First off, anyone who has not watched a single episode of Game of Thrones should run out and do so now. The show is shot so beautifully and is extremely well adapted from the novels. This leads me to my next mission: I am currently hammering out my world, my characters and my story. As I do so much research into the process behind writing and organization I realize there is still so much I don’t even know about my own world. I once started a story Wiki in hopes I could get all the information laid out in one spot. What I found there was as you write, you rewrite more in your wiki than you do anywhere else. The idea was fantastic, the execution, not so much.

As I have said in prior articles, I used to “free write” if you would. I would sit at a computer or a notepad and just write. Let the ideas pour onto the page. As I tried to be four steps ahead of myself I found I was finishing less and less, and my writing was actually suffering. In fact, even as I write this article, I am simply free writing. It is one thing that is extremely easy to do, yet also completely and utterly useless. I have planned only a few articles, and they shine above all of my others. One of them almost became published, until they realized that I had already posted the work online. They wanted completely original works. So be careful what you post online, it’s already out there and many people aren’t interested what they can already see for free.

Free writing is the parkour of the writing world, and it is a tough monster to master. It is not for the clumsy, just like parkour! What I mean is having a structure, a plan, a method to the madness is a damn good way to make your writing better. I ramble on and on sometimes about god knows what and it seems like I may even know what I’m talking about. Perhaps I do, and perhaps I don’t, but the one thing that I am sure about is that my structured writing is always much better than my free writing. Why is that? I’m glad you asked!

Structure allows for you to maintain the correct motion for your story or article. As you proceed forward your writing can always look back upon itself, but you must still have a purpose for that. I have been known to occasionally write myself into circles. A story that seems like it is going somewhere is not as good as a story that is going somewhere. Also, keep people’s interest. Two of the most popular fantasy series to date are among the most descriptive stories ever written. I’m talking about Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. Both of these writers knew their worlds inside and out, and I will bet that George R.R. Martin remembers virtually every bit of dialogue from his novels. But in both of these stories there are tremendous amounts of purpose and direction. In Lord of the Rings we have the one ring getting ever closer to its eventual end and in Game of Thrones we have many factions fighting for the throne. In Game of Thrones it is harder to see the progression, but the easiest example to point out is that of Daenerys Targaryen. She is someone who, without spoiling too much, has travelled a long way and has experienced much on the path to obtaining her main goal.

These stories are exceptional pieces of fiction, the same goes for The Hunger Games and Harry Potter.  Do you think any of these stories had no planning involved? Absolutely not. My writing process thus far has been pretty simple and I would say, start with these.

• Read, Watch, Play, Learn – The more you know, the richer your stories become.

• What is your name? – Writing a character you know makes the writing more powerful, but it is easy to make up a character and know them. After all, you did create them!
• What is your quest? – Do you seek the Holy Grail? Perhaps a shrubbery? You must know what the main storyline is. The character and the plot are what move the story. Is it possible to have more than one point of view? Of course! Does that make it a million times harder? Yes, of course it does. Stick with one point of view until you feel comfortable switching. One of the best parts of a book is being given that bit of information or insight into a character’s mind that may tell you more about them than their actions ever could.
• What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? This question seems irrelevant, but that was its point. Keep focused on your story. If something seems out of place, then it probably is. Cut it. Yes it is hard to cut something, especially whole chapters or even characters, but sometimes things just don’t fit in. You must reread your work. Be fruitful with your ideas, harsh with your criticisms and trim the fat.

So you’ve got your character, your plot and a bunch of notes scribbled haphazardly across a page. Fantastic, you’re a writer. There are a few million exactly like you. Now how do you get better? Repeat those steps above, repeatedly. How do you get published? I am still trying to figure that one out myself. You can self publish, especially with eBooks these days. But hopefully you will be able to hone your writing skills a little better with these suggestions.

Also in my previous post, I tossed out a template for keeping track of story information. I have expanded from just two sheets, to a hefty five, and could easily add a creatures sheet as well. I have my Plot Line sheet, and then four mimicking the Character tracking sheet. Those four are Characters, Places, Items and Lore. I hope that if this idea makes it from here to publication, people will be able to read the exact way that I worked it out as I wrote because that is the one thing I cannot find online.

So many writers have a “How To Write” blog, book, app, class or video… but how many of those writers are successful? I swear there is some kind of writer’s guild that forbids successful writers from making useful and helpful tutorials into their writing success. If anyone finds a great one, please feel free to pass it on to me. After reading this I am sure you probably think I need just as much help as you may need!

That is it for now, until this canuck-amuck’s next sporadic update, farewell and feel free to email me or comment below!