that there's nothing simple about it.
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View all my reviews

Finding Balance in Your Story

Tell Me A Story

I don't really like saying there are rules to writing, because someone somewhere, will prove me wrong. However, every now and then a convention in writing becomes so accepted that it almost becomes a rule. For instance - All stories must have form and proportion. 

A plot must have balance. Stories that are in balance are things of beauty, get the balance wrong and they start to feel ugly.

1. A plot should never consist of continuous desolation and emotional anguish. Readers soon tire of it, they become emotionally exhausted.
2. Readers should always associate with your characters. Make this connection by ensuring that incidents are feasible for the situation and genre.
3. The tempo of the story should vary - some scenes must be calmer than others.
4. After writing a chapter containing a significant episode, give readers time to recover by writing a more leisurely scene - not a boring scene of course, but one with fewer disparities, fewer ups and downs.
5. Make your story congruent with, yet larger than, life. Everyday life is mostly boring - readers of fiction want entertainment, not a documentary - and they certainly don't want lecturing.

Give your readers interesting and believable variation and if you're lucky, they’ll give you time.

Talking It Through

Tell Me A Story - Writing Tips

"AJ .... Can you help me? I'm soon to take part in a radio interview. The commentator has sent a list of possible queries and one of them wants me to discuss my story. How do you describe your book. I find it difficult to tell people what my story is about. How do you go on when presented with this?"
- Christine S.

Hello Christine,

This was raised a short time ago. I'm no authority on radio interviews. I detest being the centre of attention, but talking about your story is a fundamental part of promotion, even to a shy person. I have to admit it is challenging putting over the idea of a whole book in just a few words. I feel I'm underselling my work when I do it, but it MUST be done. It just needs a bit of thought.

• Concentrate on things that interest YOU in the book, what excites you about it.
• Discuss the opening premise and how it affects the story.
• Talk about the outlook and mood of the central characters and why they behave the way they do.
• Explain what conflicts exist between the main characters and perhaps what those conflicts mean in terms of the storyline.
• Discuss any issues raised in the story. Are they resolved at the end or partway through?
• Talk about how many main characters are in the story, and how the characters intertwine.
• Explain whether the main conflict is man conflicting with man, man conflicting with nature, or man conflicting with himself (read woman for man).

With a little homework it's surprising what you can come up with.

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Romantic Suspense

Finding A Story Plot

Tell Me a Story - About Plots


AJ, can you tell me the secret of unearthing a decent plot. I've been striving to find one but am getting nowhere?

Hello Amy. Thank you for the message. If you're astonishingly blessed, a plot might come to you fully fashioned – but don’t hold your breath. This seldom happens – all right, we've all heard that Stephenie Meyer claims to have done it, but don't count on it happening for you.... Don’t lose hope though, there are other ways. Try these appetizers.

• Look to advice columns in magazines; they can be a source of ideas for stories.
• Check the blurb on the jackets of books in your category and fashion them into your own. Don’t steal a complete plot though; just use the blurb to kick-start your own. Plagiarism is very frowned upon.
• Read the Personal Columns in newspapers. They can be a fertile supply of plots and ideas.
• Check the Obituaries column. As morbid as it seems, there might just be something in there that triggers your imagination.
• Think of ‘maturing’ a bedtime story - the plot can perhaps be brought bang up to date.
• Fables, folklore, and fairy tales, also offer a rich fund of plots that can be adapted.
• Take an already published story, reorganise the plot, make male characters female, play a what-if game with it, and maybe you’ll start ideas rolling.

One thing further, don’t expect to find a unique plot. There’s little likelihood of finding one after all these years. Just settle for a damn good, well-written story.

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Romantic Suspense

Just About Write

Tell Me a Story - Just About Write

Okay, so I'm indulging in a spot of self-promotion again. Here's a link to a free extract from my book about creative writing, Just About Write - available on Kindle for the INCREDIBLY LOW introductory price of 99 cents USA or 70p UK

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Romantic Suspense

Writing From Experience

Tell Me A Story - Writing Tips


Using Feelings
Instead of taking events directly from your life as the basis for a story, think feelings.

A Touch of Emotion
Sometimes it can be better to use the emotions produced by an experience as a premise for a novel, rather than writing about the circumstance itself. The outcome can become an intense story because you have already broached those emotional boundaries and understand them.

Too Close for Comfort
Sometimes you can be simply too close to an incident if it happened to you.  It can distort your writing if you try to capture it. However, you can use the perceptions, and tap into the dynamism of the experience. You can develop it, push the frontier of emotions, and the result can be a smash hit.

Weaving Passion
To breathe life into a story, I generally recommend new writers to weave passions into it, rather than actions. Use your own emotional experiences as a pillar and who knows, you could have the next best-seller.



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Romantic Suspense

11 Essential Checks For a Novel

Tell Me A Story

Are you writing a novel? Have you almost finished and intend to submit it to an agent. Read this first.

Essentals Checks for a Novel


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Without Reproach -a romantic mystery - try it.

Structure Of A Novel

Tell Me A Story

Is your story flagging? Something wrong but you're not sure what? Maybe the structure is at fault....

The Structure Of A Novel - Understanding Story Structure


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Without Reproach -a romantic mystery - try it.
Short Moments - 'Feel good' short stories

Tapping into your emotions

Tell Me A Story - Congratulations

Congratulations to Joe Mynhardt for his recent success. Joe - a fellow author on MWC had been talking on the forum about the best way of using emotions in writing. I put in my pennyworth and thought you might be interested as well.

"I think the secret of emotive writing is to tap into your own emotions and experiences, BUT apply them in a different slant.
Sometimes real experiences are too raw and we can't do them true justice on paper. In those circumstances it's better to write about something entirely different, yet still tap into the emotion we feel. In this way we give our work depth. For a greater feel for the subject read - The Fulfilling Fact - Emotional Influence.

Joe replied with - "Well said, AJ - and I guess I got it right, because I sent the story off yesterday and got an acceptance email today."

I wish Joe Mynhardt all the very best with his work. I love it when people find success. It gives everyone else encouragement too. So all of you out there still struggling, take heart. It CAN happen.



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Without Reproach -a romantic mystery - try it.
Short Moments - 'Feel good' short stories

Editing That Precious Book

Tell Me A Story - Advice

Okay, so the hard work is done. Your manuscript is hot off the word processor and you sit back to bathe in glory ---- Stop!

Your work is only part done, my friend. You now need to edit that beautiful manuscript and turn it into a thing of beauty.... How?

How To Edit A Book - 20 Ways To Edit A Book to Make It Better


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more articles from ajbarnett

• Submission Guidelines - 20 Things You Should Know
• The Plot Of The Book - How to Write a Plot
• A Guide to Getting Published - Write High, Aim Low

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Without Reproach -a romantic mystery - try it.
Short Moments - 'Feel good' short stories

Ending A Story - Climax And Endings In Creative Writing

Tell Me a Story

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The Jalón Valley, Costa Blanca
How to Increase Traffic to Your Article
Eating Garlic is Good For Sex
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Getting the end of a story right is extremely important. Make a mess and you might never have a reader again. Make it right and you could have readers waiting with bated breat for your next book.

For more read my new article: Ending A Story - Climax And Endings In Creative Writing

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Without Reproach -a romantic mystery - try it.
Short Moments - 'Feel good' short stories