Lisa Kang Capstone

Bell, James Scott. Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest, 2004. Print.

This source provides information about the plot and structure of a novel. The book first introduces the LOCK system which stands for Lead, Objective, Confrontation and Knockout. The author states that every story and novel will need these components. The authors says that the function of the plot is to connect to the readers and I found this interesting because I have never thought of it like that. I selected this book because there are explanations/tips and excercises that will help me shape the outline of my novella. This source will be extremely useful because I can follow the diagrams and outlines used in the book.

Donovan, Melissa. "12 Character Writing Tips for Fiction Writers."Writingforward.com. Melissa Donovan, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.writingforward.com/writing-tips/12-character-writing-tips-for-fiction-writers>.

This source provides great information on how to get readers interested in the characters of your stories. It states that people like characters that are realistic because they will feel more of a connection. The characters in a story should not be completely perfect; they should have flaws and baggage. I know that the characters is one of the most important aspects of a story and the tips in here will help guide me into create realistic characters. Depending on the length of a story, there is a certain amount of character development that needs to happen and although this source does not tell me how to incorporate that into a story, it does provide me with a general idea of what I should add in.

Ingermanson, Randy. "The Snowflake Method For Designing A Novel. "Advancedfictionwriting.com. Advanced Fiction Writing, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/>.

This source provides information of how to design your whole story before actually writing it. The author has written many novels and shares the method that he uses called the Snowflake method. This method is to have writers start off with a small idea and then expand on that. The idea is to continue expanding until you have a complete overview on the plot and characters in a story so that when you actually start writing, it will be easier and quicker. I think that the general ideas in this source will be helpful when I am outlining my story. There were parts of the method that I did not like but there were parts that I will definitely use. It was helpful to see how someone else approaches their story writing.

Kempton, Gloria. Write Great Fiction: Dialogue. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest, 2004. Print.

This book provides information on how to incorporate dialogue into a story. The author points out common mistakes writers make when they try to write fiction. The most important thing to avoid is to think too much about how to write dialogue because dialogue should be natural. People do not always speak properly or correctly and so if writers put themselves into their characters shoes then the dialogue would appeal to people more. There are not a lot of limitations in the book because there are a lot of details throughout. There are examples, tips and excercises that I can reference and use. The book will help me write natural sounding dialogues because I plan on having lot of them in my novella.

Rozelle, Ron. Write Great Fiction: Description & Setting. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest, 2005. Print.

This book provides very detailed and important information on how to write well and also how to establish a setting. Just like with characters, conflicts and dialogues, the setting is something that should be realistic. The author goes into details on how to use the setting to add depth to a story. I selected this book because there are things in there that I personally have problems with and so I can use this to guide me. I tend to have simple sentences and this book helps explain sentence structures and uses of punctuations. I think that the book will become really handle in improving my sentences.

Scheller, Rachel. "Write Fiction That Grabs Readers from Page One."Writersdigest.com. F+W, 2 Oct. 2012. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/write-fiction-that-grabs-readers-from-page-one>.

This source provides information from a book that teaches writers how to grab readers’ attention from the very beginning of your story. This particular source focusses on how to add conflict and problems into the story. There is a particular structure that the author talks about that he thinks is the most effective way to add conflicts. I selected this source because aside from characters, the conflict is another huge aspect of a great story. I learned that in order to incorporate conflicts well, you can not just have one major conflict but there must be little ones in there as well. This source will be useful in my story outline.

Springer, Mike. "Seven Tips from Earnest Hemingway on How to Write Fiction." Openculture.com. Open Culture, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html>.

This source provides tips from Earnest Hemingway on how to write fiction. These are the techniques that he finds useful when he is writing his own books. The tips are not directed towards the actually writing, but the mindset that a writer should have. I selected this source because I know that Earnest Hemingway is a great author and so I feel like his tips would be reliable. There was one tip that I found the most interesting and that I want to try. This tip is for writers to stop writing for the day while they still know what will happen next in the story. This is something that I would never think about but it makes a lot of sense because when the next day comes, you will not be stuck trying to come up with the next part. This source will be very helpful throughout the whole writing process.

Stewart, Jennifer. "Tips For Writing A Short Story." Write101.com. Write101, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.write101.com/shortstory.htm>.

This source provides the basic elements that make up a short story or novel. It includes tips for the structure, theme, setting, characters, dialogue and plot. Most of the tips imply that writers should make every aspect realistic and simple. I selected this source because I thought that it would be nice to have one source that has everything that I need to know in order to write an effective story. One limitation of the source is that the tips are not really detailed and there is not a lot of justification for why writers should do the things she mentioned. I did learn a little from the source but it is not as helpful as the other ones.

"Usage- Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement." Towson.edu. Towson University, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.towson.edu/ows/pro_antagree.htm>.

This source provides information on one of the grammar rules that people forget often. The rule is the pronoun antecedent rule that states that a pronoun has an antecedent to go with it. Sometimes people will have one pronoun but they will have no clear distinction between which antecedent it belongs with. The source provides examples of how this rule is used in different scenarios, such as singular form, plural form, and indefinite form. I selected this source because I noticed that this is a grammatical rule that I forget and have trouble with in my writing. I think that this source will be helpful in making sure that my sentences make sense.

Weiner, Jennifer. "I Like Likable Characters." Slate.com. The Slate Group, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/05/likable_and_unlikable_characters_in_fiction_claire_messud_and_meg_wolitzer.html>.

This source provides two different opinions on likable characters in a novel. There is one author who believes that if a writer creates a protagonist that is likeable and is like a friend to the readers then that writer is doing something wrong. The author of the article completely disagrees with the previous one because she likes likable characters. I selected this source because I wanted to know what kind of characters people like to read about. This source was helpful because I got two different perspectives on it and I will ultimately decide which argument I agree with more.