Over the years I have found myself writing tons of fictional stories, fan fiction, non-fiction, and memoirs. And while I still have a long way to go before publishing any of my works in print, there are some things that I've learned along the way. I have a number of writers that I edit for currently, and I see them making the same mistakes that I used to make back when I first started. So this is for everyone who is still trying to become the writer they want to be:
1. "I must protect my baby!"
It's a common practice among new writers to want to protect, polish, and edit their story until they're blue in the face. While I think all new writers should take a good amount of time to edit your story, don't protect it so much that you are too afraid to show it to anyone. Often others have useful advice that will make your story that much better. More importantly, if you hide your story from everyone, what are you really accomplishing? Writers are part of the most influential parts of the world today, right next to filmmakers and graphic designers. I exist in the category of the first two. Don't be afraid to take a stand... whether it's just to say, "I love fantasy stories," "love isn't all bad," "or the world sucks, let's change it."
2. "I don't wanna edit!"
Editing is one of the hardest processes for any author. Though spelling and grammar are important factors, editing is also about deciding what stays, what goes, and what needs more work. The best thing anyone can do is write a chapter, let it sit, write something else, and then come back to it. Often you will start to see problems in your chapters that you never noticed before. Chances are, you won't remember nearly as much as you think you did, so you'll be looking at it with a more critical eye. Ask yourself: "Does it bore me to read this?" If the answer is 'yes,' then what makes it boring? What makes you want to keep reading? What are you really trying to say? Is your writing actually propelling you towards the end goal of the story, or are we just walking around with nothing to do for twenty pages?
Most importantly, let the shit go. It's your baby, believe me, I understand. Now take an axe to it and make it better. We don't need to know about every step that your character takes in real time. Treat it like a movie. If you watched this on a screen, would you really care about knowing every tiny detail about the wall in front of you? Probably not. Cut the crap that you don't need, and then continue on your merry way.
3. "I have to plan everything first!"
Another common thing I've seen even good writers do it try to plan out every little detail of their writing. While this guarantees that you have a path for your story, you'll want to rush the less interesting parts because you know something more interesting is coming up. This is not always a bad thing, as readers get easily bored too, but it can easily kill the suspense in your story if you aren't careful. Romance writers are especially guilty of this. They want so bad for the characters to get together that they don't leave time for a relationship to fully develop before they throw them together. The result makes the situation awkward and cheesy. The reader knows that no normal human being falls in love that fast, and as a result, they don't connect your desire for characters to be happy with the chemistry between the two. Simply said, there wasn't enough building up to the moment.
Another problem with planning everything is that, the most important thing should always be that writing is fun for you. When you plan everything out, it become a chore, and it's not about the journey, but simply about the goals that get reached.
4. "I have to finish this!"
A mistake I've seen from others in the past, is that they think, no matter what, every story has to be finished, and they simply have to stick with it until they get the motivation to see it through.
Anyone who writes regularly have an average of ten to twenty random one-page writings for every finished piece. The amount also doubles or triples if the story is a longer format like a novel. Why? Because, no one is always in the same mood all the time. Sometimes you may want to write a sappy love story, sometimes an action flick, or even maybe something about your own life. Don't attempt to control yourself. While finishing a story should be the end goal, write as many half-finished pieces of junk as you feel you need to before you're back in the mood to write the one that's really important to you. Who knows, you might even get back to the junkie stories later.
5. "Can't get this out right!"
Frustrating as it may be, all writers have their off days. Sometimes an idea or situation is so complicated in a story that you aren't quite sure how to approach it. You keep editing and editing, but you still hate it.
My advice it to just scrap it. Sometimes, it's just a paragraph, and other times it's an entire chapter, maybe even two chapters. Don't be afraid to write the crap over a different way. If you're just starting a story that you're really interested in, you can try a number of different things:
- Change what view you're telling from. If you're telling from your perspective about the character, try telling the story as the character, or vice versa.
