If You Could Tell a New Writer One Thing

ayanasioux:

I'm going to reply to you here because, as idiotheque. said, that conversation is off-topic for this thread.

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So this post isn't completely spam:

Lampshade hanging isn't automatically a bad thing. I love when writers acknowledge that they're doing something borderline-unbelievable and provide a little bit of rationale, like:
"You're bipolar and schizophrenic and transgender? Isn't that kind of a lot for one person?"; "Yeah, well, I'm one of a kind."

Be continuous, please.
If your male lead has green eyes, don't say he has blue eyes in the next chapter. Keep your facts straight.

Don't try too hard.

If you want someone to read your story, don't go ask everyone on the site to read it. People get annoyed, and if they even read it, most of the time they wont continue too. Sometimes you will get lucky with it, though, but you don't want a reputation of an annoying story whore.

If you're going to advertise your story, make sure you go to people who have the same interests. As in, if you're advertising a GWAR story, don't go post it on people's profiles whom you've never talked to and they say they only like country music or justin beiber or something.

As hard as you may try, you are never going to please everyone stylistically. You'll either be considered too wordy, too flowery, or you'll be told that your vocabulary needs beefing up. Don't force yourself to write in a style that you don't feel comfortable in, it'll just come off as being too forced.

Don't try to write like anyone else. And you will most likely suck at the beginning, but be good compared to your peers. You still have to master the skill, you can't just possess the talent.

Write for yourself and no one else. It doesn't matter how popular it is; it just matters that you love it.

Writing is the place to explore taboos and things you might be too scared to explore in the real world; never be afraid or ashamed of that.

This is what my prose lecturer told us in class today:
"When people ask me if I want my child to grow up to be a writer, I basically scream 'NO!' Writing is one of the most torturous processes imaginable. But at the same time, it is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done."

Basically, to be a writer, you have to completely love it. Writing is not something you can ever be halfhearted about.

Write about what you love, not about what you think other people will love. Don't be discouraged to write what everyone else is writing if that's what you want to write too but at the same time, don't be afraid to try something a little bit different. No matter what you want to write about, there will always be someone who wants to read it.

A couple things.

a) Dialogue is super important; learn how to punctuate it first, then place your efforts into making it as realistic as possible, THEN focus on the after-dialogue bit. Honestly, if you write the dialogue well enough, nobody is going to care how many synonyms for "said" you can come up with.

b) Don't take critisicm to heart, but keep it in mind. What I mean is that it's important not to confuse bashing with constructive criticism. When people givenyou feedback, expect feedback on what they DIDN'T like as well, and keep an open mind about all suggestions. Don't take it personally if someone gives you criticism, because in the long run all they're doing is making you a better writer.

c) Write something you can put emotion and passion into. Don't write for others, write for yourself.

and finally, d) READ THE MIBBA RULES. People HATE reading stories in chatspeak or bad grammar or terrible spelling. Not only is it against the rules, but it's so irritating that hardly anyone will want to read past the third paragraph.

Experiment. Find out what you like writing. Then when you're comfortable doing that, experiment some more.

Also, don't let your characters just be characters. They have to be people. A person isn't just "musician." That person might also be a sister, a swimmer, a fan of Marvel comics and anime, someone who struggles in math but is excellent in English, who is very defensive of her interests and the people she cares about, sarcastic with a unique sense of humor. I know this person. She's real. If a character is like her (not saying this should be your character) then the character exists.

Finally, as everyone else has said, write for yourself. And think things through.

Always have paper and some kind of writing utensil handy. Ideas can sprout at the most random at times. Keep a little notepad at your bedstand in case plot bunnies start attacking your brain.

Once you start, it's damn hard to stop.

bonfirefighter.:

Always have paper and some kind of writing utensil handy. Ideas can sprout at the most random at times. Keep a little notepad at your bedstand in case plot bunnies start attacking your brain.

This. I have text many messages to myself because I got attacked by plot bunnies and had no paper >.<

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So this isn't spam: I think every story can use a bit of comedy. Even in a drama or horror or something of the sort, throw in a little comedy every once in a while. Of course, that IS up to you as the writer, but I like to read stories with a bit of comedy. Everyone has that one friend that makes a joke out of every situation, and though it may get annoying at times, it does help in some situations. It helps when trying to make a story realistic.

Research. It'll do wonders for the realism of your story.

Also, legends are a great way to improve a supernatural or fantasy story. They can give you so many ideas for creatures and backstory.

Never throw out or delete any of your stories from your computer. Even if they're terrible to you, someday you may want to look back on them and laugh, or maybe even revise or continue it. Keep everything. You can look back and learn from your mistakes.

There's a fine line between using your own experiences etc. and self-insertion. Pay attention to which side you're on.

It's going to be hard. At times, it's going to be frustrating and you're going to want to never look at another piece of paper again. It may even get painful to pick up a pen. But don't ever give up. Don't ever be afraid of writing non-mainstream ideas, so long as you feel them. Feel your words, and the rest will fall into place.

Don't bitch and complain that you don't have enough readers or comments. Whore out your story and solve the problem that way. You'll get better results.

This thread totally needs to be linked on every new mibbians mibba page.

There is a fine line between slang and horrible grammar. Where I'm from, everyone uses horrible grammar and that's what I grew up with so naturally, most of the time, how you talk is how you write. My stories may not all be grammatically correct and perfect. But there is a line you cross between slang or 'dialect' or something before it gets to really bad, you-shouldn't-be-writing-type grammar. Some grammar nazi's may get all over your case for how you may write some things, but take it as constructive criticism. Some people may actually want to help you become a better writer, though some are just trolls.

Zombie Queen:

Don't bitch and complain that you don't have enough readers or comments. Whore out your story and solve the problem that way. You'll get better results.

If you aren't good with writing dialogue then detail is everything. Appeal to the senses and through in some tiny bits of speaking. Or write with a lot of dialogue so you can improve. Don't stay in the same genre, broaden your skills..