First of all, this probably isn't the best place to ask, since these forums aren't super active. I'd recommend checking someplace like reddit for detailed advice. That being said, here's probably the most important tip anyone can give you: just start writing. Any idea is fine, even if it's not very original, even if you're just stealing it from a manga you read. The best way to be a good writer is to have written a lot, so get started!
writer tips
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@kamuisan I write as a hobby. Wouldn't say that I'm a pro but I have noticed my English improved a ton so I'd say that I'm pretty good at it. Take this slowly cause you may get overwhelmed.
(Pay attention to 4 more)
1. Xannthic's right, just start writing. There have been way too many times I keep thinking about the plot too hard that I lose passion in the story I'm planning to right. But if you aim to write a great story, this won't do.
2. Know your plot. Think about the beginning, the flow of the story, up to the climax, and finally the conclusion. These are four aspects to make a great story. But don't think too hard, figure the gist of literally everything and then start writing. Fix in the plot holes along the way and not at the beginning. If the plot hole can't be fixed, change your plot or look from another angle.
3. Character is everything. The plot is the flour and your characters are the sugar into baking the cake that is your story.
3.1. They must not be two-dimensional. A very reliable rule of thumb is be in your characters' shoes and think how you would react in their situation. If an action feels unnatural then that character should not be doing that.
3.2. Backstories are optional. Character development is optional. You don't need these two to make a character good, although they are preferable. I'm saying this as a warning that if either two of these are badly-written, it can ruin your story.
4. Sentences have emotions. Compare these two.
A few side notes:
4.1. I used quite a few writer's effect here, like foreshadowing, metaphor, personalization. Imma only cover basics here and no way am I gonna spend my afternoon explaining it all so just look up an online class and practice tons. No seriously, practice makes perfect. Write a lot and you'll soon get the hang of it.
4.2. A thesaurus is not a golden ticket to good writing. It's true, you shouldn't repeat the same words and use synonyms when possible. But be aware that even synonyms can have different meaning when placed in sentences.
4.3. Your words should make the reader feel like they want to read more. Fail this and fail to make a good story.
4.4. Learn to use all the punctuations you can, it'll help to entice the reader.
4.5. Paragraphs are your friend. Don't make it too long. You can make it short for effect of panic or breathlessness or just to make things poetic but know when to bend the rules.
5. Inspiration is important. If you don't have inspiration, just wait for it or do things that will make it come faster. Writing without them can make you lose your passion. If you feel like you can't wring out any more ideas from your brain, take a break. This is why writer's block exist; fight by looking for inspiration and not forcing your way through.
6. Read and watch more. Know what's good writing, know what's bad writing.
(Pay attention to 4 more)
1. Xannthic's right, just start writing. There have been way too many times I keep thinking about the plot too hard that I lose passion in the story I'm planning to right. But if you aim to write a great story, this won't do.
2. Know your plot. Think about the beginning, the flow of the story, up to the climax, and finally the conclusion. These are four aspects to make a great story. But don't think too hard, figure the gist of literally everything and then start writing. Fix in the plot holes along the way and not at the beginning. If the plot hole can't be fixed, change your plot or look from another angle.
3. Character is everything. The plot is the flour and your characters are the sugar into baking the cake that is your story.
3.1. They must not be two-dimensional. A very reliable rule of thumb is be in your characters' shoes and think how you would react in their situation. If an action feels unnatural then that character should not be doing that.
3.2. Backstories are optional. Character development is optional. You don't need these two to make a character good, although they are preferable. I'm saying this as a warning that if either two of these are badly-written, it can ruin your story.
4. Sentences have emotions. Compare these two.
Sorry I got carried away and wrote a few paragraphs but you see the point, right?
A few side notes:
4.1. I used quite a few writer's effect here, like foreshadowing, metaphor, personalization. Imma only cover basics here and no way am I gonna spend my afternoon explaining it all so just look up an online class and practice tons. No seriously, practice makes perfect. Write a lot and you'll soon get the hang of it.
4.2. A thesaurus is not a golden ticket to good writing. It's true, you shouldn't repeat the same words and use synonyms when possible. But be aware that even synonyms can have different meaning when placed in sentences.
Use this to your advantage and know which synonyms to use at which scene.
4.3. Your words should make the reader feel like they want to read more. Fail this and fail to make a good story.
4.4. Learn to use all the punctuations you can, it'll help to entice the reader.
4.5. Paragraphs are your friend. Don't make it too long. You can make it short for effect of panic or breathlessness or just to make things poetic but know when to bend the rules.
