Read Like A Writer

There are two ways to learn how to write fiction: by reading it and by writing it. Yes, you can learn lots about writing stories in workshops, in writing classes and writing groups, at writers' conferences. You can learn technique and process by reading the dozens of books like this one on fiction writing and by reading articles in writers' magazines. But the best teachers of fiction are the great works of fiction themselves. You can learn more about the structure of a short story by reading Anton Chekhov's 'Heartache' than you can in a semester of Creative Writing 101. If you read like a writer, that is, which means you have to read everything twice, at least. When you read a story or novel the first time, just let it happen. Enjoy the journey. When you've finished, you know where the story took you, and now you can go back and reread, and this time notice how the writer reached that destination. Notice the choices he made at each chapter, each sentence, each word. (Every word is a choice.) You see now how the transitions work, how a character gets across a room. All this time you're learning. You loved the central character in the story, and now you can see how the writer presented the character and rendered her worthy of your love and attention. The first reading is creative—you collaborate with the writer in making the story. The second reading is critical.


John Dufresne, from his book, The Lie That Tells A Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction

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Plot Factory: Craft Your Universe

 

Organize your story.

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An online collaborative story planner that lets writers plan, organize, and write stories & fictional universes.

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Narrate Your Stories

Hear your story out loud. Listen for grammatical errors, run-on sentences, and story flow.
Collaborative Writing

Collaborate with your team on Plot Factory just like you would on Google Docs.
Character Sheets

Quickly and easily build characters off built-in character sheets or build you own sheet.
ePub Exports

Export your stories as ePub files, for self-publishing. Export as docx files for querying.
Narrate your stories with life-like voices

Narration generator supports English accents and female voices.
David was smiling down at her. "What do you say, gorgeous? Marry me?"

Looking up from their canopy bed, she knew he was the one. Forever. As she stared into his deep-green eyes, somewhere in the distance a deafening bell began to ring. It was pulling him away. She reached for him, but her arms clutched empty air.


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Features:

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    Sidebar Quick Viewer

Audio Narrations:

    Unlimited narration

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Features:

    Unlimited Stories
    Unlimited Universes
    Dark Mode
    Automated Backups
    Daily Goal Tracking
    Thesaurus Lookup
    Remove Ads
    Character Sheets
    Plot Organizer
    Story Questionnaires
    Sidebar Quick Viewer
    ePub Format Exports
    Story Drafts/Versioning
    Advanced Word Analysis
    Beats Mode

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