5 Tips to Writing Fiction that I learned from writing kids’ cartoons for TV by Jina Bacarr

When I was preparing for a teleconference with author Heidi Richards for her publishing series about writing fiction, I thought about my early days in TV and the valuable lessons that I learned from writing scripts.

I discussed this topic in depth with Heidi in the teleconference, but I’ve included my 5 tips for writing fiction for you at the end of this blog. But first–

How did I start writing sexy fiction?

When I wrote a monthly column for a computer magazine called Sweet Savage Byte, who knew years later mainstream would meet bitstream, making e-books (including sexy fiction) available at the click of a mouse. The Internet’s easy access and anonymity made it all possible.

It also gave the opportunity for so many writers to bring out those stories from underneath their beds and see their works published.

My sexy coming-of-age story “The Blonde Geisha“ was published by Harlequin Spice during that time. That novel was followed by several other titles that I’ve written for Spice as well as a non-fiction book for Stone Bridge Press, “The Japanese Art of Sex: how to tease, seduce and pleasure the samurai in your bedroom.”

Here is the short version of my 5 Tips for writing fiction that I learned from writing kids’ cartoons for TV:

1. Beat It: know your story beats

2. You gotta have heart. What is your emotional theme?

3. Dialogue is king (or queen).

4. The white rabbit syndrome: getting into the scene as late as you can and out as quickly as you can.

5. Writing is rewriting.

So the next time you sit down to watch your favorite TV show, watch it with the eye of a television writer: note the story beats, boil down the emotional core of the story to one or two words, listen to the dialogue, watch how they get in and out of a scene, then press rewind and watch it again.

And don’t forget the most important tip of all when you write your story: let your imagination soar.

It’s the magic that makes the elephant fly.

The Blonde Samurai
“She embraced the way of the warrior. Two swords. Two loves.”