5. Inspiration is important. If you don't have inspiration, just wait for it or do things that will make it come faster. Writing without them can make you lose your passion. If you feel like you can't wring out any more ideas from your brain, take a break. This is why writer's block exist; fight by looking for inspiration and not forcing your way through.
6. Read and watch more. Know what's good writing, know what's bad writing.
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Oh yeah. @kamuisan
7. You'll need time to start your "writing habbit". It took me a few months to know how I am going to design my plot and what kind of writing I like. Take your time and don't rush. Your writing will improve if you keep doing it and aspire to do more.
7. You'll need time to start your "writing habbit". It took me a few months to know how I am going to design my plot and what kind of writing I like. Take your time and don't rush. Your writing will improve if you keep doing it and aspire to do more.
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Hi) first of all, you need to have an interesting idea. Secondly, you need to broaden your mind. Also reading might be helpful. One of the important things is inspiration. You'll find it in the things you love, for example in the nature, reading, travelling. But if you don't have this inspiration you might ask our experts writers to help you. Feel free to visit our website https://samedayessays.net/coursework-writing-service/.
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I may say some stuff that will contradict what @DANDAN_THE_DANDAN said but here's some overall tips:
1) Plan out the plot progression BEFORE you start writing.
Many great works have ruined themselves by not planning out how they want their story to go and what is the most natural and logical progression for a narrative to flow. For a modern audience, plot consistency and the avoidance of major logical or narrative inconsistencies is very important and you'll want to write a story that gets better each time you read it, with good, subtle foreshadowing and strong, logical progression of events. Planing what major scenes and concepts you want to explore before hand lays out a solid piece for further progression, especially when diving into the more complex parts of literary analysis, such as symbolism and reoccurring themes.
2) Diction
Precise use of words is important to capture the essence of what you wish to say. Rhetorical devices will help in this but diction is your go-to for writing as it can mean the death of your work or the thriving of it. Take the difference between "ran" and "bolted." The former is probably not going to be preferred if you wish to imply a sudden, and immediate jolt across the ground and wish to have colorful imagery, but there will be situations where less complex and simple diction will be most effective, as mixing up sentence structure and syntax helps to keep a reader invested. If you make a point, it is best to finish with words that are not overly flowery and more down to earth, and non-abstruse to understand, or if you wish to characterize some one as being not so smart or not as well educated, them saying "I ran down the street like hell" would have less of a clash than "I did scamper ever so gently down that street, good sir."
This is not even including connotative vs denotative, in which two words can carry the same meaning but have different impacts on the audience, such as "taken" vs "stolen" or "butcher" vs "kill." They can mean the same thing but have very different amounts of weight with the audience and using this can help both characterize people by showing what language they use and what that says about them or the overall themes of the work, if you want a solid example of this, checkout Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man which uses its diction to imply subtleties and lay its reoccurring themes every well. How you communicate the idea is everything in writing, and can create either a masterpiece or a disaster, with unclear language or imprecise diction meaning the end of your work.
3) Know what you are writing about
Do your homework, check sources. Bad information can take people out of an otherwise good story and haphazardly throwing in information and exposition that has no actual basis in something, like the "humans only use 10% of our brains" myth, will immediately take people out of the story. Instead, basing your information and plot in something that is reliable and that is based in truth will strengthen a work more than harm it. Saying in a novel "pee is stored in the balls' and using that to advance the plot will harm your story unless its an absurdist comedy. Likewise, if you go too much into non-meaningful exposition on a subject, like describing how a gun works to its subatomic level, then you will lose your audience completely.\
4) Good Characters are not hard to categorize
There is no one set for what is and what is not a good character and it is entirely on how you display them. You should have your characters fully realized and understand how they would react in any given situation before you set pen to paper, and then find the way to best communicate that to the audience. Static vs Dynamic and Flat vs round are not indicators of quality necessary. Sgt Johnson from Halo is a static flat character, but he is universally beloved because of his characterization. Though, you should mix it up and have some characters who have arcs and do change and some who are more deeply realized than others, though may not change.
Similarly, morality is complicated. An immoral protagonist will need more justification for their actions and the ability for the audience to empathize with them is important. A person can do nearly anything, but we need see the process of their thinking and what the limits of the rational and moral code is. It's also relative to your setting, in this case. In a universe where Fascists rule and crush every little bit of hope and opposition as corrupt bureaucrats rape and butcher helpless civilians, a rebel who cares little for human life and is more invested in revenge against the system and sending a message to invoke fear and commits acts of terrorism may be seen as moral, but would not work in another setting. It would also be bad if he committed immoral acts that would go against this goal such as raping a random woman or killing puppies.
