Post by Dabeagle on May 11, 2019 0:21:05 GMT -5
So You Want To Write. Good! Keep in mind everything I write down here is my opinion only - but still 100% true. 
1. Reading is a huge benefit to learning to write. You get exposed to different styles, correct grammar and spelling (hopefully) and different ways to say or explain things.
2. Names. This is really dependent upon what you're writing. You want something memorable, but pronouncable. There is nothing wrong with naming a character something common like John, but if it's a fantasy you may wish to reconsider, unless it fits - like a post apocalyptic fantasy. Avoid character names that are similar - and I've broken this rule before. Nick/Mick. Chris/Cris/Kris. Mike/Spike/Ike. Eventually you'll make a mistake and put the wrong name in there and you can't expect your readers to keep the story straight if you can't.
3. Using current songs/events dates a story. Two examples are in Preacher's Kid, Ryan Bartlett chose to use the lyrics to a song. Listing the lyrics in a story is mainly filler - link the lyrics or song if you want to draw the reader to it, but it can be a distraction. I used a song from Mr. Holland's Opus in 'Breaking Masks', and again in 'Wild Heart'. You can do it, but you're putting your story in a particular time frame by doing so. The same can be said for car models, especially if it really doesn't matter. I read a story once where the guy got a new 2000 Chrysler Sebring. Whoopie. It dates the story and the car made zero difference to the story line.
4. Cliches! They have their place, but be careful because if you use one, you have to try and put a spin on it otherwise the reader recognizes lazy writing. Trust me, guilty myself. Opening the story with the alarm clock going off.Characters literally running into each other. The dreaded hospital scene. They are tired and done, so if you choose to do it, make sure the story needs it.
5. Do choose a tense and stick with it. If you aren't sure, make sure it's being edited (beta readers can be a huge help, too). I'm guilty of this, as my editors over time will attest - and it's prevalent in my early work, as well. I was fixing up Moving is Hard, my first story which is now twenty years old in 2019, and the tense switching is awful. Embarrassing. Confusing.
6. Who is your audience? If you're truly just writing for the LOLs and tossing something up there, then skip this. But if you're writing to create, know who you are writing for. Some writers write erotic scenes under improbable circumstances because their audience is there for the erotic scene. Others create things they think are more realistic. As you progress, write what you're comfortable with. My first story I made what I think of as a 'Nifty Error', writing for that crowd and taking cues from what I was reading at the time: I described the main characters genitalia by the end of the first chapter. It doesn't help the story (which was about moving and became about ghosts and demons, oh my) and I never came back to it, so it really was just useless and gratuitous.
7. The other cliche - the written kind. Naked as the day I was born. Looked like a Greek God. You get the idea. It's lazy, put some effort in and try to catch them - unless it's just what you mean.
8. Editing and Beta reading. Please, please. Yes, there are readers who will say 'I don't let bad grammar/spelling/writing get in the way of a good story'. I feel confident in saying they are in the minority. Now, I don't expect perfection - none of the editors or beta readers I work(ed) with were getting paid. They would write to me and say 'Holy crap, dude! Your story would be so much better if it were, you know, legible!'. In my mind, beta readers will find plot holes, places where you may have mixed a name up and spot simple typos. They may also make some creative suggestions or ask questions about something in the story that helps you to enhance it. An editor may do these things as well, but they really fix the nuts and bolts of your grammar.
9. Seek out constructive criticism. If you write in a bubble and only have the echo chamber of some readers telling you how great you are, you don't grow or change or challenge your ideas. I do my best work when I get to discuss things with people ahead of time, during the writing process. Even after something has been written, critical statements can make you think about how you construct the next story, or the next chapter to address shortcomings or holes that a reader saw but you didn't. When we write, we have an idea in mind - we know how we want it to sound and to come across, but that may not always be successful. Reading is a subjective experience.
10. People move when they speak. Think about it, or watch someone the next time you have a conversation. They shift from one foot to another, rub their neck, maybe scratch the end of their nose. Capture those small things to bring realism to your story. Also remember that people use tone of voice, making changes in the inflection of their voice to express different emotions or attitudes. Sarcastic, dryly, mirthful, mischievously, wryly. There is a wide range of things to properly express what you want the reader to know.
11. Attitude and grammar matter. If you don't care about your work, neither will most other people. Taking the attitude that 'I don't really want to work at this, I just want to tell it' doesn't help your cause, in general. If you write a hot mess with no connection to reality, people will just hit the back button and do something else. Then, when they see your name later, they skip it because they'll recall the other 'work' you did.
12. Info Dumps. You have a great idea and you can't wait to get to it, so you give six paragraphs of 'this happened just before hand so I can get to the fun part'. Giving a characters backstory just to bring people current is a waste of your story. Tell them how they ended up divorcing their spouse through the narrative - when they meet that new love interest, they can tell them about that painful breakup. Bring history, story out organically rather than giving your reader a file on the character, and then plunging into the 'now'.
