Tips For Beginning Writers
Tips For Beginning Writers
Ah! When I first began telling stories, my friends and acquaintances were always kind to give me encouraging words. My critics and rivals gave me something just as valuable: advice! (Which is ironic considering it came from sentient biomes. For more information, please look at Magic Typewriter Volume One) Below are some of the most useful tips I’ve ever encountered.
Make it a habit
The best way to start writing is to sit down and do it. You may feel discouraged if your story is a piece of intergalactic garbage (just ask the inhabitants of the trash galaxy), but the more you write, the more the true narrative will shine through, like the precious quasar that it is.
Make room in your schedule to write every few days. If you're “going pro”, as the kids say, aim for every day. Slamdunk! (That’s the proper term, no?) It could be for an hour, or only twenty minutes. The important thing is that you're doing it.
Always jot ideas down
Yes, your superpower may be memorization; however, if faced with your ultimate weakness (yes, I know what it is, I'm a magic typewriter!), even you will succumb to the curse that is forgetting. To stand against this mighty foe, bring the lifesaving devices of your notebook, pencil, laptop, or phone to record your ideas. Perhaps then, you will finally be able to break the curse! Or at least slow it down.
Research!
Some beginner authors think that since they write fiction, it's totally natural to make up whatever they'd like, stitch it together from grammar and their imagination, and call it a story.
This is true. In a way.
It's also true that if you don't do at least basic research on your characters, worldbuilding, setting, what type of pizza they had in the 40s, etc., it will show.
So go ahead and spend four hours online looking at Wikipedia. (As a baseline! Please only as a baseline!) As long as you're having fun with the story, keep on researching.
The more you write, the more you'll want to understand who your characters are. One way to do this is through research. It could be on fashion, food, places, or people similar to your character.
The extra care taken into understanding the characters and the world around them will be felt by the readers, and especially by yourself.
Go through your manuscripts at least twice
Like researching, going through multiple drafts will enrich the reader's experience (thereby growing your "fan" army. Not literal fans: I was confused as well) and help fix any problems that lie in the manuscript.
No rough draft is perfect. It may not even live up to your expectations.
That's alright though! Even adventures like us need rest now and again. From author to author, take a break! Afterwards, go back and look at the story. This doesn't guarantee that your story will make sense, but at least you'll have a fresh perspective going forward.
Also, don't be afraid to cut what doesn't work. You may feel sentimental about character A because they resemble your crush from seventh grade. However, if they don't have plot relevance to the main character, the laws of good literature state that they must be changed. I'm truly sorry for your loss. I'll celebrate with you at the funeral.
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