Your Best Writing Tips

[Altissimus]

I thought I'd throw this out there and see what happens.

The idea of this thread is to share some of your techniques, approaches, philosophies, secret sauce or whatever that you've found helps build quality into your stories. The focus is on the specifics, not "read more" or "write more" (we can all agree on those).

There may be an inclination to say 'I'm not telling you that, Jack!', but even if two people read everything here and assimilated all the best stuff into their own works, they still would come up with completely different stories to each other, and to each of us. So I think we're safe there.

So, let's be positive and see what we can learn from one another. There's some mighty fine authors on this forum, and wouldn't it be great if we brush shoulders and have some of that rub off?

 

[Devinter]

Write text.

Text good? Keep.

Text bad? Delete or Edit. Try again.

Repeat endlessly.

 

[ronde]

Write what you know. If you don't know, research the subject until it at least sounds like you do know.

Think in reverse when writing. Start with where you want to end up, then outline a plot to get you there, and lastly, invent characters capable of getting through the plot to the end.

With the probable exception of stroke stories, general descriptions and hints work better than infinite detail. This lets the reader paint their own picture.

Unless the story is fantasy or science fiction, write the characters as humans with the hopes and fears all humans have. If a character has to be "different", give that character a reason for being that way.

Write sex where and when it fits, not just so you have some sex in the story.

 

[Bamagan]

Alternatively: "Hey, can you get me in touch with the demon you sold your soul to for insane writing skills and let me know a rough estimate of the cost?"

The cost is one soul, obviously. What you should probably be asking about is the return on investment.

 

[Bamagan]

Any soul? I can swing that.

You can only sell a soul you own, of course. The underbeings are pretty stern about punishing fraud, except when they're the ones doing it.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

From a technical standpoint, those old words of wisdom: let it sit. Once you're finished, wait a few hours, overnight, a few days. Then re-read. If anything is not quite up to standards, it'll stick out after you've stepped away and done something else to wipe your mind before coming back.

Stylewise, another old standard: show don't tell. Instead of saying "the villain was an asshole", show us a scene of the villain acting or talking like an asshole. It makes the reader put two and two together to figure out themselves that the villain is an asshole and that gets the brain more engaged and the reader more hooked into the story.

Make your characters relatable. Do this by getting into their heads and think plausibly of what they're feeling and thinking and how it would lead them to react in the situation based on their desires. This is motive. If you want interesting plot you need motives that the reader can follow along with, motives that are deeper than just wanting to get laid, even in a high smut piece, there can be at least something unique in the motive, something particular about why the character wants to get laid (and hopefully not too tropey). If you want the reader to connect to the story you need them to get emotionally invested. If they can feel what the characters are feeling then that will go a long way towards that. If you want to convey that emotion onto the page then you will need to feel those emotions yourself. Get into the heads and hearts of your characters. Think what they are thinking. Feel what they are feeling. If you don't do this, you run a high risk of making cookie-cutter characters. Just the other day I read this line in a story (paraphrasing from memory) "she didn't know why she spent 2 1/2 hours dressing herself up for a date that she didn't care about." I'll tell you why. Because the writer just wanted her to look dressed up hot and couldn't bother to get into the head of the character to find a good reason why. He just wanted the image and didn't care that the plot made no sense. LAZY! Made her a piece of cardboard that I just could not force myself to relate to or even care about.

Actual technique: point form. Tons of point form. If the ideas don't come very quickly and aren't fleshing themselves out, point form them and flesh them out when your muse is flowing better. If the ideas are coming too fast to get down before they're gone, point form them so that your fingers can keep up with your brain and not lose anything. Then go back and flesh them, later.

 

[SyleusSnow]

Avoid clichés like the plague.

More seriously, I have a vast collection of "how to write" guides. I've even read some of them. But only a few words of advice have been seriously useful:

Read lots.
Write lots.
Have a story worth telling
- Ian Rankin

Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. - Vonnegut

Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. - Vonnegut again

The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator. - Jonathan Franzen (unless you're posting in Loving Wives )

 

[alohadave]

Edit for others. It will expose you to a lot of mistakes and common errors that writers make.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

Yes, yes and yes! This is motive. Not only will it give your characters depth, it will make your plot interesting.

 

[StillStunned]

Here's one that's LitE-specific (or perhaps just me-specific): try not to check your "Pending" stories every few minutes. It won't speed up the process. It's like pressing the elevator button.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Another genuine suggestion:

Offer to beta read for other writers in exchange for them doing the same with your work. Second opinions catch narrative gaps quite easily.

IME beta-ing for others can also be useful for prodding oneself to think more about storytelling. It's one thing to open a story, think "meh, I don't like this one" and go read something else; it's another to have to articulate why it's not working for you in a way that might be useful for the person you're reading for.

 

[AchtungNight]

Never let a villain get away with anything. Same for a character who is not a villain. Karma should come back around and hit hard.

Get into your characters’ heads. Display their emotions for the readers.

