Fireworks for Your Fiction

By Linda Batey

In real life, bad things happen to good people at exactly the wrong time, so why should your character(s) be any different? Ignite your fiction with deeply developed characters with flaws, quirks and real-life issues by mixing them into unpredictable situations and watch your fiction explode! This helpful book will give you plot ideas--100 of them as well as sizzle for your characters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Linda Batey
• Release date: Sep 14, 2010
• ISBN: 9781465799135

Linda Batey

Linda is fulfilling a lifelong dream of full-time writing. Between books, she writes articles on gardening, relationships, Maine and her experiences in life. She adds travel writer to her resume since many of her articles, and her website, are about her travels. She lives in Maine with her husband of 29 years in an empty nest.

Book preview

FIREWORKS FOR YOUR FICTION

By

Linda Batey

SMASHWORDS EDITION

PUBLISHED BY:

Linda Batey on Smashwords

Fireworks for Your Fiction

Copyright ©2010 by Linda Batey

All right reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

SMASHWORDS EDITION LICENSE NOTES

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

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Dedicated to, inspired and edited by, Ken King.

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Cover designed by Laura Foster

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Introduction

Many writers have great writing skills but find themselves a little hard pressed to come up with something to write about. I have virtually the opposite problem. My mind spins stories and creates characters all day long, yet I lack the self-discipline to sit down and put it on paper start to finish. Starting is not a problem, but finishing sure is.

I believe that all good books are character driven. Without good characters, plots are bland and purposeless. On the flip side, characters that sit and do nothing (no plot) aren’t very interesting either. Put great characters in peril, give them a secret life or problem and throw in a few unexpected twists in their personal life or unforeseen circumstance, and you are on the right track to creating a very interesting read -- doing this with all of your major characters will make for absorbing clashes and conflicts for the reader to enjoy.

What I’ve done is put together a plot list; some comprehensive story starters and some very basic plot ideas, listed character traits and quirks, hidden pasts, places for things to happen and people to meet, possible careers and hobbies for your characters and a list of unexpected twists that turn the character’s life upside down. Keep asking yourself what’s the best/worst thing that could happen right now? which gives you potential for all kinds of good and bad turns of events. You can also use more than one for your story; use one for the beginning, throw in a life-changing event, then turn the plot by choosing another. Be sure that you don’t have too many characters for the reader to keep track of and just keep asking yourself What if _____ happened?

Contents

Chapter One--100 Plots

Chapter Two--Creating Real People

Chapter Three--Quirks

Chapter Four--Secrets

Chapter Five--Occupations

Chapter Six--Twists and Turns

Chapter Seven--Issues of Self-esteem

Chapter Eight--50 Ways to Kill your Character

Chapter One--100 Plots

A thirteen-year-old boy goes to a Red Sox game with his dad. It’s a big game and dad is really into the game. Boy excuses himself to go to the men’s room but does not return. Possibilities include the boy running away or being abducted; this could be in connection with an online social group (but why is his computer memory completely gone?), or parental problems (did he and his mother plan this getaway? For what reasons? School problems or friend issues?

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