i just know that many of you out there have your minds buzzing with tons of stories/ideas to share. but how exactly can you just start writing a whole novel? it's intimidating...but i believe in you.
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As someone whose biggest passion has been writing for years now, I've looked up to a lot of people for help. Different writers, mentors, and so on. Whether it'd be for my poetry, my short stories I scribbled together in just one hour, or the novel I'm currently working on...I've learned a few things along the way. I truly hope at least one these pieces of advice will help you in your own writing journey. Please remember that these are pieces of advice that work for me, and that I agree with. Not everything works for absolutely everyone. Enjoy :)
AAAAAAND that's all I've got :) This list is continuous, obviously, since I am always learning and growing as a person and a writer. Please let me know your own tips, and/or if anything on this list has helped you! Thank you!!! (how i feel knowing i should be working on my writing but instead i end up staring at my computer screen for 2 hours with not even a sentence written) here some tips to get out of that rut:
hope these tips help you out a bit! lmk in the comments how you deal with writers block. thanks for reading and remember, i believe in you. <3 Overview: When some kind of story- whether it'd be a whole novel, or a one page short story...characters MATTER. It may not be that obvious while writing, but one thing I've learned the past couple years is that you need to have at least one well developed character to carry the story. Or readers will probably feel as if the story's a bit bland- even if you've got an amazing plot. Also, creating characters is so much fun when coming up with a new story. Common mistakes:Mary Sue as your main character
- it happens so often...Mary Sue's is (usually the main) character who is depicted as perfect/the hero/with no flaws. They're always leading the story with no mistakes. You want your character to be as realistic/raw as possible, and Mary Sues are not it. (a popular example of a Mary Sue is Bella Swan from Twilight. I actually disagree with this, but that's another post for another time lol). Mary Sues tend to happen when the author is not focusing on the depth of a character, but rather focusing on just the plot, and making sure it gets completed. How to fix it: Try to add in decisions that the main character will make at one point in the story that will make the readers (and characters in the story) disagree with them. Or maybe even be extremely angry/annoyed. This allows for a bit more of humanization to your character since humans make mistakes. Don't let all the mistakes fall into to side characters' hands. Also, make sure to use the tips I give you from the next few points I bring up in order to avoid a Mary Sue as much as possible! Basing your characters off of other characters - to be honest, I've been there. For example, I recently finished Elite on Netflix, which includes rich kids at a privileged school in Spain. Coincidentally, my novel I'm working on right now for a course is about a prestigious/sketchy boarding school in Massachusetts. As I was writing and creating my characters, I found myself wanting to base some of them off of Guzman. And Lu. And Nadia...and then I started leaning closer to Harry Potter characters as well? Yeah, don't do that. You have to be extremely careful and observant when you do this. Because if you even just use a couple of famous character's traits...you could get a little too similar. And it could make your story look very unoriginal. How to fix it: When creating your character profiles before you start writing, base your characters off of people you know in real life, rather than already existing characters from movies and shows. The people we know vs the people others know are all completely different. Some at first when describing them may seem normal/stereotypical, but everyone has SOMETHING that makes them unique. By structuring your characters around people you know/are able to analyze (their quirks, the way they walk, etc), you're less likely to copy someone's existing character! And it's an easier way to avoid stereotypes! Describing them physically using very vague things - I still struggle with this. Describing your characters using "ocean blue eyes" and "dark hair" is gonna get you and the readers nowhere, trust me. I can't speak for all people, but I NEED to visualize everything perfectly when I'm reading. I like to know what the character is wearing, their facial expressions, face features, etc. We may think when we're writing that hair color and skin tone helps, but not really. We need to go further. Visualizing a character perfectly also helps readers in connecting to them more! How to fix it: Along with hair and eye color, focus on minor things someone probably would not pinpoint in person. Skin texture, slant of their eyes, how they stand, their posture, hair type, their distinct clothing style. Even those specific faces they make with a certain emotion (because we don't all make the same face when we're sad, or annoyed, etc.). Bland background stories - Background information can make or break your character! A lot of people when writing their stories try to keep their story very present...only focusing on the plot and what's happening NOW. And the background story for their characters are just out the window. It can end up as something basic like "Oh yeah, regular family. Annoying little sister, protective older brother, strict dad, loving mom...blah blah blah", or a lot of "One of my parents died and it's been sad in my house". Those are good starters but...that's it??? We need detail! How to fix it: First of all, having a regular family dynamic, or the whole "someone's dead" thing is totally fine because there are families like that in real life! But it depends on how you go about it. No family is the same, no matter how similar the dynamic/situation is. Make one of the siblings go through something. Or give the mom a weird story while out in public. What's one thing in the character's life that's changed the family forever (it can be very dramatic, or not!)? Add little random stories here and there from the past that makes your character who they are now. (extra tip; use stuff from your own life!) Basic or cliche relationships - This one kind of goes hand-in-hand with the last point. A lot of what I see in stories is making the main relationship (and sometimes the main goal) for the character...romance. I absolutely love well developed love stories of all kinds, but unless your story is strictly a love story, making romance the main thing in your characters life really takes away from them as an individual. Also, I see a lot of additional characters being added just for the sake of giving your main character a best friend(s). Everyone has friends or some kinds of people in their lives that affect them directly everyday. Giving these side characters no personality (or using them just for conflict) can lead to making your main character seem like a Mary Sue. How to fix it: I'm going back to the point I've said like 5 times,,,use examples from your own life! And other people's that you know. ANDDDD make in depth character profiles for ALL of your characters. ALL OF THEM. Even the minor ones who show up rarely. Write down random facts about them (zodiac sign, favorite movies, what they wear on a first date, etc). Because whether big or small of a character, doing this will allow you to show your readers that ALL of your characters have a solid personality, which makes connections stronger between characters. ` There's so many resources out there that can also help you in creating solid characters! Let me know if these tips helped somewhat in the comments! And you're also welcome to talk about your works in progress, and any characters you're working on! Keep writing my loves. |
AuthorA teen who wants to live as happily as possible with what she can. ✰Archives
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