top of page

The Author's Playground

❤️ Welcome to The Author's Playground

by Davene LG! 😊

 

Many a writer's journey starts with exploring what it means to;

✒️ write 🖋,

✂️ edit 🖍,

📥 format 📤,

📦 publish 📚,

and

📉 market 📈

their stories.

 

The Author's Playground will endeavor to act as a checklist

and share a little insight into each step to aid anyone seeking to join the Writing Community.

💌 I look forward to hearing from you! 💌

 

P.s. Follow me on Instagram or Threads: DvAuthor for updates on my work, workouts, random thoughts, promos, and playlists.

1. The Author's Playground

Stationery
✒️ Writing 🖋

 

Minuscule Step 1:

There are at least six different tools to choose from when you decide to write a story;

  • Writing with Pencil or Pen on Paper,

  • Typing on a Typewriter, Computer, or Laptop,

  • Recording on a Voice Recorder,

  • Carving on Wax,

  • Chiseling on Stone, and/or

  • Painting on Canvas.

Of course there is also seven, Programming your A.I. to simultaneously Write, Edit, & Format your story for you using a Choose Your Own Adventure style template.

2. The Sticky Note

Stationery
✒️ Writing 🖋

 

Minuscule Step 2:

“To avoid Writer’s Block jot down a few key points on a sticky note;

 

1. The type of literature and age group

Decide if you are writing fiction, non-fiction, a novel, novella, poetry, etc.

Select an age group;

  • #PB = Picture Books = Ages 3-8

  • #CB = Chapter Books = Ages 6-10

  • #C = Children’s Books = Ages 2-12

  • #MG = Middle Grade = Ages 8-12

  • #YA = Young Adult = Ages 12-18

  • #NA = New Adult = Ages 18-25/30

  • #Adult = Ages +18

 

2. The minimum and maximum total word count.

Often determined by the type of literature.

 

3. The main genre as well as any sub-genres.

For example:

Fairy tales are a sub-genre of Fantasy,

Space Operas are a sub-genre of Science Fiction,

& Paranormal stories are a sub-genre of Horror.

 

4. The size of your book and page layout.

The default size of a book is 6" x 9".

When using a program such as Microsoft Word for your page layout make sure you are using the most current version.

 

5. The setting or environment.

 

6. The main characters, side characters, & villains.

Include your characters' ages and basic descriptions such as hair, skin, and eye color, clothing style, and any unique markings, scars, or items. 

 

7. A 25 word max pitch.

State what your main character needs to do in order to achieve their goal and what the consequences are if they do not achieve said goal.”

3. The Overview

Stationery
✒️ Writing 🖋

 

Major Step 3:

“The Overview;

 

1. Decide on the Theme of your story.

Write approximately ten keywords and/or slogans containing the basic concept or message of your story.

 

2. Decide the titles and length of your chapters.

3,000-5,000 words for a novel.

 

3. Expand your Pitch into a promotional description of your book’s character and conflict that will serve as your back cover Blurb.

100-300 words max.

 

4. Expand your Blurb into a Synopsis, which unlike the Blurb should include the conclusion of your story.

500-1,000 words max, single-spaced.

Include;

your characters,

the plot (sequence of events),

and the narrative arc

(exposition or back story introduction,

rise in action or the build up of tension,

climax or most intense and main decisive event,

denouement or decrease in tension,

and resolution or the end).

 

5. Sketch a map of your world.

For the blueprint of your setting, whether a world view or inside a building, draw key landmarks and/or destinations your characters will travel to and the order in which they will travel.”

4. To Show or Tell

Stationery
✒️ Writing 🖋

 

Step 4:

“Narration, dialogue, and show vs. tell;

 

1. Narration.

Select first (I), second (You), or third person (They) point-of-view, and decide if you want to break the fourth wall (I speaking directly to You).

If you are the narrator in your story then use your voice, but if the narrator is a character then use the voice of that particular character.

 

2. Dialogue.

Dialogue is about capturing a natural conversation that includes forward moving plot points and key details to the story.

Dialogue, generally speaking, should not attempt to exceed or replace narration.

