20 BEST AUTHORS – READ BOOKS AND BECOME A BETTER WRITER!

1. J.K. Rowling
2. Terry Pratchett
3. Ian McEwan
4. Salman Rushdie
5. Kazuo Ishiguro
6. Philip Pullman
7. Harold Pinter
8. Nick Hornby
9. A.S. Byatt
10. Jonathan Coe
11. John Le Carre
12. Doris Lessing
13. Alan Bennett
14. Iain Banks
15. Muriel Spark
16. David Mitchell
17. Martin Amis
18. Ian Rankin
19. Pat Barker
20. Alasclair Gray

HOW TO WRITE A SUCCESSFUL 120 PAGE MANUSCRIPT

Character Development - Biographies

Get yourself an accordian file.

Create Character Sheets/Profiles:

Private Life
Personal Life
Professional Life

What makes an interesting character?

1. Dramatic Need
2. Point of View
3. Change
4. Attitude

FROM THIS POINT ON, AS THE WRITER, YOU MUST FIRMLY DECIDE AND DOCUMENT:
CHOICES AND RESPONSABLITY OF YOUR EVENTS AND CHARACTERS.
What your characters do and why. Their wants and needs that drive them. What
they think and say, the actions they do.
The rules of the world you create for your characters.
As a writer you make the laws. And you must abide by them. If you do it right,
soon your characters will seem more real to you than some people you have come
to know. Some places, yet only imagined, hold the promise of secret worlds
accessible only by those who open their hearts and sharpen their minds.
No literary pain, No literary gain.

All the Best.

John Eastman

Heck, how do I begin to tell a story?

Well…You will need 3 phrases to craft it.

A SUBJECT
A CHARACTER
A SPECIFIC ACTION

WRITING THE SYNOPSIS

(go read the backcovers of some best-seller novels to get an idea about
how to write a synopsis)

My story…
Reveals the events of a chosen individual,
In a particular place,
Doing a specific thing.

Example:
Terry Fox was an athlete with cancer
He decided to run across Canada
To raise money and awareness for Cancer Research

(yes…the synopsis is what will be printed on the backcover of YOUR

new book)
 Subject
Story Action Character
Physical/Psychological Define the Motivation
Character’s Actions

CHARACTER

From Birth to Present Start of Story to End of Story

INTERIOR - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - EXTERIOR
Forms the Character Reveals the Character

Character Biography Define the Motivation

Character’s Actions
A. must confront obstacles
keeping him from attaining
what he desires.
B. must confront other
characters.
C. must confront his internal
conflict.
The next step is to expand your 3 phrase synopsis to 4 pages.

To help guide you:

Write down 1 or 2 phrases for each below.
1. THE ENDING ( how things turn out)
2. THE BEGINNING (where,when,who)
3. PIVOT 1 (sends the story into a new direction)
4. PIVOT 2 (sends the story into a new direction)

Begin writing…

½ page for the beginning of your story

(where are we? what year is it?who’s there?)

½ page for the general action of ACT 1

½ page to define the action of PIVOT 1
½ page for the general action of ACT 2
½ page to define the action of PIVOT 2
¾ to 1 full page for the ending (how everything works out)

SEE YOUR STORY AS BLOCKS OF ACTION

THE BACK STORY (what your hero was doing before the story began)
THE BEGINNING BLOCK 1
PAGES 30-60 BLOCK 2
PAGES 60-90 BLOCK 3
PAGES 90-120 BLOCK 4

EACH BLOCK WILL TAKE 2 WEEKS TO WRITE – MONDAY TO FRIDAY

THIS MEANS, 10 DAYS, 2-3 HOURS EACH DAY.
TOTAL 30 HOURS MAXIMUM
WRITING A 30 PAGE BLOCK OF ACTION
*IMPORTANT*
WRITING MUST BE FOR 3 HOUR SESSIONS WITHOUT STOPPING.

 A NEW SCENE = CHANGE OF TIME OR PLACE

1 BLOCK OF ACTION = 20 SCENES = 20 CARDS.

EACH CARD INCLUDES 1 ACTION, 1 SUBJECT, 1 CHARACTER.

2-3 PHRASES PER CARD.
LEAVE OUT THE DETAILS!
NO REVERSALS! (ie. Bad guy becomes Good guy)
NO FLASHBACKS! (ie. Returning to incidents that happened in the past)

GROUP YOUR SCENES TO CREATE SEQUENCES.

A SEQUENCE IS A COMPLETE IDEA WITH A DRAMATIC INTRIGUE.
A SEQUENCE HAS A BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END.

EXAMPLE OF A SEQUENCE:

------------------- COMPLETE IDEA WITH A DRAMATIC INTRIGUE--------------------

BEGINNING MIDDLE END
SEQUENCE 1 : (SCENE 1, SCENE2) (SCENE 3, SCENE 4, SCENE 5) (SCENE 6, SCENE 7, SCENE 8)
Plane Plane pilot engine people emergency people
On taking off speaks blows panic landing to safety
Runway

STORY BEGINNING CHECKLIST

Does the entry business work? Does it get the story going?
Does it make known the dramatic premise?
Does it announce the problem the character must confront and surmount?
Does it announce his/her dramatic motivation?

