Writing Tips!
Mostly for creative writing, potentially other types.
took some / most tips off the web!
- [ ] “Write the story you want to read!” Write down little scenes and ideas that you love! Then you can incorporate them into your story and make it one you would truly read.
- [ ] Such a cliche tip, but it’s factual: READ. A LOT.
- [ ] Pick a time to write every day.
- [ ] Make sure to “show, don’t tell.” (Like- “he was mad” -> “his fists clenched, and his nostrils flared. He couldn’t look at them anymore, not with their eyes pleading for forgiveness that they didn’t deserve.” I have no clue what kind of example I just wrote, but let’s go with it!)
- [ ] Have something you only do/wear/eat/drink during your writing time. Like you only wear a certain pair of shoes when you’re writing, or you only eat a certain food while writing. Stuff like that.
- [ ] Reach out to different writers. Have someone be your “KEEP REMINDING ME” buddy. Also, get someone else so invested in the story that if you quit, they’ll get SO mad at you and you’ll feel bad, but then you’ll remember the whole reason you started writing it.
- [ ] Have several different names picked out for each character. Only call them one until you lose inspiration. I struggle with writer’s block and inspiration deprivation, especially with my ADHD, but I found out, if you change a few details and names in your story once you’ve lost inspiration, you’ll get more inspiration and continue writing it!
- [ ] Don’t compare your rough draft to a published book. It’s like comparing a young child who doesn’t know better to a fully grown adult!
- [ ] Make a diary log in your character’s point of view when you get stuck. Describe what they saw, what they smelt, what they felt- just describe EVERYTHING. What were they thinking? INFO DUMP is your best friend here. This won’t be your actual chapter, so don’t worry about it. It’s a messy layout of a certain scene or chapter that will help you so much!
- [ ] Write your rough draft before editing!
- [ ] Write down any and all ideas you have, even if you don’t think they’re good.
- [ ] Bring a journal with you to write ideas and writing stuff in. (It helps more than you would think.)
- [ ] Only tell the reader a character’s plan if it’s going to fail. It adds more suspense!
- [ ] When revising your work, change it to a different font or size. Your mind is so used to the original font, it will start skipping over the mistakes that have been there since the start.
- [ ] Annotate books (and others) to find ways to foreshadow, use figurative language, etc.
- [ ] Team up with an artist (or do it yourself!) to draw things you can’t visualize. Like a character or their art or a building in the story. You could even use a website to do this.
- [ ] Even in fiction writing, you have to do some research.
- [ ] Make character dialogue realistic, unless intended not to be.
- [ ] Learn to find inspiration EVERYWHERE. From books, to trees, from drinks to stuffed animals- anything, everything, anywhere, everywhere
- [ ] Do other things when stuck on something. Can’t think of a character’s backstory? Do the dishes or take out the trash and think of something while doing that! Maybe make your dinner and think of it!
- [ ] If you’re not interested in the scene, your reader probably won’t be either. Alter it, even slightly, to make it more entertaining! Funny dialogue? Strange occurrence? Etc.
- [ ] Find “fill-in” words for when you forget a word or have inspiration and need to move on without having to think about something. Like- “OH I NEED TO FIGURE OUT A CHARACTER’S BACKSTORY- BUT I WANT TO KEEP WRITING” -> in the place of it, just write something like HOUSE and bold it or something. You can do this if you forgot a word too. ELEPHANT. Or have an undecided character name. GIRAFFE.
- [ ] Find a reason to keep writing. “I want to do it to keep myself daydreaming.” “I want it to be my career.” “I want to do it for my friend, who always loved my stories.”
- [ ] Make sure your setting is noticeable! When you’re reading your story, can you tell where the character is? Can you tell what they’re doing? How does the imagery help?
I’ll be researching; more tips to come!