Though, it should be noted the overall theme is strong and clear motivations and understanding why characters act and think the way that they do. In a romance story, we need to see chemistry between the characters, why they fall for one another, and why specifically they like one another within their own personality, or how they change through their arc. If they wrong one another, they need to address it and either solve it or work past it and face repercussions for their actions. No significant action should not have a consequence. In an action story, we need to know what motivates the hero, what compels them forth and why they care about the situation. We need to know their moral code and potentially even philosophy depending on the circumstances, which ironically also is fitting for villains and for horror characters. All of these aspects will increase likability and audience investment in your story
There will probably be more but this is the major stuff for now. I'd suggest reading everything you can and getting a grasp on what story elements you like and dislike and why you do or don't like them. Works of literary merit are especially helpful, but also history and philosophy will expand your writing capabilities because it allows you to base things in more substantial logic and fact. (Otherwise follow what DANDAN said in conjuction)
@Kamuisan
1) Plan out the plot progression BEFORE you start writing.
Many great works have ruined themselves by not planning out how they want their story to go and what is the most natural and logical progression for a narrative to flow. For a modern audience, plot consistency and the avoidance of major logical or narrative inconsistencies is very important and you'll want to write a story that gets better each time you read it, with good, subtle foreshadowing and strong, logical progression of events. Planing what major scenes and concepts you want to explore before hand lays out a solid piece for further progression, especially when diving into the more complex parts of literary analysis, such as symbolism and reoccurring themes.
2) Diction
Precise use of words is important to capture the essence of what you wish to say. Rhetorical devices will help in this but diction is your go-to for writing as it can mean the death of your work or the thriving of it. Take the difference between "ran" and "bolted." The former is probably not going to be preferred if you wish to imply a sudden, and immediate jolt across the ground and wish to have colorful imagery, but there will be situations where less complex and simple diction will be most effective, as mixing up sentence structure and syntax helps to keep a reader invested. If you make a point, it is best to finish with words that are not overly flowery and more down to earth, and non-abstruse to understand, or if you wish to characterize some one as being not so smart or not as well educated, them saying "I ran down the street like hell" would have less of a clash than "I did scamper ever so gently down that street, good sir."
This is not even including connotative vs denotative, in which two words can carry the same meaning but have different impacts on the audience, such as "taken" vs "stolen" or "butcher" vs "kill." They can mean the same thing but have very different amounts of weight with the audience and using this can help both characterize people by showing what language they use and what that says about them or the overall themes of the work, if you want a solid example of this, checkout Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man which uses its diction to imply subtleties and lay its reoccurring themes every well. How you communicate the idea is everything in writing, and can create either a masterpiece or a disaster, with unclear language or imprecise diction meaning the end of your work.
3) Know what you are writing about
Do your homework, check sources. Bad information can take people out of an otherwise good story and haphazardly throwing in information and exposition that has no actual basis in something, like the "humans only use 10% of our brains" myth, will immediately take people out of the story. Instead, basing your information and plot in something that is reliable and that is based in truth will strengthen a work more than harm it. Saying in a novel "pee is stored in the balls' and using that to advance the plot will harm your story unless its an absurdist comedy. Likewise, if you go too much into non-meaningful exposition on a subject, like describing how a gun works to its subatomic level, then you will lose your audience completely.\
4) Good Characters are not hard to categorize
There is no one set for what is and what is not a good character and it is entirely on how you display them. You should have your characters fully realized and understand how they would react in any given situation before you set pen to paper, and then find the way to best communicate that to the audience. Static vs Dynamic and Flat vs round are not indicators of quality necessary. Sgt Johnson from Halo is a static flat character, but he is universally beloved because of his characterization. Though, you should mix it up and have some characters who have arcs and do change and some who are more deeply realized than others, though may not change.
Similarly, morality is complicated. An immoral protagonist will need more justification for their actions and the ability for the audience to empathize with them is important. A person can do nearly anything, but we need see the process of their thinking and what the limits of the rational and moral code is. It's also relative to your setting, in this case. In a universe where Fascists rule and crush every little bit of hope and opposition as corrupt bureaucrats rape and butcher helpless civilians, a rebel who cares little for human life and is more invested in revenge against the system and sending a message to invoke fear and commits acts of terrorism may be seen as moral, but would not work in another setting. It would also be bad if he committed immoral acts that would go against this goal such as raping a random woman or killing puppies.
