Hello everyone, this is Jaquie. I have been going through a lot of stories lately, and some drew me in to want to read more, while others scared me away after the first sentence. How can you, as an author, help yourself and your creativity? I will be giving points on what I believe makes a good story.
A good title
This, my friends, is the first thing someone will see when they are looking through the updated stories list. You need to make the title creative and unique, but not to the point where you come up with something childish, in the following example:
Pretty Pony and Her Adventure Over the Grand Magical Crayon
Yes... Pretty pony is going to have an adventure, but I don't believe anyone is going to follow/help her.
Something that will help you make an intriguing title is what draws you in when you are looking for a good story/book. What always catches my attention is usually a title with only one word.
Example: Burnt
This is something that makes me wonder what exactly it's about, it makes me want to read it. Again, create a title that you find most interesting.
A good and planned out plot
A good plot is very important! No story can be successful if there is no solid plot. Period. Some writers get a thought in their head about a story and instantly start to bring their creation to life, but have only planned out the first half. The problems with this is that the story will have a short life span. You won't be able to think of something to come after the part that you wanted to write, and it all goes down hill from there.
But I am not suggesting that you don't creating things spontaneously, because that is the reason that some amazing things are made. Just make sure that you plan out what you want to do. Get the major details and fill in the minor things as you go.
What we grammar Nazis like to call 'hooks'
A hook is essentially what it sounds like. Just like a fishing hook catches fish, a hook is the first couple lines of a paragraph that will draw your reader in and keep them interested.
Example: You know that annoying thing your parents used to tell you as a child, you never know what you have until it's gone? I had never understood what it truly meant until two years ago, when I left this world. The day I died.
See? The usual response to something like that is, "What? Wait, she died? I have to keep reading to find out more!"
Once you have that down, the rest is easy as pie.
Correct grammar
This is the most important thing EVER when it comes to writing. There is no arguments what so ever. None. But it can also be one of the hardest things to conquer.
Not everyone who writes is strong in spelling or knowing what goes where, but their talent shouldn't be squashed instantly. There are different things that can help you.
One: Spell check. This can save your life sometimes. Mibba has this when a story is about to be published down at the bottom of the page. It's simply a little blue flag labeled 'spell check'. It goes through your story and looks for spelling errors. It gives you a bunch of different options on how to fix it, so please rely on that if spelling is your major problem.
Two: An editor/Beta. These are people that will gladly read your story chapter by chapter and correct your errors and give you advice on how to make it better. They come in very handy, but not many people are willing to do this. If you are desperately looking for one, contact me and I will either be your editor/Beta or refer you to one. But please, if they give you advice you do not agree with, take it in stride and do not get angry. This will make everything calm between the two of you.
The last golden rule I have for Grammar:
Du not talk liek u r txting ur peeps. thiz iz a site 4 righting guud stories, not giving sum1 a messge 2 decode.
This isn't such a big problem on Mibba because they look over stories and make sure that no one talks like that, else they get thrown out.
Imagery
Imagery is not something people use fluently, but it is something that can give your stories a little spice. Instead of having mundane sentences, you will have people picturing what you have discribed in their mind.
Topic: Grandma's cooking
What Not To Do: Grandma's cookies smelled awesome.
What To Do: The smell of Nana's homemade chocolate chip cookies filled the house and wafted into my nose, causing my mouth to water and stomach to grumble.
Notice how much more detailed the second example was? When written, I could see an older lady standing over a stove with cookies and feel my mouth watering at the thought. This adds a little zest to something that can seem boring.
That's all I have for now, and I hope you enjoyed my little lecture. It would please me greatly if people used my advice to help themselves with their writing. If you have any questions to ask, don't be afraid to comment me or send me a message.
Jaquie, over and out.
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