A Toolbox Of Writing Tips!
So, by now you probably know that I love to write. And I want to share some of my own writing tips with you. So whenever you need them they’re there. In a little toolbox. (These writing tips are designed for those writing short stories, novels, book, and novellas.)
ONE:
Short Sentences.
Short sentences can be used be effectively to catch the reader’s attention and make a statement. They are punchy and also perfect to use when you want to express someone’s thoughts and/or feelings in about a situation. It can prove useful rather than rambling on with a long sentence. Take these two examples:
Longer sentences: Emily was stuck, she knew this for sure, but how was she supposed to get out? It would be hours maybe days, until someone could even possibly help her, and she felt panic rising in her like a tidal wave; would she ever see her friends again?
Compared to shorter sentences: Emily was stuck. She knew this for sure, but how was she supposed to get out? It would be hours, maybe days, until someone could possibly help her. She felt panic rising in her like a tidal wave. Would she ever see her friends again?
Also, it can nice to play with sentence length in your piece of writing. Maybe you have some sentences which are shorter and some which are much longer.
TWO:
Vocabulary.
So, when you’re writing a story, it’s good to use a various variety of vocabulary. Don’t just use the same old words that every author does. Go beyond using using the usual, good, bad, beautiful, ugly, etc. … etc. … For bad you could use disagreeable, abominable, grim, or distressing. For good you might use enjoyable, tremendous, content, or fantastic. For beautiful you could use eye-catching, pleasing, pleasurable, or attractive. For ugly you might use hideous, ghastly, grotesque, or vile.
Maybe you could buy a thesaurus is you don’t already have one, and if you do, maybe get it out to look at options every now and again. Also using alliteration is very nice on the tongue, so that’s something else you might want to think about adding in here and there.
THREE:
Sensory Description.
Another tool which is worth thinking about is using sensory description. In writing it is extremely easy just to describe objects, places or beings by how they look. Yet, you might want to take in to account that we don’t just explore the world around us with sight, but also with touch, taste, smell, and hearing. maybe when you’re editing your piece of writing you could look at how much sensory description you’ve used. And then you can add in how the place smelt of lavender, how noisy the monkeys were, or how rough the carpets were, etc. etc. …
You might find that you want each character in your writing to have a sense which they use a lot; one of your characters might notice how everything taste, or one might pick up on how slimy the walls are. You might even have a character who doesn’t have one or two of their senses (they could be blind and/or deaf.) and therefore their others senses are heightened.
FOUR:
Character Development.
Now, this is one of my favorite things to focus on in a story because it really helps you get to know your characters, and how they would react to different situations. Once you have some of the basic ideas of your character (how they look, what they’re called, how old they are, what gender they are, if they’re even human!), then you can get on with some deeper character development.
You might want to draw them, for a better idea of how you will describe them in your writing. You might also want to draw them with some items that are special to them, or others objects that play an important role in your story. It could be a good idea to make a list of questions for your character(s). For example, you could ask them what is their favorite food? What animals do they associate with? etc. etc. … Or you could do a mind-map like I did with these two characters.
For more ideas you can visit a post I did a while ago devoted entirely to ‘Character Development’ with the help of Giulietta M Spudich’s post ‘Story Club — Writing Strong Characters’.
FIVE:
Endings.
Who likes to write good endings? I certainly find it one of the more difficult points of writing. I can find hard to wrap up the story with a nice sense of completion (or if the book is part of a series, I like to leave a small cliffhanger) so the reader doesn’t go “Oh, is that the end? It didn’t feel like it.”
A little trick Ms. Spudich taught me is to think of a circle. It can help to go back to the beginning of your piece and see what your characters said, where they were, how everyone felt, etc. etc. … Something that I like to think about is that the story is a journey, voyage or quest. At the start your character(s) set out with an intention or something they wish to find out. They might do lots of travelling, literally and/or metaphorically, or they might not. Whatever, they do, do though, they will have changed by end of the journey/story. They might feel different within themselves or other people might notice the change. However little they may think they have changed (mentally, emotionally, or physically), they definitely will be a different person even if they or others don’t register it. Therefore in summary, the ending might have big similarities AND big contrasts to the beginning. And however YOU choose to portray this is entirely up to you. In storytelling there often isn’t just one right way.
For more thoughts and ideas you could visit Giulietta’s post ‘Story Club — Endings’. Anyway, with all that in mind, I will no leave you.
Hetty Monksea