Though, it should be noted the overall theme is strong and clear motivations and understanding why characters act and think the way that they do. In a romance story, we need to see chemistry between the characters, why they fall for one another, and why specifically they like one another within their own personality, or how they change through their arc. If they wrong one another, they need to address it and either solve it or work past it and face repercussions for their actions. No significant action should not have a consequence. In an action story, we need to know what motivates the hero, what compels them forth and why they care about the situation. We need to know their moral code and potentially even philosophy depending on the circumstances, which ironically also is fitting for villains and for horror characters. All of these aspects will increase likability and audience investment in your story
There will probably be more but this is the major stuff for now. I'd suggest reading everything you can and getting a grasp on what story elements you like and dislike and why you do or don't like them. Works of literary merit are especially helpful, but also history and philosophy will expand your writing capabilities because it allows you to base things in more substantial logic and fact. (Otherwise follow what DANDAN said in conjuction)
@Kamuisan
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@Kamuisan To add to what @Tamerlane has said,
1. You can combine characters into one complex, multilayered one if you're having trouble creating chemistry between them.
2. Add subtext - a psychological layer beneath the text - to keep the readers wanting to turn to the next page. Basically, instead of "Jeremy replied with a hint of suspicion, "Yeah sure."" Make it "Jeremy squints his eyes as he reviewed his memories, "Yeah... sure."" (This is a super basic example there are so many better stories out there).
3. Be familiar with writing techniques. There are plenty of tutorials on how to write better expositions, magic systems, history, etc. Hello Future Me is a pretty good channel for these advice.
1. You can combine characters into one complex, multilayered one if you're having trouble creating chemistry between them.
2. Add subtext - a psychological layer beneath the text - to keep the readers wanting to turn to the next page. Basically, instead of "Jeremy replied with a hint of suspicion, "Yeah sure."" Make it "Jeremy squints his eyes as he reviewed his memories, "Yeah... sure."" (This is a super basic example there are so many better stories out there).
3. Be familiar with writing techniques. There are plenty of tutorials on how to write better expositions, magic systems, history, etc. Hello Future Me is a pretty good channel for these advice.
Guys, thanks for all the information which i have found in this thread! I hope that i will use it in future in my own blog: payforessay
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I know it's incredibly long, and trying to watch all 76 episodes at this point is a bit much, but I'd recommend watching a podcast called "Every Frame A Pause" (or "EFAP") if you want writing advice from the view of worldbuilding and internal consistency, as well as pointers on how to construct arguments.
They are very detailed, logical, and thorough in their argumentation.
They are very detailed, logical, and thorough in their argumentation.
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Don't explicitly tell us how a character is feeling. SHOW us. Let us see through his or her eyes and decide for ourselves. For example;
"His alarm did not go off. A bird chirped loudly and incessantly beyond the walls of his bedroom, as if trying to coerce the others into joining in. It's efforts were rewarded with silence, and though it persisted it would soon give up without accomplishing anything. A man lay in bed, awake, but with eyes closed, as if afraid of what lay in wait on the other side of his eyelids."
Already we can feel multiple emotions. Anger toward the incessant bird. futility from both the man who has to put up with it and the bird who's efforts were in vain. Lethargy and reluctance to return to the waking world, his eyelids the sole divider between dreams and reality. It also makes you wonder if maybe he meant not to turn on his alarm. That maybe he secretly wanted to get fired and not have to work at his crappy job anymore.
"His alarm did not go off. A bird chirped loudly and incessantly beyond the walls of his bedroom, as if trying to coerce the others into joining in. It's efforts were rewarded with silence, and though it persisted it would soon give up without accomplishing anything. A man lay in bed, awake, but with eyes closed, as if afraid of what lay in wait on the other side of his eyelids."
Already we can feel multiple emotions. Anger toward the incessant bird. futility from both the man who has to put up with it and the bird who's efforts were in vain. Lethargy and reluctance to return to the waking world, his eyelids the sole divider between dreams and reality. It also makes you wonder if maybe he meant not to turn on his alarm. That maybe he secretly wanted to get fired and not have to work at his crappy job anymore.
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Unless ofcourse its for comedic effect or for catharsis.
That moment when you realised you're screwed is the greatest use of internal monologue.
That moment when someone accepts their problems/results, allows them to speak to themselves and come to peace
That moment when you realised you're screwed is the greatest use of internal monologue.
That moment when someone accepts their problems/results, allows them to speak to themselves and come to peace
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The Mystery of Missing OP
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As a general rule, yes, but unless you're working towards a greater point or if it isn't important to the setting.
