Peter Economy - Writing Fiction for Dummies

Table of Contents

Writing Fiction For Dummies

by Randy Ingermanson and Peter Economy

Writing Fiction For Dummies Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com Copyright 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Can No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions . Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier!, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The contents of this work are intended to further general scientific research, understanding, and discussion only and are not intended and should not be relied upon as recommending or promoting a specific method, diagnosis, or treatment by physicians for any particular patient. The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. In view of ongoing research, equipment modifications, changes in governmental regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to the use of medicines, equipment, and devices, the reader is urged to review and evaluate the information provided in the package insert or instructions for each medicine, equipment, or device for, among other things, any changes in the instructions or indication of usage and for added warnings and precautions. Readers should consult with a specialist where appropriate. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. No warranty may be created or extended by any promotional statements for this work. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any damages arising herefrom. For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport . Wiley also publishes its in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2009939355 ISBN: 978-0-470-53070-2 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Authors

Randy Ingermanson is the award-winning author of six novels. He is known around the world as "the Snowflake Guy," thanks to his Web site article onthe Snowflake method, which has been viewed more than a million times. Before venturing into fiction, Randy earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of California at Berkeley and published a number of articles on superstring theory. He has spent a number of years working as a computational physicist developing scientific software for high-technology companies in San Diego, California. Randy has taught fiction at numerous writing conferences across the country and sits on the advisory board of American Christian Fiction Writers. He also publishes The Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, the world's largest e-zine on how to write fiction. Randy's first two novels won Christy Awards, and his second novel, Oxygen, coauthored with John B. Olson, earned a spot on the New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age list. Visit Randy's personal Web site at www.ingermanson.com and his Web site for fiction writers at www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com .> Peter Economy of La Jolla, California, is a best-selling author with 11 For Dummies titles under his belt, including two 2nd editions and one 3rd edition. Peter is coauthor of Writing Children's Books For Dummies, Home-Based Business For Dummies, Consulting For Dummies, Why Aren't You Your Own Boss?, and many more books. Peter also serves as Associate Editor of Leader to Leader, the Apex Award-winning journal of the Leader to Leader Institute. Check out Peter's Web site at www.petereconomy.com .

Dedication

To my loyal blog readers on the Advanced Fiction Writing Blog. You've taught me more in your questions than I could possibly teach you in my answers. Randy Ingermanson

Authors' Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the many people who took time to provide their advice and input to us as we created the book you now hold hands. Specifically, we would like to thank the folks at Wiley who cared enough to make this book the best it could be, including Tracy Boggier, Natalie Harris, Danielle Voirol, and Christy Pingleton. Thanks also to our talented technical editor David Hassler. Randy would like to thank his coauthor Peter Economy for guidance in learning the Dummies way and for many strategic and tactical conversations during the writing of this book. He also thanks his wife, Eunice, for being there always and his daughters, Carolyn, Gracie, and Amy, for many hundreds of hours of reading-out-loud time. Peter would like to thank his coauthor Randy Ingermanson for his hard work and dedication to this project and for showing him that there is much more to the world of writing than nonfiction. He would also like to thank his wife, Jan, and kids, Peter, Skylar, and Jackson, for their ongoing love and support.

Publisher's Acknowledgments

We're proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at http://dummies.custhelp.com . For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Project Editor: Stacy Kennedy Acquisitions Editor: Tracy Boggier Senior Copy Editor: Danielle Voirol Assistant Editor: Erin Calligan Mooney Editorial Program Coordinator: Joe Niesen General Reviewer: David Hassler Editorial Manager: Christine Meloy Beck Editorial Assistants: Jennette ElNaggar, David Lutton Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South Cover Photos: Gerard Fritz Cartoons: Rich Tennant ( www.the5thwave.com ) Composition Services Project Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, Joyce Haughey, Melissa K. Jester, Christine Williams Proofreader: Shannon Ramsey Indexer: Christine Karpeles Special Help: Christine Pingleton Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Debbie Stailey , Director of Composition ServicesNext page