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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/4315-Food-for-Thought-The-Right-Ingredients.html
For Authors: March 30, 2011 Issue [#4315]

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For Authors


 This week: Food for Thought:: The Right Ingredients
  Edited by: Cubby Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

          Hello, everyone! Welcome to this edition of the For Authors newsletter. *Smile* This week's topic is focused on story ingredients, but first off, I'd like to share a few quotes with you. Enjoy!

Quote:


"I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation."
~ Madam Benoit


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Letter from the editor

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Food for Thought: Using the Right Ingredients


         A well-made meal doesn't just appear on your plate.

         Neither does a well-written story just appear on your paper or computer screen.

         And stories, like meals, need all the right ingredients to make them just right. Too much of this and too little of that won't get it. Leaving ingredients out will leave your readers not coming back for more.

          *Bullet* Main Ingredient
                    *Check1* Plot

          *Bullet* Side Dishes
                    *Check1* Characters

          *Bullet* Variations
                    *Check1* Descriptions

          *Bullet* Spices
                    *Check1* Emotion

          *Bullet* Cleaning up
                    *Check1* Editing

         And don't forget to add fresh ingredients! Nothing moldy or outdated.

         Remember to make you story tastey! A juicy steak is better than an overcooked one.

         Basic themes need a bit of spice and variation. Be careful not to add too many side dishes, but do add the right amount to make your reader feel satisfied. Treat your readers to something they will want to come back for more.

         And you could always tempt them with a little dessert at the end. *Wink* When a reader finishes a really good book, many times they wish the story would continue. It's something to consider, either way.

         Leave your options open to experimentation. Not everyone measures out their ingredients to the exact portions. But whether you do or don't, keep your readers satisfied. Find the right ingredients that work.

May you have an inspiring week and an exceptionally inspiring Spring!
Keep on Writing!

*Pencil* Cubby ")


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Ask & Answer

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~FEEDBACK~

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Fi Author IconMail Icon
Brilliant newsletter! Very applicable and it's a great start for writers (like me) with title block! *Smile*

Thanks!


~ You are very welcome! *Smile*

JACE Author IconMail Icon
I read a quote once in which someone (I can't remember who) said "Writing a good title takes half the energy of writing the book." I heartily agree, and often take more time than I can often afford to come up with just the right title. How rewarding it is when a fellow WDC member tells me a particular title is "perfect." You might call your title a billboard to your success.

Thanks for the great newsletter, Cubby.

Jace


~ Oh, I like that! "Billboard to your success." How true that it! *Bigsmile*

timothy444
Thanks for your tips about Titles. It had helped me a lot!

~ Glad to help! *Smile*

LeBuert Author IconMail Icon
I think you hit the nail on the head with your newsletter on titles. They are so important.

~ Thank you. *Smile*

A thinker never sleeps Author IconMail Icon
Great newsletter. Most of my stories start off being called `Untitled' and I spend ages trying to think of a decent one. I agree you need to put effort into thinking up your title.

~ Thanks so much. Sometimes I get hung up on character names like that, too. It can be frustrating! *Smile*

~*Arpita*~ Author IconMail Icon
Hello there!
Thanks for the tips on titles. I'd like to share a fun experience that I had here at WDC regarding titles. I have a poem named "To the one I love" in my port. Last night I got a mail from a fellow author saying she had almost thrown a fit when she saw my name beneath the title of the poem in the static item page. Guess what the reason was? She had a poem with the same title too!
I haven't changed my title as of yet, though, for lack of a better one.
However, your newsletter on titles was very informative and helpful too. Thanks for sharing!
Until later!
~Arpita


~ You are very welcome! Thanks for sharing your experience, too! *Smile*

Zeke Author IconMail Icon
The story I am currently working on has had at least three titles so far, and I'm still not satisfied. I guess I'll just have to keep thinking.


~ You'll know it when it comes to you. Those titles are just SO darn stubborn at times! *Bigsmile*

BIG BAD WOLF is Howling Author IconMail Icon
Use what's in the story to make the title. Eggnogs and Werewolves are in mine, so, Title. *Bigsmile*

~ Very interesting title! *Smile*

Rixfarmgirl Author IconMail Icon
This was great. A title is so important but I never know how to go about it. So, my titles are rather bland. I used the Lulu link. That was fun but underscored my inability to even write a winning title, much less a great novella. I scored for 8.6 to a high of 24% for Luck of the Draw in place of the loser scoring Kid Barlow and the Winner-Take-All Poker Tournament. I knew that was loser before I typed it in. Thanks for an informative newsletter. Can't wait to read the articles you have links to. Rixy a member of the New Horizons Writing Academy.

~ I wouldn't totally depend on the title scores, though it is fun and makes you think. If you truly are happy with the title you have chose, and it scores low, don't lose any sleep over it. *Bigsmile*

Angelica Weatherby- Grateful28 Author IconMail Icon
A made up title: The Wild Wind of Dread. Results: 64.8% chance of success. I love that website! :-d Great newsletter. :-d

~ It's fun, isn't it? *Smile*

Soulhaven Author IconMail Icon
The title weapons of the war has a 64.8% chance of being a bestselling title!

I must be on the right track!


~ *Thumbsup* *Bigsmile*

atwhatcost
The title Slaying the Dragon has a 44.2% chance of being a bestselling title! I'll accept that. After all, many will think it's a fantasy novel, and it's as far from fantasy as one can get. The dragon is real, but not a creature. ;)

~ Good for you! *Bigsmile*

Alexandra Vazquez Author IconMail Icon
My biggest problem is tags, how to use them, which to use, how often to use them, and whether or not I should use one at all. I find these kinds of news letters very helpful, thank you sooooooo much!

~ You are welcome! *Smile*

ryzee
Hello.I was wondering if you could help me with a title? Im writing a story about a very unique love between a girl who has recently been hurt and a guy who's had too many "first loves". They met under a big oak tree, which is a main setting in my story...any ideas?

~ "If Oak Trees Could Talk" is my first thought, "Love Beneath Leaves" ??? But truly, I'd need to know more about the story before suggestion anything more. *Smile*

LJPC - the tortoise Author IconMail Icon
Hi Cubby!
Thanks for insight into titling a novel. It is really hard to find something catchy that hasn't been used before. I loved the link to Lulu!
FYI "chance of being a bestseller" -
Book 1 (completed) = 10%
Book 2 (WIP) = 10%
Book 3 (outlining) = 26%

This actually helped me decide on the name for my next novel. Thanks!
-- Laura


~ You are very welcome! Glad you liked it. *Smile*

DB Cooper Author IconMail Icon
When David Maraniss titled his book about President Clinton "First In His Class", he didn't mean that Bill Clinton graduated first; He meant Clinton defined his generation.

~ Titles can be tricky! *Smile*

*UmbrellaG* Thank you all for the wonderful feedback!

As always...

Have a wonderful week!
AND KEEP ON WRITING!!!


Cubby ")


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