Five Sentence Fiction: Faeries

 This post has moved. It can now be found at http://rjropsen.com/faeries/

Sincerely,
R.J. Ropsen

Writers Tip (1)

Relate characters to people in your life.

  When I am writing a character for a story I like to relate the characters to
certain people in my life. This helps me when I am developing characters
for a story. It makes the character have stronger personalities and seem
more real.

   First, I decide on how my characters will act their traits, and personality.
Then I figure out who in my life is like that character. In the Privileged,
Matthew, is a lot like a good friend of mine. They are both very curious
and want to learn everything.When I write scenes where Matthew is
present I think of my friend and how he would react in that situation.
This makes it easier for me to create a strong character.

Try this writing tip if:
1) You are having a hard time creating a character.
2) Your character seems a little flat.

   This has helped me with my writing. I hope it helps you with yours.
Best of Luck!

P.S. Do you already use this tip in your writing? Then tell me a
character you have written and how they relate to that person in
your life!

Sincerely,
R.J. Ropsen

In My Diary (5)

Night Terrors  
   When I was younger I had night terrors. There were a few dreams I
had that were reoccurring. They seem silly now but I had a very
overactive imagination.
   Every night when I fell asleep I would have a terrifying nightmare.
Sometimes a witch would be after me, or the dryer monster who would
pull me down the basement stairs and into the dryer. Others nightmares
were all too real which made things even more terrifying.
   After a few months of this I was too afraid to go to sleep. Instead I
would read late into the night until I was so tired I would fall into another
nightmare. I needed a way to get rid of these terrible dreams.  
   Another few months went by until I finally came up with a solution to
the problem. Before I went to bed I would make up a nice story in my
head. I would use my imagination in a more positive way.
   I thought if I filled my head with characters, setting, and plot that I
would dream what I had created in my head. This seemed to work.
My dreams were a lot more pleasant.
   I guess you could say I started writing stories at a young age. But
instead of writing them down on paper they were in my head. I am
glad I found my love for writing again. This time I am writing down
my stories in hopes to create something others can read and enjoy.

Sincerely,
R.J. Ropsen

Tips for Writers Block

   Is writers block making it hard for you to finish your novel? Here are some tips that
can help you finish your novel. The one that you have been trying to get out of your
head and onto paper.

1) Plot out the beginning, middle, and end of your novel. This helps you decide
on the general idea of what your story is about. The more you now about your story
the easier it will be to write.

2) Schedule an hour in your day to write. I found writing on my hour lunch break
was a great way to get in some writing. It takes me 30 minutes to get into a good
writing flow. In an hour I felt I could accomplish a lot of writing.

3) Set a page per day writing goal. I started with a goal of writing 3 pages a day
during the week and 5 pages a day on the weekend.  After a few weeks I found that
I could write a few pages more then my goal! Start with a  page goal that you can
easily accomplish.

4) Begin following your schedule to type your first draft. For your first draft
start typing at an average pace without stopping. Don't worry about word count, page
count, grammatical errors, spelling errors or voice of the story. Type what comes to
your head and what feels right. The first draft is a way to get your ideas on paper! Try
to finish a first draft within a month. For my first novel I wrote my 87 page first draft in
a few weeks. My first draft focused on the main ideas of my story.

5) Move on to the second draft. After the first draft is complete focus on the
second draft. This draft is where you take into account the voice of your story. Try
to decide on what voice you want for the narrative. Focus on flushing out your story
too.  After I finished my first draft my novel was 187 pages.

6) Move on to the third draft. For the third draft really focus on grammatical 
errors, spelling errors, and flow of your novel. This is also a time to fix lose ends,
make stronger connections with characters, and fix contradictions in your writing.
After my third draft my page count was 278.

7) Congratulations your novel is complete! Now it is time to find an editor. After
the editor is finished with your novel find beta readers to test the finished product.
These are two important steps to ensure your novel is more professional.

I hope this helped! Good luck with your writing!

Sincerely,
R.J Ropsen

Update on Novel (4)

   I took a little break from my blog to focus on my writing. It was a longer break

then I intended but I feel like I now am more focused then ever. There is much I 

have been up to lately with my writing. I have a few projects I am working on 

now.

1. I am editing my first book in the Egret series called The Silenced. It will be 
   my third draft. I feel like through each draft my writing has gotten better and 
   am liking where it is headed.
2. I also wrote an 80 page autobiography recently that I need to edit called 
   Vaguely Foreign. You can check each project out on my blog.
3. My third project is working on the second book in the Egret series called 
   The Privileged. I am finished with the first draft. Now I will look back 
   flushing out the 20,000 word first draft. 

There is still much writing for me to do but I love writing. Each day I will continue 

to write, and write, and write until I am satisfied with everything. Then one day, 

hopefully soon, I will publish my writing so others can read the works I have
created. Will keep you updated!

Sincerely,
R.J. Ropsen