Give a Tip!

[Philip Overby]

Ok, everyone. Even if you haven't had any success with your writing or you've sold millions of books (if you have, please share the wealth ) let's use this thread for giving tips.

Any tip will do. Can be about writing in general, character design, plotting, setting, world-building, etc.

Maybe we can collect these all together?

Anyway, please share. You can share multiple times, but please let someone else post before you share another tip.

One tip at a time! Here's mine below.

1. Even if your story sucks, finish it.

 

[gavintonks]

Understand the difference between an active dialogue / sentence and a passive it will save you a massive rewrite and ensure a much more readable body of work.

Jim fell from the roof.- passive
He fell falling fast and the lights of the offices flickered in his vision.- no action / emotion or story qualifiers

falling from the roof, Jim cartwheeled his hands in a vain attempt to fly, even though he was plummeting to the ground at 32 meters per second per second, fear and the view falling past the windows confused him, when the couch caught him. - active

Which would you prefer to read?

 

[Chilari]

Good idea, but I'm not so sure about your tip. Surely finishing something that sucks at a fundamental level is a waste of time? What are your reasons for proposing that tip?

My tip is this:

2. Decide what you want from your story before you start writing, then stick to it.

Why? If you don't know what you want from it you're going to struggle. I had a story I struggled with for years. For much of that time I was trying to work out whether I wanted it to be tragic or have a happy ending. One version saw the characters act in ways which would bring them grief later - the characters were the architects of their own downfall. The other was about love overcoming huge adversity. This version was to fulfill my inner romantic. It's what I wanted for my characters on a personal level. The tragic version is what I wanted for one character as part of his much larger story, and what I wanted on a storytelling level. I never quite worked out what I wanted most from the story and in any case later decided it sucked on a fundamental level.

Essentially, though, it's about what you want your novel to be and what you want to get out of personally.

Edit: Opps, pipped to the post by gavintonks.

Gavin, I'm not sure your tip is about passive or active writing, it seems to be more about describing events in a more detailed way. Passive and active prose is more like this:

John was bitten by the dog - passive sentence
The dog bit John - active sentence

Using active prose is more punchy, more immediate, more exciting. Passive writing has its place in scenes where these features of active writing are not desired, or where you want to demonstrate that a character is passive, but it is certainly a good idea to be careful around passive sentences and avoid them when they are inappropriate.

 

[shangrila]

3. Be flexible. First drafts are written to get the general ideas down; don't be afraid to change something if it works better or creates a more compelling story. More importantly, be open to feedback and suggestions. You don't have to use them, but anything that gets you thinking is good.

I guess I'll add another...

4. Write a first draft. I see a lot of people talking on this forum (and others, as well as real life) as if they're just going to sit down and write the story from start to finish, do some editing and that's that. In reality, most authors will do multiple drafts before their books are printed. So don't be afraid to push through a section you don't like; you can re-write it in the next draft. Also, don't get caught up on editing; again, fix it in the next go around.

 

[Philip Overby]

Good idea, but I'm not so sure about your tip. Surely finishing something that sucks at a fundamental level is a waste of time? What are your reasons for proposing that tip?

Finishing something is finishing something. If something sucks, which all first drafts do regardless of who you are, then it needs to be finished so it can be edited. Maybe the tip should be, "All first drafts suck, so finish them."

Another tip:

5. Write everyday. Seriously, write everyday.

 

[Devor]

6) Draw a line across the page. Label it with your MC's name. Put a dot in the middle, label it "Ch 1." Fill out the rest of your timeline.

 

[Kelise]

I'd agree that finishing something still at least helps you figure out plotting and how to bring all the loose plot ends together, giving some sort of finale and so forth. While writing can suck in general, there's no way that every single part of the writing craft/characters/plot and so on, can be awful. In some way, you're practising and refining something.

7. Accept that your writing is going to suck. Especially when you first start, especially in a first draft. If you can push through the very thought of that and keep trying, you're mentally more than half way there of someday being a fantastic writer. Motivation and dedication (and confidence) are the greatest tools a writer can have.

 

[JCFarnham]

Building on Devor in a way...

8) When creating characters knowing everything you possibly can about them will save you a RIDICULOUS amount of time when it comes to plotting. You WILL know how they react. If you don't? Well, ask more questions, write down the answers (and no in your memory isn't good enough. never is), rinse and repeat again and again, until you can't question any more. Then do it some more. There is no substitute to being this thorough, no matter what you say and I'm convinced it will save you time in the long run.

Same goes for worldbuilding. Same goes for filling in plot holes. Question everything.

 

[Kelise]

write down the answers (and no in your memory isn't good enough. never is)

I cannot agree enough. Some of my notes have gaps where I know I left it, thinking 'Oh, I'll remember that', or I've written it with acronyms or in keywords thinking it makes perfect sense. Years later, it doesn't. Write down everything and write it out in full for your own sake.

