Storms & Script Frenzy, The Past Few Days

First, the storms. We survived them alright, thank God! I was praying they'd fizzle by the time they reached us; and wouldn't you know it, once they crossed the river, they began to weaken, and they lost their rotation. Greenwood got hit, though, as did other places further south.

I watched the local storm coverage until about eleven o'clock, then I went to bed. Before I quit for the night, I found out that one person died in Atoka County, Oklahoma, and another person was injured (broken leg, knee, etc.) when their trailer flipped over. I can't remember where that happened, but I'm glad the person is alright. Too bad about the other, though. :(

Second, Script Frenzy. I've finished my screenplay! :D

You see? When you have a thorough enough outline, and know how the story's supposed to end, you can finish the first draft of a project rather quickly! :)

It's funny. At several points, I went back and changed things in the outline, like where the major conflicts were going to take place (I was going to have them all go to Mexico, where the Inciting Incident occurred, but decided I wanted everything to happen in Xander's hometown. It worked out much better this way). Another change was that I was going to kill off the villain's younger brother, but things just didn't work out the way I'd planned it.

I'm happy with the overall story. I know it needs a ton of revising, but that will have to wait. I'm setting this story aside for a while so I can work on other things, including my script from last year. It still needs to be revised and rewritten.

Anyway, my screenplay ends at 101 pages plus a cover page, so on the Script Frenzy Web site, it shows up as 102 pages.

And now I'm off to work on other things--like brainstorming and outlining what I'm going to write during this coming Wednesday's 10K Day for Writers! :)

Lois

Tips for Writing Historical Fiction, by Shery Arrieta-Russ

Writing historical fiction requires much thought and understanding of history in general and basic writing tools. If you are going to be writing historical fiction, you need to have a grasp of the English language, proper grammar, and creative outlook of history. It isn't a task that is too difficult but it can come with some troubles if you neglect to do proper research.

Do Your Research

Research is important when writing historical fiction. This is the biggest, easiest, and best way to understand everything you are going to be writing about. It ensures you won't make mistakes when it comes to dates, places and people. Giving your readers the best possible and factual information can really set the scene or even give your audience a complete understanding of the characters.

Have Fun

Another tip when writing historical fiction is just to have fun with it. Be creative. Dull and boring writing can cause your audience to simply "check out". When writing, simply be sure you are adding true understanding and realistic feelings to every detail. From the setting, to the people to even the dialogue - it's all very important to the reader.

Be Passionate

Have passion. If what you're writing about isn't interesting or it isn't even something you love, how can your audience love it as well? Passion itself can be from the fact you love history to even the love for particular times and dates.

Have passion, patience, creativity, and understanding when writing historical fiction or anything else about history. These are ways to really make an amazing and interesting book or article. You want to engage your readers, make complicated situations easier to understand, and even have your audience more interested in history then ever before.

Copyright © Shery Russ


About Shery: Shery is the creator of WriteSparks!™- a software that generates over 10 *million* Story Sparkers for Writers. Download WriteSparks!™ Lite for free at http://writesparks.com. She is also the author of 3 books and creator of several email courses for writers. Visit her official site at http://sheryruss.com

Download an excerpt of The Journaling Life: 21 Types of Journals You Can Create to Express Yourself and Record Pieces of Your Life below:

thejournalinglife-sampler.zip OR thejournalinglife-sampler.pdf

If you want 3 writing *sparks* delivered to you every day for 31 days, check out WriteSparks!™ Daily HERE for info on how to get started -- it's free. :o)

Thank you for reading. Keep writing!

Best,
Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ
WriteSparks!™ creator
WriteSparks.com

= = = = = »» NewsFlash: My book is OUT! «« = = = = =

Kick start your imagination, ignite your creativity, and begin your journey towards becoming an outstanding writer with the help of my book, WEEKLY WRITES: 52 Weeks of Writing Bliss! (ISBN: 0-9710796-7-6; Trade Paperback, 182pp; Filbert Publishing, Minnesota; March 2004)

Weekly Writes: 52 Weeks of Writing Bliss! - the Book
Buy my book at Amazon

When you forward to me your Amazon.com receipt, you'll get 2 e-books to awaken, encourage and nurture the writer inside you, PLUS access to e-mail courses and other goodies! For book excerpts, reviews and complete info, just head on to WeeklyWrites.com, the official site of the Weekly Writes book.

Days 10 & 11 of Script Frenzy 2011:

I took Friday and Saturday off from writing. Friday ended up being mostly a reading day. Saturday was Jeff's only day off, and we spent part of it together, and part of it getting caught up on stuff (for me, it was Internet stuff, and for him, it was outdoor stuff).

Yesterday, it was a bit hard for me to get back into the swing of things. It was really cloudy, and I just didn't feel much like writing. However, once I sat down and started writing, the words began to flow, and I added 5 new pages to my screenplay! :D

This morning got off to a rocky start when I took Nikita for a walk. We got down pretty close to the goat yard, which is at the end of the road. We've gone by there many, many times, and it's never been a problem. This morning, though, was odd. We didn't even make it that far and she began making little raspy, growly barks. Then she slipped out of her collar and ran home. Now, if this had happened several months ago, I would have had no idea where she'd gone, and I was kind of concerned with the way she hightailed it back the way we came. But when I reached the house, she was waiting for me at the door. That in itself is a miracle! But what freaked her out? I can only begin to guess at what might have sent her running away like that. A snake? Coyotes? Foxes? I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I heard a bunch of dogs, but that's normal, as neighbors back behind us have several. Come to think of it, they were louder than usual. Maybe they got loose and were headed up our way, but if they did, I never saw them. I'm just glad she went straight to our door and waited!

So, once things settled down a little, and I readjusted her collar, we went back outside. We just stayed close to the house, and I still didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Go figure!

Once we were in for good, I came back to my studio and caught up online. Then I set to work on my screenplay. I read over the next section of my outline and went to work on the script. I added ten new pages today! :D

Wow! I am so on a roll! :) I made some simple adjustments to the outline, then closed it out. I uploaded my script into the ScriptFrenzy validator, and it shows that I've written 69 pages (although one of those is the cover page, so really, I'm at 68 pages).

I'll work on it more tomorrow, but now I'm about to grab some leftovers from last night's dinner, then I'll straighten up / organize my studio. After that, I need a shower, then I want to finish my knit sock. I'm so close to the end, and it's calling out for me to finish it! :P

Have a good one,

Lois