When including narration around dialogue make it clear who is speaking, when and where, and when it comes to dialogue tags try to use 'said' [insert character's name] instead of an overuse of words ending on '-ed' or '-ly'.

Keep an eye on the language and dialect which each character uses that befits their beliefs, personality, culture, influences, and background.

Be mindful of contractions such as 'you're' instead of 'you are', and the consistency of their use throughout the story.

 

3. Show vs. Tell.

A story needs a balance of both show and tell.

If you wish to express the bullet point order in which events occurred then use 'telling'.

If you wish to convey the emotions and senses involved with regards to the events which took place or are taking place then use 'showing'.”

Try reducing the use of the following words in the narration of your manuscript ;  

thing, very, just, afraid, was ,were, is, are, appear, seem, look, feel, felt, saw, smell, hear, watch, notice, realize, wonder, know, knew, walk, & had gone.

5. The First Hook

Stationery
✒️ Writing 🖋

 

Step 5:

“Introduction;

 

1. The first line.

Use poetic language, a twist, an unexpected shock, beautiful imagery, or something different to hook the reader with your first line.

 

2. The first paragraph.

For a novel try and aim for about 3,000-5,000 words per chapter.

Each paragraph should in itself be a complete story.

Be mindful of how your paragraphs fit within your main story's narrative arc and your story's overall theme.

 

3. The first pages.

Keep an eye on how your characters' arcs grow and change throughout your story.

The first pages of a story should generally avoid info-dumping all the characters' details and back-story.

An exciting story will typically start in the middle of an action scene, whether that means fixing a satellite in space, characters' finding themselves in the middle of a battlefield, or hair-styling drama in a salon.

Often the advice is to avoid starting a story with a character waking up from sleep unless of course it is truly vital to the story you are writing. 

 

4. Prologue?

To prologue or not to prologue,

To start with a back-story or flashback, or with the present moment or an action scene?

The answer is in the pacing and page-turning.”

Stationery

6. Tense Suspense

✒️ Writing 🖋

 

Step 6:

“Between the Introduction and Climax;

 

1. Build up.

Your characters are no longer sharing who they are, why they exist, and what their goal is.

Your characters are on the journey heading toward the final battle scene.

The moment before 'The Climax' is a great opportunity to show your characters collecting items and/or people needed to achieve their goal, adding in potential plot twists, and showing your characters overcoming obstacles to achieve their goal or goals.

 

2. Tension.

Tension can exist between characters and their environment.

If the key to tension is inducing anxiety, the key to suspense is every day life; creating a non-fiction cake, coated in fiction-frosting.

 

3. Suspense.

A suspenseful story doesn't have to include shock and horror, but it does need to grip your readers. One method is to create a character and situation that the reader cares about. It's difficult to care about a character that's bullet proof. To keep your readers invested in your characters give them a weakness, and those elements which make a character human and relatable.”

7. The Climax

Stationery
✒️ Writing 🖋

 

Step 7:

“The Climax;

 

1. Tension Supreme.

Your characters are no longer traveling about to figure out the solution to their problem. Your characters are fighting the epic battle of the century, or marrying the person they were dating...or both.

The characters' battle to achieve their goals reveals their true heart, as well as their responses after their climactic win or loss.

8. The Denouement

Stationery
✒️ Writing 🖋

 

Step 8:

“The Denouement;

 

1. Tension Reduction.

Your characters are no longer trying to solve their original problem, final solutions, and face off against the final boss. Your characters are now facing the aftermath of the main event, and might be found bandaged up and chilling in the local tavern.

9. The Resolution

Stationery
✒️ Writing 🖋

 

Step 9:

“The Resolution;

1. The End.

Your characters are no longer dealing with the aftermath. Your characters have reached their final destination, they are home, in a new location, or perhaps dead.

You might include a cliffhanger or hint at the potential for a series, but the story for your work-in-progress has concluded and can be considered a completed first draft.

The five step formula from start to end is a basic story structure, which more seasoned authors or the writing prodigies know how to alter and change without compromising their storytelling. First master the formula and the world of writing will present a multitude of opportunities for you, or wing it and create a new winning formula.

bottom of page