The Importance of Thematic Concepts and Statements in Fiction Writing

Theme, along with plot, character, setting and style, is one of the main components of fiction writing. It is the central topic of the work and can be divided into two categories. Thematic concepts are what the readers believe the work is about. Thematic statement is what the work says about the subject.

Themes can often be summed up into a single word like love, betrayal, death, lust. These themes can include tales of nostalgia, ambition, conflicts with growing technology, coming of age tales and issues with individuals within society.

A book may even have several themes. They often explore ethical questions and have cross-cultural ideas. The author will not usually ask these big questions explicitly but pepper remnants of them throughout the story, often having the characters wrestle with the dilemma.

Themes can help you learn more about yourself and how you view the world. Authors will, at times, leave the final takeaway up to the reader, like ending a book just before the main character chooses between love and money. Readers are able to put themselves in the character’s shoes and decide, offering insight into what they value.

Daryl Harrison is the author of The Waiting Game. His book shows the internal struggles of a wrongly accused detective, searching for the truth before it’s too late. Daryl touches on the themes of issues with mental illness, a battle that Daryl has personally fought. Daryl now lives in New York where he is pursuing his writing career.

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Don’t Use That Tone With Me!

Tone is a literary compound which illustrates the attitudes toward the subject and audience. It may be formal, serious, informal, ironic, intimate, condescending, solemn, somber, playful, etc. How a work’s theme is approached determines the tone.

Although tone and mood are often confused they are different. The mood is the atmosphere or feeling shaped by the story. Mood is most often conveyed through setting, voice, and theme. The tone of a work is one of the elements that help set the mood.

Diction or word choice and syntax or sentence structure are two of the most common ways authors set the tone of a story. Using short, broken sentences conveys a very different tone than using long, complex, sometimes run-on sentences. In the same manner the words that an author uses paint a picture of the emotion behind a character’s feelings or actions or the scene setting. A long description of dark and hallow stare of a looming man across the room is very different than the author telling about the friendly and warm gaze of the guy across the room.

The tone, especially when the author describes a character, can help the audience rally with or against that character.

Daryl Harrison is one of many authors who like to use various tones to illicit emotion from his readers. In Daryl’s critically acclaimed novel The Waiting Game, the tone changes throughout the book to pull his readers into the world he paints. Daryl Harrison used to be a teacher before trying his hand at writing. He lives in New York with his family.

What A Character!

Writing good fiction depends on the writer’s ability to craft a story that readers want to invest their time and energy reading. One of the aspects of a novel that help draws reader in are the characters. Books are filled with many different types of individuals and they all play an important role.

First off, it’s important to understand what a character is. A character is a participant in the story, usually a person, but can be any identity, entity or persona. There are several different types.

First, and maybe the most commonly known, is the protagonist. This person is the main character of the story. You should try to make your readers identify with this person and care about what happens to them. The protagonist is often referred to as the “good guy,” however there can also be an antihero as the main character.

You can’t have a protagonist without an antagonist. This is the character who opposes the main character. Although typically thought of as the “bad guy” there can be elements of good in an antagonist too. In many stories the protagonist and antagonist have to face off in some type of fight or battle, with the protagonist typically winning.

There is also the point-of-view character. This is the person through whom the story is viewed. Although they are often the main character, they do not have to be.

Daryl Harrison is a fiction writer who lives in New York with his wife, Abby Raines. Daryl is a successful self-published author.

Fiction Writing Tips – It’s All About The Characters

One of the things that draws readers into a book and elicits the emotion writers crave is a strong cast of characters. Developing memorable, well-rounded characters will help readers love your novel. But where do you start?

First, come up with a name and description. You want it to fit the person. Make the reader believe the name was made for this character and help them picture the person in their minds. Give good details about what the character looks like including their hair, skin, voice, identifying markings, style and personality. This will help the reader see your characters as real, and connect with them.

Daryl Harrison

Next think about the character’s storyline. What will happen to them, especially in the end of the book? It is important to have an idea so you can keep the plot on track.

What is the person’s motivation and drive? Think about their internal and external wants and needs.