For instance, if you're setting up a scene, you don't need to go into that great of detail about each individual object unless it's the focus of something important. You can just get away with "The electric buzz of the TV rang in the background, and I could feel the grey carpet's woolly fibers on my barefeet."
Or if you're trying to do something specific like characterize the narrator as a blunt person. One of my favorite books, The Stranger by Albert Camus, does this by having Mersault treat everything with equal weight. He doesn't dwell and it's part of the existentialist tones of the book that, before he is faced with his own mortality, he doesn't really focus on anything for too long. Below is the first two paragraphs are below and kinda show how he treats everything the same. Existentialism is fucky.
Here's the audiobook. It's a good read.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qavv2WfkX6Q
For instance, if you're setting up a scene, you don't need to go into that great of detail about each individual object unless it's the focus of something important. You can just get away with "The electric buzz of the TV rang in the background, and I could feel the grey carpet's woolly fibers on my barefeet."
Or if you're trying to do something specific like characterize the narrator as a blunt person. One of my favorite books, The Stranger by Albert Camus, does this by having Mersault treat everything with equal weight. He doesn't dwell and it's part of the existentialist tones of the book that, before he is faced with his own mortality, he doesn't really focus on anything for too long. Below is the first two paragraphs are below and kinda show how he treats everything the same. Existentialism is fucky.
Mama died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can't be sure. The telegram from the Home says: YOUR MOTHER PASSED AWAY. FUNERAL TOMORROW. DEEP SYMPATHY. Which leaves the matter doubtful; it could have been yesterday.
The Home for Aged Persons is at Marengo, some fifty miles from Algiers. With the two o'clock bus I should get there well before nightfall. Then I can spend the night there, keeping the usual vigil beside the body, and be back here by tomorrow evening. I have fixed up with my employer for two days' leave; obviously, under the circumstances, he couldn't refuse. Still, I had an idea he looked annoyed, and I said, without thinking: "Sorry, sir, but it's not my fault, you know."
The Home for Aged Persons is at Marengo, some fifty miles from Algiers. With the two o'clock bus I should get there well before nightfall. Then I can spend the night there, keeping the usual vigil beside the body, and be back here by tomorrow evening. I have fixed up with my employer for two days' leave; obviously, under the circumstances, he couldn't refuse. Still, I had an idea he looked annoyed, and I said, without thinking: "Sorry, sir, but it's not my fault, you know."
Here's the audiobook. It's a good read.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qavv2WfkX6Q
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I think two of the biggest ones for me are firstly, plan things out. If you have magic, have the rules decided in advance and stick to them. If a character has a particular trait or like/dislike, make a note of it and stick to it. If you later find you've written yourself into a corner with your rules, see if there's anything you can add first, so you don't need to change rules, or see if you can make a change without it affecting anything already established. Try to plan as much out as possible beforehand though, even if it's just a paragraph saying how that ability can work, and how it might work in a future plot point. To give a good example of rules of magic that weren't thought out in advance, I refer you to the concept of side-along apparition in the Harry Potter series, which could definitely have been used in several places, even one after it was introduced, but wasn't. In short, try to anticipate what you might use something for later on, rather than just creating rules as you need them as it's easy to end up contradicting yourself.
Secondly, there's nothing wrong with people just saying something. Some people say you shouldn't use the word "said", though while you shouldn't use it TOO much, there are actually some times that people do just say something. Like any word or phrase, using it too much in a short space can be irritating, but it can also be annoying seeing the most random ways for a character to exclaim, gasp, recite etc with no reason to other than to not simply say something. It also gets really hard to think of what to put instead of "said" at times...
I don't know how widespread the anti-said belief is taught, but I certainly came across a few teachers who believed in it.
Secondly, there's nothing wrong with people just saying something. Some people say you shouldn't use the word "said", though while you shouldn't use it TOO much, there are actually some times that people do just say something. Like any word or phrase, using it too much in a short space can be irritating, but it can also be annoying seeing the most random ways for a character to exclaim, gasp, recite etc with no reason to other than to not simply say something. It also gets really hard to think of what to put instead of "said" at times...
I don't know how widespread the anti-said belief is taught, but I certainly came across a few teachers who believed in it.
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The best advice - is to find a mentor wich can explain more details to a young writer and share his experience. If you don't have such a mentor or a teacher you can try to improve your skills on your own. First of all use all previous essays/textes you wrote before as an example. You task is to write better the yesterday and if you take your old essay and you will see awful writing that means you have got a prospect. You also can use experienced writers help like this to compare how big is difference between you and them. It's some kind of motivation for young writers and beginners. Good luck then
