A Snarky Guide to Master the Essential Elements of Fiction Writing

Introduction

Hello, Wattfamily!

My name is JM, and I will be your ring master for this particular circus.

As the title of this guide implies, I'll be covering the essential writing elements--three in my particular guide--while using ridiculous narration to make it as painless as possible.

Let me be clear. This guide is for creative writing. Not to be confused with content writing which, as its name suggests, is technical and business or essay related and...zzzzzzz.

Technically, there are more than three elements, but the rest are boring and unnecessarily complicated, and I don't sound cool lecturing on them. So, for my sake, I'll be combining a version of the six main elements into a simple, manageable three I've renamed as the following: grit, balance, voice.

How this bad boy is structured: There are three main chapters in this book based on the three elements from above, with bonus chapters at the end covering miscellaneous need-to-know skills like grammar.

As a hybrid guide and workshop, chapters are broken down into specific parts that comprise the three elements, along with numerous examples on how to use each one for the desired effect. At the end of correlating parts, there is an open board for writers to ask questions, complete writing prompts, or offer personal writing samples for critique. If, after reading a part, you wish to volunteer for the critique firing squad, please message me, and I will upload your example and work, step-by-step, to address any concerns relating to the section topic. 

I don't have the benefit of a copy editor so please ignore the errors and focus on the content (until the last chapters on grammar).

Will there be snags and dropped stitches along the way? Most definitely. But we will learn what works, and what blows up our machine.

"JM, that's a lot of sewing references. I thought we were at the carnival." 

We are. Spoiler alert: I cover metaphor confusion in a later part.

Lastly, I won't tolerate any bullying or harassment. Participation in workshops is completely voluntary, and my conduct of honor is black and white: Treat everyone with respect. Failure to do so will result in . . . something awful and permanent. (Sorry, Wattpeeps. Considering I have the intimidation range of a cat in a sweater, I leave the witty threats and insults to my fictional characters.)

For those of you who've worked with me and my critique services in the past, you know I don't charge anything for participation. However, the more people involved with workshops means more samples, which means more examples, which means more references for writers to master tricky writing problems. If you feel so inclined to share this book on your profile, we can, potentially, find dozens of writing styles and problems to work through together. 

Enough with the introductions. On with the show!