Tips on being a good writer.

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kamauldi

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#1 kamauldi
Member since 2006 • 1863 Posts

If you have helpful tips for any of us based on writing, you may do so.  I'll start us off:

1.) Good sentence structure, good spelling, and good grammar is the key to writing a good story. 

2.) Never say or write a sentence with two or more negatives.  True, two negatives can become a positive, although this is not integers we're talking about, but still it never sounds right.

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Platyphyllum

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#2 Platyphyllum
Member since 2005 • 8105 Posts
Try using detailed adjectives so that when you're describing something, the reader will have a clearer picture in his/her mind of what you're writing about.
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VestalDarkness

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#3 VestalDarkness
Member since 2006 • 221 Posts
Don't be ashamed of using an old plot. After all, there aren't that many. But make sure you take that plot and use it in a new and interesting way.
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KeybladeMasta

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#4 KeybladeMasta
Member since 2006 • 415 Posts
So as not to get writers' block, make sure that you clear your mind completelely before beginning to write, which also includes getting all things that need to be done, finished.
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daqua_99

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#5 daqua_99
Member since 2005 • 11170 Posts
As well as having good sentence structure (as previously stated), be sure to vary the size of the sentences. This helps create emotion and emphasises your point more predominantly. As well as sentence structure, also do the same for your paragraphs (one thing people hate is a wll of text) ... 
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Sarge_Maximus2

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#6 Sarge_Maximus2
Member since 2004 • 7767 Posts
Write what you want to, if you have a passion for what you're writing, chances are you'll try to make it as good as you can than if you don't.
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Rintaran

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#7 Rintaran
Member since 2007 • 195 Posts
I've a couple good tips to start with. I'll post more later when I've more time. 1) Once you start writing, don't look over what you've written until you've arrived at the ending. If you look back, you'll start revising it and you'll never get it finished. The first draft is just a rough skeleton anyways, so feel free to skip whole chapters leaving just a few brief points if you need to, when you go back and do the second draft, you can add some of the organs and flesh to your skeleton, and cut out that odd-looking part that really doesn't fit at all. 2) When you finish a draft, push it aside for a while. I'm not talking a day or two, I'm talking at least a week, or better yet, a whole month. As the author, if you go back right away, you'll start hacking, chopping and rewriting parts that you should have kept, and missing the parts you should have removed (or conversely, you'll think it's all perfect because you know what you meant). By pushing it aside, you'll forget the exact details of your novel/poem/whatever, and will be reading it as though it's someone else's work. This will help you find what you need to snip, and what needs to be fleshed out better.
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Sparky-05

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#8 Sparky-05
Member since 2006 • 2015 Posts
@ Rin: You were saying that in our convo mate, I never really thought about that, but both those make perfect sense. Both are very, very good tips.
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Rintaran

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#9 Rintaran
Member since 2007 • 195 Posts
[QUOTE="Sparky-05"]@ Rin: You were saying that in our convo mate, I never really thought about that, but both those make perfect sense. Both are very, very good tips.



More than just you in the group Sparky, so I figured I better share it with everyone else too. I have a couple more here, and they've helped more than you could believe.

Tip: Set deadlines. I know, it's scary to even think about it. But by setting a deadline, you've given yourself something to work to, a goal with an attainable plan is set at your feet, or rather, at your pen, and all you have to do is write your way there. You will slack off, often during the first little while, but as that due date creeps up, all sorts of ideas (many of them crazy) begin to get summoned from the abyss, the muse, or where ever it is you get your ideas from. The great thing about a deadline, is that it makes you get it done. Have you ever left an essay for the last minute, but still somehow managed to crank out something that, although not the greatest, was at least done by the due date? Yeah, it's kinda like that.

Tip: Set multiple due dates for different parts of the project. One big due date at the end is all fine and dandy, but you end up leaving it for then and it ends up not nearly as good as you thought it should be. Generally, you can set the due date according to your outline (you did do an outline right?). You've got a series of events in your novel, so set due dates for when you want to have finished up to that event. Generally, in the process of my first draft, I have about 10 mini-due dates to help me along. Mini-due dates can be a little flexible, by a day or so, but you don't want to get in the habit of pushing them back, or you'll never get your work done.

