Questions to Consider When Choosing Your Story Idea

Not every book will be a bestseller, of course. But books written with love stand a much better chance of being shared with readers. As you consider the kernel of your story idea, here are some questions to consider:

1. Is this a story you can write? Do you have the experience, insight, understanding, and voice necessary to address this story to this audience? If not, can you acquire those skills?

2. What are your qualifications? Do you possess the skills to write authoritatively about the subject, background, or time period you’ve chosen?

3. What drawbacks will you face in writing this story? Where can you find the additional resources and information you need to make your story believable?If you want to write a medical thriller with two doctors as your hero and heroine, but you’ve never worked in the medical field, the challenge will be enormous. You can do it—but only if you are willing to check every word your medical characters say to each other, and even every thought they have, in order to be sure they’re accurate and realistic. Are you willing to put in that much time and effort?At the same time, don’t choose what seems easiest if you don’t like that type of story. Writing for young adults isn’t easier than writing for mature readers, so unless you spend enough time with young people to understand how they think, writing a young adult romance is probably a waste of time. If your heart lies in historicals, you shouldn’t choose to write a contemporary just because it sounds less difficult. It won’t be easier if you’d rather be in Regency England or the Old West.

4. How can you shape your story to make the drawbacks and challenges more manageable? For instance, if you really want to write that medical thriller but you don’t feel confident evoking the doctor’s point of view, consider whether you can make your most important character a layperson instead. That way you can still use the medical setting, but you’ll have a somewhat easier job creating dialogue and story because not every character has to think and act like a trained physician.

- See more at: http://www.writersdigest.com/tip-of-the-day/choosing-a-story-idea-4-questions-every-romance-writer-should-ask-themselves#sthash.XKdXHFm0.dpuf

Arajamaen's Wedding

Myths and Legends

Kongo

http://kongoacrossthewaters.net/

The Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida is working together with the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA Tervuren) to display and travel the first exhibition in the United States to deeply explore the legacy of Kongo culture. Kongo across the Waters, opening first at the Harn Museum on October 22, 2013, will present more than 160 works of historic and contemporary art and artifacts—including loans from the Royal Museum for Central Africa that have never been on display in the United States and several never before exhibited archaeological discoveries—spanning more than five centuries from the late 15th century when Kongo first emerged as a major Atlantic presence, to the present day. Accompanying the exhibition are a richly-illustrated book and international conference documenting and analyzing milestones in the history of African presence in North America.

bam bam

jackie

curses