Story writing tips. Where are they? Look around you.
Story writing tips can be as close as the car parked outside your door.
You remember Henry Ford don’t you?
He cared about his customers.
He is often quoted as saying, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.”
What can he teach you about writing or what does a car have to do with writing?
Henry Ford was an extraordinary person and an astute businessman.
He would be called a principled man.
His rules were simple and straightforward.
“Do onto others as you would have done onto you.”
His business, his company, his reputation were built on giving the best that he could give, at the fairest price, with the most value that he could reasonably deliver.
That is an excellent writer’s tip.
Write the best book you can write, give your reader the best you have to offer.
Story Tips from an Autobiography or an Automobile – Say what?
“As I read Ford’s autobiography he talked about what he wanted his automobile to represent. I was struck by how similar his wants were to those of an author.
Even more intriguing, Ford’s automobile and the author’s vehicle (or book) have many of the same characteristics.
Story Writing Tips for you, the Writer
Henry Ford created his first vehicle to be dependable and also to:
Stand up to everyday wear and tear
Run at a Sufficient speed
Be admired by men, women and children
Be Safe
Be Convenient
Sell for a Reasonable price
Be Made of Good material
Be Simple
Have a strong, reliable engine
Have a Quick Ignition
Have Automatic oiling
Give Drivers Control of transmission
Be an Example of Fine Workmanship
These characteristics read much like a table of contents for a book on writing.
In fact, let’s take each point, add a subtitle, and make it a book about writing. Here goes…
1. Stands Up to Everyday Wear & Tear – good binding and durable cover for multiple reads
2. Available When a Buyer Wants It in a Format He Wants – especially in this digital age
3. Wide audience – the book appeals to a specific target market (a.k.a. reader)
4. Reasonably Priced – Takes the reader on a trip without the high cost of fuel
5. Made of Good Material – quality paper, a telling cover and back cover
6. Distribution/Stock of Parts – availability in quantity sufficient to meet readers’ demands
7. Suitable Advertising Display – to find potential reader/store front or publisher venue
The Car/Vehicle or Book Contents
1. Safety, no sharp edges or dangerous premises, unless it suits the genre. But it should still be equal to the task chosen to carry the message.
2. Good Material; that will hold up under acquisition department scrutiny.
3. Simplicity; concise with proper word choice for genre and/or age group.
4. The Engine; Strong plot, reliable format or design for the Genre.
5. Ignition; Hooks the reader quickly, immediate starting point.
6. Automatic Oiling; continual flow and proper mixture of action, and exposition, dialog and narrative.
7. Control of Transmission; Guide the reader from the beginning, through a tight, non-sagging middle, to a logical and satisfying conclusion.
8. Workmanship; Editorial craft in polishing and shaping the finished book to make it flawless in content as well as continuity.
9. Trustworthy – ready any time, any where you want to read, as a book is.
10. Built to Add to Your Reputation or Knowledge; you wouldn’t want your name on an inferior product.
11. Built for Business or Pleasure; a reader picks up a book to Learn/grow/be entertained or to gain useful information/knowledge.
12. Built for Your Good Health That is No Hazardous Material; A reader reads to relieve stress, relax, rejuvenate, at the beach or a barbeque, cabin porch or mansion patio. No hazardous material in the creation.
13. Speed for the automobile sufficient enough to get you where you need to be on time, with in the limit of speed limit laws of course; For the writer speed would be adjusted if you wish to linger or race through, maybe venture leisurely through shady avenues, but press down on the gas pedal until all the scenery looks alike to you and you have to keep your eyes sharp to count the milestones as they pass.
14. Strong and Well-built – lasts for generations as the classics have.
15. Up-to-Date: Don’t use slang or hackneyed language that will date your piece, a classic that will live forever or a new book is never dated by the language used; every good read could become a classic.
16. Clean and dignified; Clean and dignified for a book would be an error free reading experience and an attractive cover that draws the reader to and into the book.
17. Salesmanship or Distribution; For a vehicle it’s a dealers lot, to a book it is to Editors/Agents who know genres and the seller who must put it out to the public and or bookstores.
18. Bookkeeping helps the automobile dealer appraised of what customers like, need and will buy: follow-up sales system – track those reader/buyers, and shows the sales department where your readers want, need and will buy?
19. Promotional Budget: marketing and promotion are essential to a worthy vehicle or book.
20. Absolute cleanliness of stock: no bent, cracked, bleeding, odd ball pages from the printer miss-feeds or other errors.
21. Target Market is found by market research no matter if it’s a vehicle – new or tried and true model: Who Will Buy Your Book? Bookstores; think broader, outside the box – where else? What career has your sleuth, or protagonist could that be a market?
22. Suitable Display Advertising Show room floor at the dealership: find potential readers; would that be the store front for publisher or a shelf in an antique shop?
23. There was an issue where Ford was being sued by George B Selden, a patent attorney, accusing Ford of bad business practices, stealing someone else’s idea. Bad Publicity? Even bad publicity and treacherous competition should not disrupt the quality, morals/values, and spirit of the writer – bad reviews are one person’s opinion, nothing more. “Some will, Some Won’t, So What? Next!” Brian Tracy, Marketing Guru says.
24. Word of mouth is the best advertising, whether it’s for a Ford or a book. Re-gifting – pass on a good read. Write a review.
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I want to enter an upcoming short story contest I am sure you all probably know about (Writers Digest). My 8 year old son found out I want to enter and wants to enter a story he has written but the rules state that you must be at least 16. I dont want to break his heart and tell him he cant enter and his story is actually well written. Where can children enter short story writing contests?