The Local Writer

 A TV Network in Malaysia in the 80's used to show Shakespeare plays in the afternoon, and I remember watching quite a number of them. What did not occur to me then, was that many of these characters were non-British yet they all spoke with British accents and used English expressions in their manner of speech. You will know what I mean if you watch a scene from Act II of Anthony and Cleopatra . I must admit, I also tend to write dialogue for my characters in a formal manner because I have grown up reading classics. When I do read a local book, I will read them in the original language. So writing colloquial dialogue in English is quite awkward for me. [ Click this link to watch the video that mirrors this post.] Today's tips are purely my opinion. Different writers will use different methods to come up with a style that is comfortable for them. Maybe you already have your own style, but you are not sure if it is best. Let me assure you that there is no best style in this day ...

[You can watch a video of this post here .]  As promised, today I will be writing about how to mix and use both the outlining and organic writing techniques together.  I must apologise first. I will be showing you two blurry photos because I did not take proper photographs of the progress of the poster above. They are just screen shots of my first and second tips video. The Idea Last month I put this thing up in my first video: How to know if you have a great idea . This is how I think the premise of my story will look like if it was a poster. I have a general idea of what kind of story I want to tell. If I like what I see, I will write a short fairy-tale about it. I do not treat this as the spine of the story though. Sometimes it is, but most times it is the prompter. In this case, because the idea is 'I love stories', it will make me think of centring my story around a bookshop, library, or theatre. The place you pick is important, because it will define what kind of charact...