Don’t be afraid to suck. Maybe the readers who think you’re better have yet to read your stories. If you, your alpha readers, and your muse think it’s good, you’re probably okay.

Be daring. If you can’t find the story you want to see, write it yourself.

Most seriously, balance your resources for writing. Time, attention span, energy levels, etc. Dream, but don’t make dreams your master.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Bold: I disagree wholeheartedly. A story can kill off the villain and still let them win in the end. It can be compelling, frustrating, and hurtful to readers in the best way sometimes. Just don't let it become your "thing" to the point it gets predictable. Every now and then? Let the fucking world burn at the hands of your villain if it suits the story and characters.

Well, that's totally a matter of taste. By the same token that none of us are bound by the Hays Code, neither are none of us required to violate it, or any other statute of morals whether personal or institutional. If someone feels that justice should always prevail, then that's what they should write. I do agree that it's not really a writing tip so much as a doctrine.

 

[SimonDoom]

Focus on verbs. The verb is the most important word in the sentence. Try to use active verbs, but don't feel you must always do so. Creatively and wisely choosing verbs gives you the best chance to upgrade your prose.

 

[AchtungNight]

Bold: I disagree wholeheartedly. A story can kill off the villain and still let them win in the end. It can be compelling, frustrating, and hurtful to readers in the best way sometimes. Just don't let it become your "thing" to the point it gets predictable. Every now and then? Let the fucking world burn at the hands of your villain if it suits the story and characters.

Yeah, I agree with this. I just say do it like in Watchmen. The villain wins, but the heroes still show up and take him down afterwards. The villain has such a great plan it can’t be stopped. Or have them appear sure to win for a while until their mistakes come back to bite them.

 

[SimonDoom]

Never let a villain get away with anything. Same for a character who is not a villain. Karma should come back around and hit hard.

I don't agree. In real life, villains get away with it all the time and karma doesn't do a damn thing about it. Fiction isn't required to ape real life, but it can.

 

[AchtungNight]

I don't agree. In real life, villains get away with it all the time and karma doesn't do a damn thing about it. Fiction isn't required to ape real life, but it can.

If you can make it work and fit your story, okay. Just be aware not every reader is a fan of this.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Think cinematically. Let the reader see the story in their heads, as if they were watching a movie.

Tell enough, but not too much.

Environment should reflect mood. Happy people notice flowers and clouds. Unhappy people notice shadows and decay.

Pacing matters. Longer sentences and paragraphs are fine for reflection and complex emotional scenes. "Action" is best told through shorter sentences and a faster pace.

Don't be afraid to break rules, but only do so when you have a good reason.

Read your work aloud to yourself.

 

[SimonDoom]

If you can make it work and fit your story, okay. Just be aware not every reader is a fan of this.

Absolutely. But I took the OPs meaning to be best writing tips and not tips to achieve the most popularity.

 

[MelissaBaby]

If you can make it work and fit your story, okay. Just be aware not every reader is a fan of this.

Not every reader is a fan of men sitting on mommy's lap for a handjob, but here we are...

 

[Euphony]

Bold: I disagree wholeheartedly. A story can kill off the villain and still let them win in the end. It can be compelling, frustrating, and hurtful to readers in the best way sometimes. Just don't let it become your "thing" to the point it gets predictable. Every now and then? Let the fucking world burn at the hands of your villain if it suits the story and characters.

Yeah, that reads as a take on "write only what motivates you/have something to say" tip than something always beneficial to follow to the letter.

Where would storytelling be if THIS guy (and his brethren) weren't allowed to succeed?

(pointing out flaws in the protag thus ourselves that allow them to get away with it all sometimes)

 

[pink_silk_glove]

If you can make it work and fit your story, okay. Just be aware not every reader is a fan of this.

And likewise hardly every reader is a fan of predictable happy endings.

 

[AchtungNight]

Absolutely. But I took the OPs meaning to be best writing tips and not tips to achieve the most popularity.

Maybe I should have said this- if you have a character who is challenging the status quo, let them challenge it. But make sure the results fit the story you want to tell.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Think cinematically. Let the reader see the story in their heads, as if they were watching a movie.

I visualize every scene that I have ever written precisely this way.

Pacing matters. Longer sentences and paragraphs are fine for reflection and complex emotional scenes. "Action" is best told through shorter sentences and a faster pace.

This is probably what I have been working on the most the past few years. The scenes that need to stop and smell the roses need that extra description to breathe and the scenes that need to go bang can't get stuck in poetic wet cement.

Don't be afraid to break rules, but only do so when you have a good reason.

I said the same thing in one of these threads just a couple of days ago. "Writing (or any creative artistic pursuit) is about rules and knowing the best moments to bend or break them."

 

[Euphony]

Maybe I should have said this- if you have a character who is challenging the status quo, let them challenge it. But make sure the results fit the story you want to tell.

So proper "consequences?"

I can see this as worth bearing in mind. A LOT of Deus Ex Machina bail outs on Lit.