The Trendsetter

What an irony. You thought that you don’t need to use facts in fiction. If you think fiction is just that – pure fiction - think again. Even though you write a short story or novel, research is an important part in creating believable characters and settings.

Making a plausible character is important for your reader to identify with and relate to. If say your protagonist’s occupation is a lawyer, you do need to get an accurate description about the life and ways of a lawyer. The more accurate your protagonist portrays it, the more credible he/she is in your reader’s eyes. So, if someone tells you writing fiction is easy because you can create everything in your mind without doing any research firsthand, you have received wrong advice.

Setting is another element in your fiction that requires accurate facts - unless you are writing science fiction that needs you to create an entirely different world. But even science fiction needs extensive research about some areas in science. Your characters need to be in a believable setting to interest the reader since they read your fiction to get an experience and to be entertained as well.
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So, are you planning to write your first fictional piece? Whether it is a short story or novel creating characters for your story is one of the most important requirements. For the new writer, this task is challenging yet it is the most interesting part of creating a believable story. Where do you find your characters and how do you fit them into the story you are creating?
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Being a writer is not a career choice - it is a lifestyle - so I’ve heard. If you need a 9 to 5 job to make a living, being a writer is not a choice, not to mention when you graduate with your first degree to prepare you to enter the workforce and get paid, yet, you choose to become a writer for other reasons. This is one of my life stories. It is one of the happiest memories in my life and now here I am trying to relive it again.

Everyone has experienced events in their life that are shaped into happy or sad memories. Do you remember your first puppy love? Your first success in something you loved to do? Why not turn it into a memoir?
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While still in an experimental stage of blogging, you struggle to find an angle for your writing niche. You look around for guidance and you locate several books that steer you in the direction you are aiming for. Does this sound familiar?

All new writers will face the same dilemma when they just start to write. I find books about writing most helpful in stirring the sleeping writer in me and one of the books is titled Writing articles from the Heart: How to Write and Sell Your Life Experience by Marjorie Holmes.
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My long lost friend found me recently after googling my name. She immediately emailed me and started where we had left off since having been out of touch for about 16 years. Well, apparently she is very much interested to write a novel about her experiences. I congratulate and encourage her to start her writing. Her problem is she doesn’t know where and how to start.
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