VISUAL ASPECTS
Does every scene build strong characterization?
Have a consistent style?
Dynamic Pacing and Movement?
Push the development/unraveling of the story?
Are the elements creating intrigue and suspense?
 POINTS TO REMEMBER:

1. When writing dialog for your characters, make sure it is related to the dramatic action of
your story in a way to push the story forward to the end.
2. Be careful with lengthy descriptions. Keep your paragraphs short and not more than 7
phrases.
3. Steer away from reversals and include lots of conflict.
4. If using photos, plot out the order of photographes/images to support the dramatic effect.

THE PARADIGM (STRUCTURE)

1 ACTION BLOCK = 30 PAGES
TOTAL CARDS = 62

BACK STORY (WHAT THE HERO IS DOING BEFORE THE STORY BEGINS)

ACT 1 = 20 CARDS ACTION BLOCK #1

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Story world Premise
+ (FIRST 10 PAGES) +
Characters Conflict
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
10 PAGES
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
10 PAGES PIVOT 1 (page 25-27)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACT 2 PART 1 = 14 CARDS ACTION BLOCK #2 1. TEMPERAL CONTEXT 2. DRAMATIC CONTEXT

------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 PAGES
----------------------------------------------------------------------- PINCH 1 (minor pivot) on Page 45
10 PAGES
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
10 PAGES
========================================== P.M. (prime median) on Page 60 HIGHEST DRAMATIC SCENE
ACT 2 PART 2 = 14 CARDS ACTION BLOCK #2 1. TEMPERAL CONTEXT 2. DRAMATIC CONTEXT
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
10 PAGES
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
10 PAGES PINCH 2 (minor pivot) on Page 75
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
10 PAGES PIVOT 2 (page 85-90)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ACT 3 = 14 CARDS ACTION BLOCK #3

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
10 PAGES
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
10 PAGES
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
10 PAGES
------------------------------------------------------------------------

BACK STORY (WHAT THE HERO GOES BACK TO DOING AT THE END OF THE STORY)
WRITING SCHEDULE

STAGE 1 – TYPEWRITER ON THE HEAD (3-4 MONTHS)

RESEARCH (2-3 MONTHS)

SUBJECT
PLACES
BIOGRAPHIES

KEEP THE PEN ON THE PAPER.

NO REVERSALS.
SHORT PARAGRAPHS.

WRITING 4 PAGES EACH DAY - 5 DAYS A WEEK.

= 20 PAGES PER WEEK X 6 WEEKS
= 120 PAGES
--------------------------------------------------------------FIRST DRAFT COMPLETE
! BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE !
--------------------------------------------------------------
LEAVE IT ALONE FOR 10 DAYS ;)
--------------------------------------------------------------

STAGE 2 – MECANICS (3 MONTHS)

REWRITE – CUT,CUT,CUT!
USE YOUR RED PEN IN THE LEFT MARGIN TO INDICATE YOUR CHANGES.

1. REARRANGE EXISTING SCENES

2. WRITE NEW SCENES (CARDS)
3. TELESCOPING = CONDENSE/MERGE/REMOVE TRANSITIONS/BRIDGING SCENES

ACT 1 65% REWRITE, NEW CARDS 6 WEEKS

ACT 2 25% REWRITE, NEW CARDS 4 WEEKS
ACT 3 10% REWRITE, NEW CARDS 2 WEEKS

-------------------REST FOR ONE WEEK---------------------

STAGE 3 – POLISH AND SHINE ( 2% -5% DETAILS)

RE-READ/GRAMMAR/SPELLING/CHANGE WORDING/DIALOGUE REWRITES
CHANGE ADJECTIVES/CHANGE VERBS
REMEMBER THAT IT WILL NEVER BE PERFECT. PERFECTION DOES NOT EXIST.
GENRES

ACTION ADVENTURE
ROMANCE
COMEDY
ROMANTIC COMEDY
HAPPY ENDING OR SAD ENDING
SCIENCE FICTION
FUTURISTIC

Google up more genres.

Finding an Editor For Your Books
The 4 Stages to Getting Published are:

NOVICE WRITER = 1ST YEAR

BACHELOR WRITER = 2ND YEAR
INTERMEDIATE WRITER = 3RD YEAR
SENIOR WRITER = 4TH YEAR

You must attend your favourite annual writer’s

convention each year.
As you continue meeting new writers, ask them for their
contact information then follow-up for advice within the
year.

Prepare a prospectus for your new novel (a story

summary preferably written from the point-of-view of
one or more characters of your story – yes editor’s love
this!) Hand out your prospectus to
novice,bachelor,intermediate and senior writers you will
be meeting at your chosen convention.

Keeping in touch with these people is key. Their writing saavy and experience is of
great value to your evolution as a writer. Pick their brains and submit your written
works to them by mail and/or e-mail. Create new friends and build strong
relationships.
Publishing houses hire scouts they send out to
conventions each year. Scouts are usually confided
with a purse of $25,000 and choose stories for
publishing of the SENIOR CLASS OF WRITERS
EXCLUSIVELY. This is because taking a senior writer’s
novel to print is the better investment. Senior
writers are considered to be seasoned writers
worthy of their attention.

So the BIG SCORE for a writer only happens on year

four – when you graduate to SENIOR. This is a sure
bet. This is when your novel goes to print by a major
publishing house for national distribution.

IN YOUR 4TH YEAR YOU WILL SEE YOUR NOVEL

BECOME A NATIONAL BEST-SELLER!

GOOD LUCK AND REMEMBER

TO KEEP THE PEN ON THE PAPER.

I WISH YOU ALL THE SUCCESS IN THE WORLD.

JOHN EASTMAN ;)