Adele Ramet – Creative Writing- How to unlock your imagination, develop your writing skills – and get published

978-1-84803-222-4

Table of contents :
Contents……Page 7
List of illustrations……Page 11
Preface……Page 13
Acknowledgements……Page 14
Making time to write……Page 15
Where do you get your ideas?……Page 17
Writing aurally and visually……Page 19
Drawing on your own experiences……Page 20
Looking back into your past……Page 21
Read, read, read……Page 23
Assignment……Page 25
Letting off steam……Page 26
Changing work into leisure……Page 28
Relating your life-story……Page 32
Telling travellers’ tales……Page 37
Case study……Page 41
Finding funny moments……Page 42
Checklist……Page 43
Assignment……Page 44
Basing characters on real people……Page 45
Case study……Page 49
Visualising backgrounds……Page 50
Involving yourself in your characters’ lives……Page 52
Changing the character……Page 55
Relating to your character……Page 58
Case study……Page 59
How would you react if they approached you?……Page 60
Creating conflict……Page 62
Assignment……Page 64
Getting a feel of place and time……Page 66
Visiting locations……Page 69
Case study……Page 71
Case study……Page 75
Imagining what it would be like to be there……Page 76
Wearing different clothes and costumes……Page 77
Assignment……Page 80
Reacting and interacting with people and surroundings……Page 82
Feeling the heat……Page 84
Shivering against the cold……Page 86
Case study……Page 87
Revealing emotions……Page 88
Expressing feelings……Page 89
Case study……Page 91
Speeding and slowing the pace with vocabulary……Page 92
Flashing back and forth in time……Page 94
Checklist……Page 97
Assignment……Page 98
Developing a good ear……Page 99
Acting out a situation……Page 101
Losing your temper……Page 106
Falling in love……Page 107
Case study……Page 108
Swearing and slang……Page 110
Case study……Page 111
Assignment……Page 112
Writing a romance……Page 114
Finding flaws attractive……Page 115
Overcoming insurmountable obstacles……Page 116
Driving fast cars and wearing fancy clothes……Page 119
Enjoying sex and food……Page 120
Heightening all the senses……Page 121
Historical settings……Page 122
Assignment……Page 124
Introducing a note of suspense……Page 125
Confronting the fears within……Page 126
Case study……Page 127
Contrasting normality with terror……Page 129
Writing a murder mystery……Page 130
Choosing a murder weapon……Page 132
Plotting and planning……Page 134
Twisting the tale……Page 137
Looking to the future……Page 139
Assignment……Page 142
Thinking back to your childhood……Page 143
Looking at life through a child’s eyes……Page 144
Case study……Page 146
Playing around with ideas……Page 148
Writing for educational markets……Page 149
Case study……Page 152
Anthropomorphising animals……Page 153
Writing about children……Page 155
Writing picture books……Page 156
Checklist……Page 158
Assignment……Page 159
Seeing your work in print……Page 160
Playwriting for your local drama group……Page 161
Writing for established TV characters……Page 162
Entering competitions……Page 163
Vanity publishing……Page 164
Self-publishing……Page 165
Writing a synopsis……Page 170
Presenting your manuscript……Page 171
Approaching an editor……Page 175
Copyrighting and syndication……Page 176
Keeping records……Page 178
Finding support from other writers……Page 179
L……Page 183
S……Page 184
V……Page 185
Answers to assignments……Page 186
Useful addresses……Page 187
Online dictionaries……Page 189
Further reading……Page 190
L……Page 193
V……Page 194