Writing Tips - Tuesdays with Ash

Heya guys! =D

As I promised last week, this post is going to be about writing tips. Blimey this week has flown by!

I suppose that most of these tips are focusing on fiction stories, but that doesn't mean that they can't be applied to other genres as well!

1) Read, read, READ!

This is probably the most common tip you will ever hear about writing, but it is completely vital. Reading regularly will help to widen your vocabulary range and may also help improve your writing style. It is also a lot of fun! However, if you wish to extend your vocabulary even further then don't just read the same genre over and over again. Have a stab at reading something different for a change! Always hoarding up on fantasy books about superheroes or mythical creatures? Try reading books about a modern day teenager or about police forces solving crimes. I have to tell you that I'm a sucker for fantasy books *cough* Harry Potter *cough* but recently I've been giving crime books a whirl, mainly books by a guy called Clive Cussler. It isn't something that I would usually read but I am really enjoying his books! I'm reading Cyclops at the moment and I just cannot put it down!

This rule doesn't just apply to novels either, it can also apply to magazines or newspapers or whatever takes your fancy. However, if you are happy with the genre you are reading at the moment then stick with it! There are some types of genres which people can't agree with and I understand that. Just read whatever you like to read and I sure that you'll be coming up with story ideas in no time! Here's a very true (but quite blunt) quote from a famous author:

'If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time — or the tools — to write. Simple as that.' Stephen King

2) Keep a notebook for your story ideas

Having a notebook for any ideas that suddenly pop into your head I think is extremely important. This means that you have plenty of space to develop your idea which will lead into making up characters and devising plots. I find this period of story writing is the most fun as you have complete control over this story and you have the power to make as many plot twists as you like. Cool huh? Also, if you are someone like me who is forever coming up with new ideas (I really need to think up a new word for 'idea') then a notebook is the perfect place to jot them down where you come back to them later.

3) Don't let writer's block get you down!

Ah, yes. A writer's worst nightmare. This phase happens to every single writer and unfortunately it will happen more than once. This can strike at any moment and can carry on days, weeks and even months. However, just because you get a writer's block doesn't mean that it's the end of your story! There are quite simple ways to get around this obstacle. One of the main ones is to leave that story and write something completely different. Doing this will help to get your creative juices flowing and hopefully you'll be back to finishing your story in no time!

However, if this doesn't work for you then just skip that section of the story and concentrate on another bit. For example, if you cannot work out how to get a particle scene going then just skip over it or write the very ending of it. Once you've done this then you should hopefully be able to fill in the missing pieces! One way or another you will get over your writer's block as there is nothing but your lack of imagination stopping you. Seriously though, don't give up on one story if you can't figure out how to continue it. Who knows, maybe one day that story will appear on bookshelves in W. H. Smiths and you'll become world-famous just like J. K. Rowling.

4) Don't overuse 'fancy' words

This tip might sound strange but I find it to be entirely true. I have this one friend who I won't name (they are not one of my fellow bloggers by the way) who does this frequently but refuses to drop the habit. Of course, it's good to use a few long words in your story as it helps to add flavour to it but don't go over the top. For example:

I hasted through the morose woods, my feet were pulverising the bifoliate floor and my heart felt like it was going to extravasate out of my chest.

If I'm honest I would have no idea what some of those 'fancy' words mean if it wasn't for my trusty thesaurus. If you don't know what those words mean exactly then how do you expect some of your readers to know? Anywho, here's another version:

I ran through the dark woods, my feet were hitting the forest floor heavily and my heart felt like it was going to break out of my chest.

Even though it is now kinda plain it is an improvement as now you can understand what is going on. Here's the finished piece:

I scurried through the sinister woods, my feet pounding against the moss-coated ground and my heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest.

There are still a couple of 'fancy' words in this finished piece but this time they are more understandable and now they also make sense in this context. Once you get this under wraps your story will be a lot more enjoyable to read. Just make sure that if you do use 'fancy' words that you know exactly what context and tense they go into and most importantly, what they actually mean!

5) Get someone else to read your work

Once you have finished a chapter, a section of your story or indeed the whole entire book let a friend read it. When editing your work or rewriting sections it is very hard to do on your own. Getting another person's point of view can be a tremendous help as it can help you to see your story from another angle. For example, when I finished a chapter of a recent story I let a friend read it and they noticed a part of a paragraph which I hadn't noticed that didn't really fit in so I deleted it, which made the paragraph a hell of a lot smoother to read.

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I hope these tips will help you in your story writing and good luck with it! Just remember: don't give up as one day you might see your book in a book store one day =D

On a side note, I hope you guys have an absolutely wonderful Christmas and that Santa got you what you wanted! I'm not sure what I'm going to post next week topic wise so that'll be a surprise for you =P Also, sorry that this post was quite long as I might have gotten a bit carried away with examples or explanation XD Leave me any questions in the comments and I would love to know if these tips have helped you in any way in your creative writing =D

See you guys next week and have a very Merry Christmas! <3

Ash xx