- Change the sequence of events. If your story has a long intro before you get to the action, try using flashbacks. If you still hate it, try starting at the end and then going back to the beginning to explain why things ended up the way they did.
- Experiment.
6. "Ah! My favorite word! Insert here!"
Every writer has a favorite word or punctuation. These are usually words, phrases, or lavish punctuations that you find several times in your writing over a short period of time. In my experience, these have included, but were not limited to: semicolons(There is virtually no need for them. For lack of a better description... Semicolons are a retarded cousin of the comma. You'll hardly ever need it.), and words like "suddenly," "immediately," "then," "though," "however," "throughout," "as"(used at the beginning of a sentence), "because," and "love."
While all these words are perfectly acceptable in moderation, be aware of when you start reading the same word or sentence phrase over and over. Nothing kills an interesting story quite like lack of originality.
7. "I'm a girl, so I must write from a girl's view..."
When writing first person characters, I thought for the longest time that I shouldn't write a male character from the same view. After all, I'm a girl. What do I know about the way a guy thinks? But recently, I decided to give it a try. After sending the result to my boyfriend, he said I had a knack for writing male characters. Who knew?
The moral or my story here is that you should never discount yourself, just because you're not a certain gender or of a certain background. Proceed with care and observe and research the kind of character you will be portraying because you are different for the person they will be. Even then, it may not always be a success, but never totally write anything off as impossible.
8. "Damn you English and you're grammar rules!"
Rules of English can be difficult, and the way the U.S. school system teaches it is far from perfect. To be a writer, it's in your best interest to know the rules of English grammar as well as you can. Do keep in mind, however, that once you know the rules, you're free to break them. Lots of professional writers break the rules of sentence structure all the time, and as a result, their writing can become better. Being a good writer is learning when to break the rules to add emphasis and effect, and when to follow them.
At the same time, there are rules that should not be broken. Quotations, punctuations, possessives, adjective, verbs, nouns, and pronouns should never be messed with. They are the difference between someone saying, "You are my best friend" and someone thinking: Your mine bestest friend?
9. The Perfect Title
I don't think there is such a thing as the perfect title, but if you can make someone believe in it, no one will think otherwise. Think about the content. What is your story really about? Alice in Wonderland probably wouldn't have been perceived the same way if it was called A Girl From Britain.
In the end, you just have to decide what the first thing people see should be. In the end, the title itself tells a story. Be creative. And lastly, try not to title your story until the end. You'll be left with a lot more freedom.
10. "I want to switch perspectives..."
From time to time if you write something in first person, you will find yourself limited to express the feelings of the other characters. But being a good writer is about utilizing that handicapped to your advantage. And though you may sometimes feel compelled to, do not suddenly switch from first person to third person, or even second person. You will without a doubt confuse the living hell out of your readers. And I'm not just talking from one chapter to the next. I've also encountered people who wanted to switch point of views halfway through. Resist this urge. If you feel you absolutely must tell something from another point of view, or tell some extra back story, then make a new chapter and dedicate it only to that purpose. Or better yet, write a second version of your story from a completely different perspective. Just don't be an idiot and change halfway through because you're lazy. Or the writing fairy will come after you and beat you.
11. MUST KEEP WRITING!!! RAAAAH!
Contrary to popular belief that longer is better, the only people who can really pull off a 30 - 40 page chapter are J.K. Rowling and maybe Ilona Andrews. So trust me when I tell you, it's unfortunate when normal writers or fan fiction writers decide to write as much or longer. People get a sense of accomplishment from finishing a chapter, even if it's just a small one. If you drag out a chapter to enormous lengths, not only do your readers get a little impatient (because they want to take a break from it), but unless they're an extremely fast reader, you're cheating them from the success of finishing a chapter. In extreme cases, some people have looked at chapters that were too long and just gave up on the story because they decided that it would take too long. A good chapter length is between about 10 - 20 pages. That way you aren't given a new chapter every second time you turn the page, but you don't have to wait an hour for the next one either.
That's about all. I hope this was a little helpful to someone.
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