Next you need to narrow down any conflict the character will be involved with. Is it internal, external or both? Physical, mental or emotional?

And lastly, what does the character learn at the end of the book, if they make it that far? Do they accomplish their goal? Find love? Get revenge? Knowing their fate will help you craft the story around the main person.
Make sure to do this for all the major players in your novel so you know who they are, what they look like, what they want, and where they are going.

Daryl Harrison knows a thing or two about how to craft an interesting character. He self-published his critically acclaimed novel The Waiting Game, which features complex characters and a thrilling plot.

How to Build Climax in Fiction Writing

We have all been there before, completely engrossed into a story, watching as each character and plotline merge, coming to a head and an inevitable conflict that you have been anticipating for so long. This is called the Climax, and is the most exciting and meaningful part of the story, where everything, all the issues and plot points merge for a final finale that dictates the final victor of an opposing conflict. Though this victory does not have to be absolute, there does have to be some kind of conflict that takes place and a victory, even if it is just a small one. Much like the movie ‘Star Wars,’ a popular Sci-fi that started off as a fiction book written by George Lucas. In the famous climax of the movie, Luke Skywalker blows up the evil empire’s Death Star, a space station capable of destroying an entire planet. Though there is a temporary victory for the rebel forces, the reality is that the empire is vast and powerful, with thousands of planets and governments backing their actions. So in reality, a good climax may be the end of one plot, but only the beginning of another, as the evil empire is certain to seek revenge for Luke blowing up their expensive star station.

Building up to a good climax is about progressing the action, bringing it up one step at a time that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. The most important aspect of a good climax is assuring that all building pressures that you have been mounting are purged. You don’t want to leave anything unexplained or incomplete. The only exception to that rule is when you want to leave a cliffhanger. Even in this case you want the pressure purged, but perhaps left not fully explained, like an enemy escapes a fight, disappearing into the night.

For More Detail Visit Here: Daryl Harrison

How to Build Climax in Fiction Writing

We have all been there before, completely engrossed into a story, watching as each character and plotline merge, coming to a head and an inevitable conflict that you have been anticipating for so long. This is called the Climax, and is the most exciting and meaningful part of the story, where everything, all the issues and plot points merge for a final finale that dictates the final victor of an opposing conflict. Though this victory does not have to be absolute, there does have to be some kind of conflict that takes place and a victory, even if it is just a small one. Much like the movie ‘Star Wars,’ a popular Sci-fi that started off as a fiction book written by George Lucas. In the famous climax of the movie, Luke Skywalker blows up the evil empire’s Death Star, a space station capable of destroying an entire planet. Though there is a temporary victory for the rebel forces, the reality is that the empire is vast and powerful, with thousands of planets and governments backing their actions. So in reality, a good climax may be the end of one plot, but only the beginning of another, as the evil empire is certain to seek revenge for Luke blowing up their expensive star station.

Daryl Harrison

Building up to a good climax is about progressing the action, bringing it up one step at a time that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. The most important aspect of a good climax is assuring that all building pressures that you have been mounting are purged. You don’t want to leave anything unexplained or incomplete. The only exception to that rule is when you want to leave a cliffhanger. Even in this case you want the pressure purged, but perhaps left not fully explained, like an enemy escapes a fight, disappearing into the night.

Importance of the Re-Write

When writing fiction novels, many rookie and first time writers often make the mistake of believing that the first words that come tumbling out of their heads are the best ones. The reality of that is that often when you are focusing more on the creative aspect, the actual technical writing part can suffer. This isn’t the end of the world however, it just means that you have crafted the bones of your work, and now you need to work on the flesh. That is basically what a re-write is, simply retranslating your story and making sure that all of the ideas brewing in your head made it down on to paper in a way that is easy to follow and understand, as well as be engaging. Don’t think of the re-write as changing or adapting your story because it is not good enough, think of it as refining it and polishing the edges to make it more accommodating. Think of your manuscript as an unrefined and unprocessed good like wheat for instance. Wheat itself isn’t very useful, but when you grind it up in a mill you get flour, which can create delicious and nutritious bread. The same is true for your book, you just need some refinement.

