Writing Tips

[Abeam 511]

Hey there, I've got a confession to make.  I am terrible at creative writing, how do I improve myself?

[blindmind 350]

Read, always and forever.

[Volutional 935]

Reading other work and replicating it unconsciously tends to be the best method.

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

Remember to incorporate all senses into your writing, sight, sound, hearing, touch and smell. Try to integrate them in naturally, not force them in.

 

And with characters, remember that everyone is different. Base your characters off of certain personality archetypes (Arrogant, lawful good, flirty, etc) And then deviate a bit with each one, the best way to develop a character is by having him/her react realistically to situations that happen in the world you write him in.

[lιoɴ 248]

Get inspiration. In order to create creative stories try remembering memories that you think are unique or take ideas from previous works. A daily situation could turn into a unique one with the interaction of characters. Characters have to be alive in your head, you could imagine people you already know or base your characters off them. The interaction and relationship between people is a very complicated thing but you could make quick notes of why they treat eachother like they do. Are they related? Did they share a traumatising expirence together? And how does it effect your story (I normally get off track and have too many unnecessary back stories because I get too attached to the characters) If you need advice on anything specific I am always there, as I write as a hobby anyway. Here's a general masterpost of all the general writing things 

[The Great Mongol Khan 1110]

Practice writing short stories, observes others' writing methods. Develop a style yourself.

[Haribo 385]

dirty orenian troll

[Mr_Boomer337 56]

You're in college... GO TO SCHOOL

[Abeam 511]

It's not as if I don't think about what I want to say.  It's that when I have the picture of what I want in my head, as I put it down on 'paper', it turns out not nearly as well as I would of thought.  It's my one problem within the server, it makes me react to others posts instead of creating my own posts instead.

[Birdwhisperer 1174]

One of the best ways to improve is to simply practice. If you're asking more about advice for writing descriptions rather than characters or plot then practice writing descriptions. Find a random object in your room and write a paragraph or two describing it in as much detail as possible. Or the room itself, or the view outside your window. Find a picture of a landscape, or a person, or a scenario, and describe what you see. Describe things that aren't purely visual, like a song or a plate of food. It might not be good and you might not like it, but writing is just like every other skill in that you have to practice to get better.

 

Good writing doesn't necessarily have to be wordy or flowery either, in fact the opposite is often the case. If you can use three strong words to describe something, use those and don't add any more filler to it. Figure out what makes words 'strong'. Every word in the English language has very subtle connotations, even if they have the same meanings. Be deliberate with the words you choose to use and cut everything that isn't necessary.

 

A lot of people suggested reading, but I'll add something to that: read critically. Pick up a novel, go to a random page, and examine the structure and style of the descriptions. Find what works or what doesn't work, and what you personally prefer. Don't just consume it, find its flaws and strengths. If you can point out the flaws in something you're a step closer to eliminating them from your own work, and if you can find and understand the good parts you can emulate them.

 

Also read about writing. There are lot of great articles and blogs about every aspect of writing that have helped me a lot. Here's a couple links to start you out with: http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationPages/index.php/PageID/269 | http://www.novel-writing-help.com/how-to-write-a-novel.html | http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/shortstory/ | http://litreactor.com/columns/writing-powerful-descriptions

 

In general, use all your senses, find your own style rather than forcing a flowery or wordy description, practice, and read up on the subject.

[Praetor 1550]

Practice is key for improvement. Start by writing two hundred words a day and slowly amp it up. Go to five hundred words a day, then seven hundred and fifty, then maybe one thousand. While you might feel motivated to write a thousand right now, it is quite possible that you will burn out and loose the will to write.

 

Never forget that writers block is extremely easy to avoid. The one thing you need to remember is that when you're writing you shouldn't expect perfection in the first draft. Every writer has a shitty first draft. All you do at that point is slap down your story and create the basic skeleton of the story. Second, third and other revisions will be where you perfect and polish your story. Don't hesitate to ignore typos and phrases you think are badly worded. Never come back on your words in the first draft, you can correct it later.

 

Don't use LoTC as a medium for practicing. A good way to practice your writing style is to write fan fiction. Most of your character will already be created and thought up, you just need to make a new story for them. Don't consider making RP posts on LoTC practice, because it rarely has anything similar to a story.

 

However, I think that people who have role played often have an easier time creating characters. 

 

http://www.lordofthecraft.net/topic/113274-characters-roleplay-writing/#entry1075874

 

Those are a few more tips I've written.

 

Never forget to use the seven ways to deliver the goods.

Actions

Dialogue

Interior Monologue

Interior emotion

Description

Flashback (Don't use this at the beginning of a story)

Narrative summary (Avoid using this a lot, it's not a good thing and breaks reader immersion)

 

If you are determined to improve yourself then I would advise you to buy

'Writing Fiction for Dummies' - Randy Ingermanson / Peter Economy

or

'The Book of Wonders' 

 

Always practice.

[Heero 4092]

Moved to the Great Library. It shall be sorted into appropriate category shortly.