Get 3 Great Writing Tips from Zombie Turkeys Author Andy Zach
Do you want to Get 3 Great Writing Tips from Zombie TurkeysAuthor Andy Zach? They’re coming! But first, have a laugh, courtesy of Andy’s favorite, Weird Al Yankovich!
Get 3 Great Writing Tips – Your First Tip
Have you heard of the Three Act Story Structure? How about the nine plot points? It’s foundational to most movies and plays and books. First invented by Aristotle, this article delves into it:
There are many variations on this theme, but if you think about it, every story has a beginning, middle, and end. Your story usually climaxes after the middle, or at the end of the second act of the play, and then the results of the action happen.
Intermission in Get 3 Great Writing Tips
Will we be dominated by robots in the future? Comment on this post or drop me a line, after watching this video.
And now on to the next tip.
Get 3 Great Writing Tips – Your Second Tip
Now you’ve got some idea about story structure, tell me about your favorite characters. Tell me about either characters you’ve created or your favorite fictional characters of all time. Then tell me what motivated them. Character motivation is what the next tip is all about.
Next, a Squirrel of a Different Color
A malabar squirrel from India. Truly a squirrel of a different color. Links to another squirrel.
Get 3 Great Writing Tips – The Third and Final Tip
I hope you’re a thrill lover! Here comes the thrill of your life, via this next video.
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If you’re an author, you’ll want to know anything that’ll make your job easier. If you’re a reader, you may be curious to know how an author creates a book from nothing. Here’s the first tip!
3 Writing Tips: The First Tip – Plan Your Story
There are two types of writers: planners and pantsers, those who write from the seat of their pants. Regardless of how you get your first draft done, your final story needs structure the reader can follow. Here is one popular approach: the three-act story structure.
The Three Act Story dates from Aristotle who defined it for Greek plays. I think the key takeaways are first: make sure the reader knows and cares about the characters. Second, the setting, place and time may be vague, but the threat or conflict should be interesting from the start, between the protagonist and his or her goal.
See my two previous blog posts for much more on plotting and story structure. The first link follows:
3 Writing Tips: The Second Tip – Pick the Best Point of View
The point of view is critical. First person point of view allows the reader to get into the main character’s head and read his or her thoughts. But then the reader can’t know anyone else very well, except through what the character observes.
An author can flip from one character to another, but the transitions can be confusing for the reader. Pro-tip: confusing the reader is very bad, leading to reader loss, probably forever. So do the transitions clearly and well, or don’t switch.
A compromise is to use a limited third person point of view. This allows the reader to look over the shoulder of a character, even reading their emotions, but only see what that person sees. Then switching to another character is much easier.
The Third Tip – Have a Privacy Policy
Why does an author need a privacy policy? You don’t, if you never talk, or write to or communicate with fans. If you’re going to interact with fans of your books (highly recommended!), then you’ll need some rules of engagement. If you have a website and a mailing list, you must follow the European Privacy rules for European fans. These rules will likely spread worldwide.
If you don’t care about privacy violations and European litigation, just ignore this tip.
Your fun from the Internet is next
Let’s start with this cross between a cat and a bird of paradise:
I bring you the problems of being a shapeshifter . . .
Then there’s this simulation of a Martian overflight:
How do you like this next Henny Youngman gag?
And finally, let’s give this blog post a BIG finish!
Free Plotting Lessons Second Lesson from Author Andy Zach
Just when you think you’ve learned all you can about plotting, then you discover Free Plotting Lessons Second Lesson. This, of course, is a follow up to Free Plotting Lessons Here from author Andy Zach, my previous blog post.
He felt different. More energetic, more alive. He bred with female after female in his flock without tiring. He stayed awake through the night. He feared no predator.
Then a turkey hunter shot him.
The setting sun overlooked a crisp, clear evening in early November. South of Bartonville, Illinois, a farmer had leased his wood lot to two turkey hunters. Big and burly in their bulky camouflaged outfits, they had just bagged one.
“Good shot, Pete!”
“He’s a big ‘un!”
Pete and Bob walked up to the tom turkey, bleeding on the cold ground. The rest of the flock had scattered into the woods. He had exceptionally good plumage and weighed perhaps twenty pounds. Pete reached down and picked him up by the neck.
“He weighs at least twenty-five pounds!”
Then the turkey’s eyes opened—and gleamed red. He kicked with his spurs and pecked savagely at Pete’s arms and eyes. Dozens of his hens attacked the men from behind.
“Gobble! Gobble!”
He felt different. More energetic, more alive. He had no memory of being shot, but a certain turkey satisfaction at killing his killers. He also enjoyed pecking at their dead meat. He had always liked frogs, but this meat tasted better. He led his flock down the road, in search of more predators to eat.
Now you practice writing an irresistible hook! Submit it in the comments to this blog. The best hook gets a free ebook: Zombie Turkeys or My Undead Mother-in-law.
Free Plotting Lessons Second – Fill in your scenes
Each scene MUST serve a purpose.
Advance the plot: X does Y to Z.
Develop your characters. Make them real people with strengths and weaknesses: X is unfaithful but hardworking. Z is loyal but dumb.
Give the reader information. X abused as a child, but very kind. Z happy as a child, but has a secret. Engage the reader. Make them care.
Ideally do all three at once in the same scene, in every sentence.
Finish with a hook for the next chapter. Force them to read the next chapter!
Review your plot outline. Pick one chapter and break it into scenes.
What happens first? Then what logically flows from that event? What do the characters do? How do they react? Portray the effects from each scene. Tug at the reader’s heart.
For your next exercise, break one of your chapters from your outline into scenes. Post your outline as a comment or send it to me. I’ll randomly select one and send you a free ebook.
I didn’t have a scene chart with Zombie Turkeys, and I struggled. Then I learned about scene charts from Rachel Aaron in her book:
