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vanaera · 4 years

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Hi!! I was wondering if you had any basic writing tips. I honestly NEVER through I would write anything but one day I just did casually because I loved reading fics so much and now I'm in way too deep and became way too attached to whatever I'm creating rn. I love THH and your style and you blog in general so I was just wondering if you had any basic tips to offer. ok thank you luv you Bye

Hi hon! I'm happy you enjoyed The Heart Holiday and had a great time in my blog! But I am happier that you are enjoying writing. It's going to be a wonderful adventure! 😊😊😊

I don't really know much how to make a cohesive writing advice post bc my thoughts are just scattered around when it comes to the how-to's of writing (I'm a mess, I'm sorry). However, these are some tips that really helped me to write (Idk if they're basic but these are the fundamentals I always consider when I write).

*Contains spoilers for movies Minority Report and Whiplash

Define your character's wants/needs

So you've got your character. You know how they look like. You know what are their likes and dislikes. But the wants/needs will help them become more substantial. More interesting to follow bc your readers are going to be hooked as to whether your character will be able to achieve or not their goals. A character's want is what they desire. It's usually evident at the very start of the story. Most often, it is the premise, itself. (Ex: Minority Report's John Anderton wants to prove his innocence to a future-predetermining system). Meanwhile character's need is what they have to become to fully achieve their goal. Unlike the first, this needs more unearthing in the story. The character usually don't know their needs at the start. The conflicts in the stories pushes them to realize their needs eventually (Ex: John Anderton realizes he needs to let go of his belief in pre-determined futures bc the system has great faults and they are already ruining his life). It's like this: wants = the temporary goal; needs = the real goal. And both of them project character development, for better or worse or to stay the same way despite the challenges (hello flat character arcs). The needs especially show this. This is one of the factors that make your story interesting to follow. Your readers are going to want to know how your characters are going to realize their needs, how they will change to become what they needed to be.

Define the conflict

Conflict is the one that creates the drama. It orevents your character from achieving their goals. It is the obstacles your character must overcome to reach their wants/needs. Conflicts propel the story further. It also makes it more interesting, especially when they layer upon each other (ex: Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight). But conflicts also define characters. The decisions your character makes in face of a conflict says a lot of things about them. (Ex: In Whiplash, Andrew is faced with the decision to sue Fletcher for his extreme teaching style. Or to endure it and become the great musician Fletcher claims he can create. Andrew chooses the former but soon feels empty. When he meets Fletcher again, he gets enthusiastic and even agrees to play for him, despite knowing Fletcher's extreme methods. So in here, we see Andrew is driven by his need to be a great musician, no matter what it takes). Bc of this, your reader gets to know more about your character in a deeper level. It also helps them sympathize more with them.

Establish your story world

This is something I really want to emphasize. The story world plays a large part in defining your characters. It consists of the things that will help your character grow stronger, as well as the conflicts and limitations that will challenge your character to realize their needs. Not only that, a fleshed-out story world sucks the readers into your story (I think this is the reason why Harry Potter and Avatar: The Last Airbender are so fun to read/watch; it feels like you're going onto a vacation in another place whenever you indulge in them). This tip tho doesn't only apply to fantasy genres. Slice of life stories also need a stable story world to work on so your story can be as realistic as you want it to be (Ex: In 3 Idiots, we see how much education is greatly valued, at the same time, how much the students are letting their grades affect their lives. Much more in a prestigious unibersity for Engineering. Readers, especially those who are studying Engineering like the protagonists, will be able to empathize more with the struggles of the characters).

Lengths of sentences

This is something I'm still struggling to learn. Okay, so now you've got your story world, characters, and conflict. You now have to execute your story. Different lengths of sentences will help you that. Sentence lengths help the flow of reading. It creates the tempo and the beat of your story. If the scene is fast-paced, you can opt for shorter sentences bc it creates wuick beats. If you want your readers to stay for a while, say for example, you're describing a place, long sentences are great for defining those details. But make sure you must have a combination of both bc you may lose your reader in the story if you wrote long sentences upon long sentences. While keeping everything short will make your story sound robot-like. Chsnging it up also makes the tone of your story not monotonous. You can better keep the attention of your reader that way bc a non-stagnant flow helps in seamless reading. I tend to write long sentences before and I realized this is true when I tried reading my past works. I then learned how to change things up and then I saw how interesting and enjoying to read my stories now have become.

Find your own style

This is a lesson I learned the hard way. When I was just beginning to write, I followed the footsteps of a lot of reknowned writers. Only to end up writing in a way I'm not happy about. End up writing something that doesn't feel truly myself. I made a lot of mistakes until I learned that no matter how many people say "don't write this way, but this way," or how much you get pressured with thoughts like "Oh, I have to write this way bc this is the trend, this is what most readers will like," nothing feels better but to write how YOU want to write. It's your story. How to write it should be totally up to you, because no one will be able to write your story, but only you. Find and do your own style. It may not feel rewarding sometimes. But trust me on this, there are people who will like what you and how you write and they are going to look for you and anticipate your upcoming works. You know why? Because only you can write that story/that way. So don't lose hope, and just keep writing.

These are just some I follow to help me write my stories more effectively. If you wanna learn more, you can search the tag #writing tips in my blog. I reblog writing advices and encouragement posts for writers there.

Also go to amazing blogs like @theliteraryarchitect and @yourlocalwriterblog . They give the most helpful advices here when it comes to writing in general- writing, editing, publishing, and even screenplays, you name it.

You can also go to nerdwriter1, justwrite, and Lessons From The Screenplay on YouTube. These channels have helped me a lot in writing my stories. Though they usually talk about films and screenplays, their tips are very hepful in writing in general. I always go to them whenever I feel lost and need guidance in writing some certain parts.

Sorry this got so long. I just lobe love writing so much, I don't know how to shut up about it. I hope I was able to help you, hon. Good luck in your writing and if you finally posted it and want me to see it, just feel free to hit me up 😊😊😊

#aers blushes #the heart holiday feedback #the heart holiday #reviews #writing tips #aera writes #sorry for the typos #and how this may look messy #i tried my best hehe #aera gives tips #this is my first time writing a writing tip #and my brain is fried #im still trying to learn how to group these tips in cohesive topics #bc srsly im planning to write How To Bullshit Your Papers 102 #101*#for college graduates #cus I wanna also share the tips that heloped me in writing papers #I have no clue to nail at all #or even finish for that matter lmao

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