Daryl Harrison

Once you have finished the creative phase of writing, entering the re-write stage is a kind of editing process where you make sure that there is not any plot holes or lack of motivation, contradictory ideologies or physical world principles. Think about it as editing the grammar of your creativity, making sure it is all logical.

Daryl Harrison is a self-published author who learned the value of re-writing his work before releasing it.

How to Write Good Characters

When it comes to fiction writing, the plot and the setting are important, they get people interested in the book. What keeps them around however, is well-written and dynamic characters who are capable of having a wide range of depth. Writing a good character is best done by taking bits and pieces of yourself or somebody else that you know. That is because the best examples of genuine and realistic characters are the ones that you see around you. A good character has to have dimension, several sides to them that is both dark and light. A static character that doesn’t grow and has no character defects or polarizing, conflicting thought, is an unrealistic and often simply poorly written character. In order to add depth to a character you need to give him both strengths and weaknesses, flaws and vulnerabilities. As a matter of fact, a good character is riddled with flaws and issues, and the point of many novels is to iron and hammer out all of those kinks and flaws. This now only propels the plot forward, but shows an interesting dynamic growth that will be a big hit with your audience.

Daryl Harrison

Writing a good character is about being able to create realism, while maintaining that sense of wonder that makes a novel’s world more compelling than the real one. What you want is a convincing character, one that people could see happening, meshed in with a convincing backstory and setting that makes it seem as if it could be a reality. This will help drive home any message that your book carries because it will be more relatable by your audience.

Daryl Harrison is a successful breakout author who published his own work independently.

How to Self-Publish – When to Self-Publish

Many writers are afraid of the publishing industry, which is a tragedy, since they won’t get their writing out into the world without it. There has been some trepidation with the idea of self-publishing as well, as if self-published books are less legitimate and are only self-published because they aren’t good enough to be taken as seriously as a traditionally published book would be. Some writers treat the idea of self-publishing their book as a last resort, only turning to it if they have exhausted their options elsewhere. It doesn’t have to be this way. Sometimes authors write books they know they want to self-publish, for many different reasons. Some authors don’t want to be tied to a particular publisher or company when they release their book. They feel that they have more creative freedom and control if they self-publish. Sometimes an author writes the book they have always wanted, and, examining the publishing market, they decide to publish their book themselves because they don’t think they can break into the market any other way.

Daryl Harrison

Consider self-publishing your book if it doesn’t necessarily fall into a well-defined genre, or if you don’t think there will be a market for it with people who buy new books at bookstores. If you think that your book is more geared toward people who buy e-books for their digital readers, publish your book in that format yourself and save yourself the hassle and cost of finding an agent and going through traditional means.

Daryl Harrison is a self-published author from Omaha who lives in New York.

How to Write Fiction – Revision

There are very few writers in the history of the human race who can churn out masterful fiction without extensively revising and rewriting their work over and over again. Most of the masters of contemporary fiction say they redraft their work an average of fifteen times before they, their editors, and their agents are satisfied with their story. When writing your first draft, you may have mixed feelings about the writing as you go along. Maybe you like some passages, and others, you’re just trying to get a grip on the characters and what you’re trying to say as an author.

Daryl Harrison

Writing a novel or a short story is hard work. Expect to take weeks, months, even years rewriting and redrafting your work until every word, comma, apostrophe, and period is in the right place and it’s perfect. Extensive revision and rewriting is actually quite freeing as a writer. You’ll never write a perfect first draft, so make sure you get out everything you feel you need to include in your first draft, whether it’s good or not. You can always rewrite it or revise it later. As you work on your drafts, look for parts that stand out and cause you to trip or break the spell of the work. Chances are your readers will find these bits of the story distracting as well. Rework them so that each character is authentic, and their actions affect the story line and cause tension and drama between the characters.

Daryl Harrison is a relatively new author. His first novel, The Waiting Game was released independently late last year. The novel has seen great success with critics and readers alike with its believable characters and realistic plot.