 

[Ophiucha]

8. If you're stuck on something, come back to it later and move onto the next thing.

You'd be amazed how much you can get done without the details. I finished the first draft of a side project novella of mine without knowing where any of the scenes took place, since it's a historical fantasy and I need to line it up with my timeline. I'll get the places down in the next draft once I've cross-referenced my texts on the period, include appropriate details (if a scene takes place in Florence, comment on period-appropriate Florentine architecture), but I still could get some strong scenes, character development, and werewolf transformation sequences done without knowing if they were in Rome or the southern part of France without any difficulty. Don't let the creative juices stop flowing if you're stuck on a character's name or need to do some heavy research!

 

[JCFarnham]

I cannot agree enough. Some of my notes have gaps where I know I left it, thinking 'Oh, I'll remember that', or I've written it with acronyms or in keywords thinking it makes perfect sense. Years later, it doesn't. Write down everything and write it out in full for your own sake.

It always makes me chuckle when I come across writers who say "I don't need to outline on paper, just have an idea of the direction I want to go in my head". You know what? That's great if you actually can manage that, but you probably have an eidetic memory or something.

Even to that person I would suggest "write it all down". That brings me to the next point Your story bible is your friend. Make one. Stick to it.

 

[Kelise]

It always makes me chuckle when I come across writers who say "I don't need to outline on paper, just have an idea of the direction I want to go in my head". You know what? That's great if you actually can manage that, but you probably have an eidetic memory or something.

Even to that person I would suggest "write it all down". That brings me to the next point Your story bible is your friend. Make one. Stick to it.

I would also greatly wonder just how detailed their plot is. Perhaps it is possible with a single book, with two or so POV characters and the plots that involve them... but I would highly doubt it would be possible with a grand series, many plots that weave in and out of several books with in-depth worldbuilding and so on.

I've been surprised before though, of course, I'd love to hear if anyone manages it.

 

[Devor]

8. If you're stuck on something, come back to it later and move onto the next thing.

I'm going to look like I disagree, not because I think you're wrong, but because the opposite is equally true and useful:

10. - If you're stuck on something, hammer it out before the tension builds up and it becomes some insurmountable wall weighing on your work.

 

[BWFoster78]

11. Eliminate all of the words that you don't need.

Wait...

11. Eliminate all the unnecessary words.

Wait...

11. Eliminate unnecessary words.

Seriously, the more concise you make it, the better.

 

[Butterfly]

12. In building your scenes, remember you have five senses, so do your characters - sight, sound, smell, taste, touch (includes emotion). Taste is usually a little difficult to incorporate, but try to use them all. It will give depth to everything you describe.

 

[Christopher Wright]

I would also greatly wonder just how detailed their plot is. Perhaps it is possible with a single book, with two or so POV characters and the plots that involve them... but I would highly doubt it would be possible with a grand series, many plots that weave in and out of several books with in-depth worldbuilding and so on.

I've been surprised before though, of course, I'd love to hear if anyone manages it.

It's entirely possible. You just need to take notes as you go.

Everything I write consists of two elements:

1. the story.

2. A text file that contains lists of names, locations, and things I don't want to forget.

It's a record of Things I Have Already Done. And I use it constantly. But don't call it an outline, because we will fight, and I fight dirty.

 

[Chilari]

Your story bible is your friend. Make one. Stick to it.

YES.

I'm in the process of making one at the moment. Mostly it is produced in two steps:

1. I write an email to myself from work containing random thoughts, notes and ideas, including plot notes, character notes and world notes. I generally have the email open all day and add a sentence here or a paragraph there when I get ideas or am not busy etc, then send it at hometime. The point of these emails to get me thinking about the plot and characters, not really to set anything in stone.

2. Referring to these emails only glancingly (and sometimes not at all), work on the infosheet document, a formal, structured document with sections split up, including space for a single-sentence plot summary, a paragraph plot summary, a paragraph on setting, sections for point of view characters, major characters and secondary characters etc. I also have a separate worldbuilding infosheet, with questions about geography, history, religion, myth, economy, military, technology, etc.

I'm finding it very useful in developing the world, story and characters. So far it's mostly been world and characters, but the plot is getting little bits added to it to flesh it out all the time too. It's coming along nicely.

 

[Aravelle]

1. Write for yourself before anyone else. If you're writing a story and your first priority is if other people will like it, your priorities are wrong. There's an audience for almost everything.

2. Use similes and metaphors sparingly. If you decide to use them, be tactful.

 

[Penpilot]

1 - Believe you WILL get better.

Just because your writing isn't coming together like you want it too, and maybe it's a little stinky right now, believe if you work hard and learn all that you can, you will get better.

 

[Devor]

Just because your writing isn't coming together like you want it too, and maybe it's a little stinky right now, believe if you work hard and learn all that you can, you will get better.

Yes, exactly. We can't all be Charles Dickens, but anyone who pays attention and puts in the practice and incorporates good feedback will be able to write a novel which sells. It's hard, but with a little good judgement and a lot of work, I firmly believe that anyone can get there.