Writing Fictional Stories Based on Real Events

Writing Fictional Stories Based on Real Events

“Well, you have reached the end of the course! Thank you very much for joining me on this journey. I have enjoyed it a lot and I hope you will too. Remember that literature is above all a look, eyes that observe the world from a particular point of view, an original look that only you can create. And to learn to look, it is good to wander, walk, observe what is happening around you, soak up the environment and the people, and then be able to create the characters and settings for your stories. Now it's your turn to start your own process! Let me show you an example of how I would like to see your final project: Read, watch and listen to news: Search the press for topics that are of interest to you. News that moves you, that disturbs you, that makes you angry, that gives you joy, that awakens strong emotions in you!

Choose your news and your photograph: From the selected news, choose one. Specifically, choose a photograph of that news. It has to be news about a topic that interests you a lot and that arouses all your curiosity, whether it is about something close by or something that has happened far away. By the way: maybe you're not the type of person who reads newspapers or watches the news every day, maybe you don't follow current affairs passionately. It does not matter. You can also travel to the past and choose some real event that has caught your attention throughout your life. It may have happened long ago, even years before you were born. You just have to locate that fact and look for a photograph, an image associated with it. Investigate, interview, collect data: Use all the tools you have at hand to investigate: the Internet, libraries, newspaper archives, conversations and interviews with people, visits to places, tours, videos, articles, books, maps, photos. Organize the material: Try to sort through all the information you collected during the research process. Be it in a notebook, or in folders on your computer. As you prefer. But make sure it's organized and handy for when you start writing. Your characters and your narrator: Choose a main character, and learn to listen to him. Also, choose a narrator and stick to their point of view. I believe that books only begin to work when there is a voice and a gaze through which readers will see the world you have created, the voice of the character or characters that will lead you through all the pages. Learn to listen to your characters and above all learn to never betray them. You betray a character when you put words in his mouth that he would never say or make him do things he would never do, your character falls apart, becomes implausible, unbelievable, false. Perhaps what your narrator or main character (who may or may not be the same person) is saying and thinking is not in line with your ideas or opinions. Perfect. That's wonderful, that's sometimes even better than if your character follows what you believe or what you think. Because it is a greater challenge, a challenge. Because it forces you to really put yourself in the place of another who thinks differently from you. To help you understand them, write them an imaginary biography and timeline. Scenarios: You need to know where your character lives and where he moves. He builds his stage, his scenography, the places where he will execute the choreography of movements that he will make in the story. The story: Trust that the characters and the settings through which they move will shed light on what happens in the story, on the story you really want to tell. She will appear little by little, with a lot of effort and many hours of writing. Be patient! Over the years I have learned not to stress myself as much as at the beginning, not to expect that life will be transformed because you publish a book; usually nothing changes, the world and your life remain the same. That gives me peace of mind and above all allows me to preserve the most important thing, which is to enjoy writing. You have to enjoy writing! You have to have a good time writing (although sometimes you have a bad time). It is the most important thing I can tell you about this job. Enjoy those moments alone with you and your characters. Writing is up to you. The rest, no. There are many external factors that you cannot handle. Because nobody can identify what makes a book do better or worse. Fortunately, there are no formulas, apart from trying to be as honest as possible and tell things that really matter to you and not nonsense that you don't care about. I believe that when you decide to write a book you cannot take the easy road, nor the fast one, nor the most traveled. It's not worth the effort. Try to write every day, even a little. Be realistic and spend as much time as you can. But never stop writing! Please, do not forget to share your final project, I will be waiting to see it so I can give you feedback. I ask you to be patient to receive your answer, it may take me a while to answer you. Thank you very much again, it really has been a pleasure. I hope you have a great time with your final project and also with your writing life. Now I say goodbye, but see you on the forum! See you soon!”

Partial transcription of the video

“Final project First of all, I would like to thank you for taking this course. and for allowing me to accompany you in the process. For my part, it has been a pleasure to share with you some knowledge that I have acquired throughout my career. It is time for you to embark on your own path in literature, But first let me remind you of some important things. It is essential that you pay attention to your immediate surroundings and explore your surroundings. Remember that the inspiration for a story it can be anywhere. Collect photos, clippings, readings, everything that seems interesting to yo...”

This transcript is automatically generated, so it may contain mistakes.

Course summary for: Writing Fictional Stories Based on Real Events

• Level: Beginner
• 94% positive reviews (32)
• 835 students
• 4 units
• 14 lessons (2h 38m)
• 18 downloads

• Category

  Writing

• Areas

  Children's Literature, Creative Writing, Fiction Writing, Narrative, Storytelling, Writing