In this video an award-winning author and master writing instructor teaches how to use a storyboard as a visual map for your story which can be a great organizational tool in writing your manuscript. If you are a fan of graphic organizers, illustrations and images, storyboarding is going to be something you will want to add to your ‘writers’ arsenal.

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Imagine this. Reams of balled up paper are all over the floor covered with ideas that I have come up with to write Science Fiction stories. Except none of them are any good. I’m trying to follow the instructions of paragraph 1 below in the quoted section, suggesting, “Write down anything interesting until you find the right topic for you.”

The problem is: everything I come up with is Fantasy. Although I did not fail Science in high school, actually got B+’s, I struggled daily wracking my brain to comprehend SCIENCE. And I am wracking my brain now.

The quoted section, paragraph 1 below, (second sentence) reads, “…search for your topic in modern science books, articles and magazines, or talk to a scientifically inclined person”. I mostly live in a dream world. In my Science Fiction world these elements of  “science books, articles and magazines”, don’t exist. And I certainly don’t know any “scientifically inclined people”.

Do I give up my dream to write Science Fiction? I will let you in on a secret. Science Fiction is my least favorite topic to take the pen and write stories. I don’t want to think about future worlds where there are robots, where the sky is now a sullen dark gray and all human population has been wiped out by the aliens, or research the mechanics of how a space ship would be constructed that will fly the universe with the female captain protagonist chasing the villain (who really is her stepfather that walked out on she and her mother when the captain was a baby), or lastly, construe a complicated secret computer that talks rationally with its inventor, but the computer really wants to take over the world.

Sure I can choose my characters, write a basic outline, or dive into my first chapter… as recommended in paragraph 5 in the quoted material below. However, I can’t envision a world without magic, without mystical happenings, without myths and fairytales. The elves, I can do without. Although they might make good friends for my female protagonist who is searching the vast eerie woods for the villain who has wiped out her village (and unbeknownst to her, the villain is her stepfather who walked out…)

But you might be one of the special writers who are scientifically oriented and writing Science Fiction is not just a dream but also a lifelong goal. Therefore what is written in the 8 paragraphs below will absolutely put you on the right path to obtaining this purpose.

“Find a general topic; this applies to any book. To write science fiction, you need to know a little about science fact, so search for your topic in modern science books, articles and magazines, or talk to a scientifically inclined person. Write down anything interesting until you find the right topic for you.

Ask yourself “What if?” Remember, this is fiction. Play off your main scientific topic, but you can get a little crazy with it. For example, science can’t really successfully clone humans yet, but what if it could?

Decide what your main conflict will be: Man vs. Technology, Man vs. Man, etc. Aliens are probably the most popular enemy for science fiction books (and technology the most popular weapon against them), but don’t be afraid to step out of the box.

Decide your setting and time period. Most science fiction happens in the near future and involves more than just planet earth, but there are lots of different types of science so don’t feel bound to this scenario. Remember to stay within the limits of the time period you choose–if you choose only five years into the future, for example, we probably haven’t developed flying cars yet.

Choose your characters, and then write your basic outline. If you’re not an outline person, then go ahead and dive into the first chapter or prologue. Good luck!

Know the difference between science fiction and fantasy. Science fiction is more about scientific occurrences that could happen in this world, or aliens and amazing inventions. Fantasy is about events that are impossible to happen in this world, and usually has magic and creatures like elves or ogres.

Know the structure of a story. Stories have a structure with an initial incident, or starting struggle, that escalates into a “dark moment” in which all seems lost for the main character, and then turns into a climax followed by a resolution.

Make sure you know what all of your characters want. Characters are driven by a goal, or want, and this should form the foundation of their behaviors. For instance, a character who wants to travel to a new existence may actually want to win the love and admiration of a fellow being, and the story plot will be driven by this double want.”

To be or not to be a Science Fiction writer? I don’t think Shakespeare contemplated this question; however his plays do flirt with Fantasy, fairies, Cupid, mystical happenings. I think this writer will not delve into the Science Fiction world. I leave that to all you “A+” students out there who aced Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

If you are in school learning how to write, have a writing mentor, or if you have a tutor; listen up.

Are you having trouble getting started on your manuscript? Does it seem hard to focus? Are you sitting at the table staring at a white sheet of paper hoping that your thoughts will magically fall onto the paper?

Below is a list of some of the most troublesome symptoms and possible cures to help writers that struggle to complete their manuscript.

“Because writers have various ways of writing, a variety of things can cause a writer to experience anxiety, and sometimes this anxiety leads to writer’s block. Often a solution can be found by speaking with your instructor (if you are in school), or a writing tutor. There are some common causes of writer’s block, however, and when you are blocked, consider these causes and try the strategies that sound most promising:

Symptom

You have attempted to begin a paper without doing any preliminary work such as brainstorming or outlining…

Possible Cures

• Use invention strategies suggested by a tutor or teacher
• Write down all the primary ideas you’d like to express and then fill in each with the smaller ideas that make up each primary idea. This can easily be converted into an outline

Symptom

You have chosen or been assigned a topic which bores you….

Possible Cures

• Choose a particular aspect of the topic you are interested in (if the writing situation will allow it…i.e. if the goal of your writing can be adjusted and is not given to you specifically, or if the teacher or project coordinator will allow it)
• Talk to a tutor about how you can personalize a topic to make it more interesting

Symptom

You don’t want to spend time writing or don’t understand the assignment…

Possible Cures

• Resign yourself to the fact that you have to write
• Find out what is expected of you (consult a teacher, textbook, student, tutor, or project coordinator)
• Look at some of the strategies for writing anxiety listed below

Symptom

You are anxious about writing the paper…

Possible Cures

• Focus your energy by rehearsing the task in your head.
• Consciously stop the non-productive comments running through your head by replacing them with productive ones.
• If you have some “rituals” for writing success (chewing gum, listening to jazz etc.), use them.

Symptom

You are so stressed out you can’t seem to put a word on the page…

Possible Cures

• Stretch! If you can’t stand up, stretch as many muscle groups as possible while staying seated.
• Try tensing and releasing various muscle groups. Starting from your toes, tense up for perhaps five to ten seconds and then let go. Relax and then go on to another muscle group.
• Breathe deeply. Close your eyes; then, fill your chest cavity slowly by taking four of five short deep breaths. Hold each breath until it hurts, and then let it out slowly.
• Use a calming word or mental image to focus on while relaxing. If you choose a word, be careful not to use an imperative. Don’t command yourself to “Calm down!” or “Relax!”

Symptom

You’re self-conscious about your writing, you may have trouble getting started. So, if you’re preoccupied with the idea that you have to write about a subject and feel you probably won’t express yourself well…

Possible Cures

• Talk over the subject with a friend or tutor.
• assure yourself that the first draft doesn’t have to be a work of genius, it is something to work with.
• Force yourself to write down something, however poorly worded, that approximates your thought (you can revise this later) and go on with the next idea.
• Break the task up into steps. Meet the general purpose first, and then flesh out the more specific aspects later.”

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