So You Want to Write!

On Tuesday, December 4, 2018, I was a guest speaker at Professor Kathleen Hellen’s creative writing class at Coppin State University. We met at the Baltimore Book Festival (September 30, 2018) where I was exhibiting at the Black Writers’ Guild tent. She told me that she would love to have writers come to her class and talk about any aspect of the craft of writing.

When I took her up on her offer, I decided that I would discuss the five elements of a fiction novel. Here’s what I covered during the class:

1. Plot & Structure

a. Beginning, middle and end.

b. Having action, conflict and resolution.

2. Setting & Description

a. Where does the story take place?

b. Weave in details to add depth to the story.

c. Use the 5 senses (sight, sound, smell, taste and touch).

3. Point of View (POV)

a. Whose character’s eyes are you looking though?

b. 1^st person (you’re with the character throughout the entire novel)

c. 3^rd person (gives you more flexibility).

4. Character

a. Identify your protagonist and antagonist.

b. Make them lovable, menacing, etc.

c. Interview them.

5. Dialogue

a. Make it believable.

b. Show conflict, mood, etc.

I gave the students handouts (e.g. story planning worksheet, character questionnaire, etc.) to get them to explore and expand their writing. They had tons of questions and we even did an exercising crafting a story based on a picture of the Inner Harbor.

We had a fantastic time!

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