Tip: No body reads the first draft, except for you. Not your Mom, your lover, your best friend, a chartered accountant, or a literary agent. No one. Hemingway said "95% of the first draft of anything is crap", and he was right. When you take a dump on the toilet, do you drag people in to see your turd? Of course not, you flush it down. And if it leaves a bit of a smear on the bowl, your flush a second time to get rid of the evidence. Sometimes you have to flush a lot, if it's really well stuck there. We're embarrassed of our crap. The first draft of a novel is the same, it's crap and we should feel a little embarrassed about it. So we flush it, or rather, flesh it out and sculpt it again. You'll want to do this several times before you show it to anyone. Plus, if you think your first draft is great, and you show it to a friend who doesn't like it, think about how discouraged you'll be. It's enough to set you off writing for a while, and you don't want that.

Tip: Don't use you parents or friends as peer editors/reviewers. Generally, you'll only get "it's good" or "it sucks", with little or no constructive criticism. Many writers create writing circles, and will share a portion of their work with each other for constructive criticism. These tend to congregate around coffee houses when you're university level or above. At high school level, looking in your local library can often turn up more than a handful of interested youth, though I'd recommend asking a teacher to volunteer as a creative writing mentor if at all possible.
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Sparky-05

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#10 Sparky-05
Member since 2006 • 2015 Posts
[QUOTE="Rintaran"][QUOTE="Sparky-05"]@ Rin: You were saying that in our convo mate, I never really thought about that, but both those make perfect sense. Both are very, very good tips.



More than just you in the group Sparky, so I figured I better share it with everyone else too. I have a couple more here, and they've helped more than you could believe.



I know that :P, Anyways, a lot more good tips there and logically, they all should help. I mean like look at school work, what do you normally do first, the thing that has no set due date or the thing due next week, your writing should work the same way, a deadline is like a due date for an assignment ...

 
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stubby_01

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#11 stubby_01
Member since 2005 • 2731 Posts
Yay I was waiting for a thread like this... thanks guys
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Rintaran

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#12 Rintaran
Member since 2007 • 195 Posts
Yay I was waiting for a thread like this... thanks guysstubby_01
As far as I can tell, the thread's been here since the beginning of last month. But since I just joined GameSpot recently, it's kinda hard for me to have posted in it. Surprised there's so few tips still... Tip: Write a little bit every day, even if it's crap. It's even better if you're able to set aside a specific time every day to do so. By writing every day, even crap, you'll find getting through writer's block a little bit easier, and you will improve in your skill a little bit every day. By having a set time and duration, you'll be better able to accomplish this. Tip: Never throw out any of your writing. It may look like crap now, or it may not be usable in your current story, but the idea that you have lying underneath it may be valuable to you later on. Tip: Save your work often, and in more than 2 places. Computers crash, hard drives get wiped, paper burns, CDs & DVDs have 7-year life expectancies and are susceptible to a particular type of fungus (often referred to as CD-rot), and USB keys have a habit of finding the washing machine and dryer. By saving often in multiple locations, the chances of having to try to rewrite half your novel is reduced a lot. If you have access to online storage, this is probably the most convenient place to back-up your information, as a house fire can easily destroy all of your data storage devices. I think that's good for this installment. More coming soon I'm sure.
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The1-thtgotaway

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#13 The1-thtgotaway
Member since 2006 • 5853 Posts
I think when you write do not always use such sophisticated words to show your feelings. Some of the simple words are sufficient. What I'm trying to say is do not have complicated words in every sentence, in some yes but not in all, because like a poem a story must flow.
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Sparky-05

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#14 Sparky-05
Member since 2006 • 2015 Posts
I think when you write do not always use such sophisticated words to show your feelings. Some of the simple words are sufficient. What I'm trying to say is do not have complicated words in every sentence, in some yes but not in all, because like a poem a story must flow.The1-thtgotaway


Its all a matter of your intended audience, if you writing a book for little children, you are going to use small words. If you are writing an essay for a university professor, you're going to use larger, more sophisticated words. It is key to remember who your audience is and adjust your writing forbidden>
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The1-thtgotaway

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#15 The1-thtgotaway
Member since 2006 • 5853 Posts
[QUOTE="The1-thtgotaway"]I think when you write do not always use such sophisticated words to show your feelings. Some of the simple words are sufficient. What I'm trying to say is do not have complicated words in every sentence, in some yes but not in all, because like a poem a story must flow.Sparky-05


Its all a matter of your intended audience, if you writing a book for little children, you are going to use small words. If you are writing an essay for a university professor, you're going to use larger, more sophisticated words. It is key to remember who your audience is and adjust your writing forbidden>

That's true but in terms of writing a novel more sophisticated words and make it intricate for the story to flow, now I'm not say use baby words like "this is a very bad man" but sometimes the small words make a story flow as compared to using a lot of sophisticated words. But I still use a lot but that's my bad habit. :P
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