Page Turner here.
I like to write--that's probably obvious. But writing's pretty hard, although really fun. I've heard quite a few tips about how to write. First, write what you know. That can be misunderstood. No, you do NOT have to travel to South America to write about Brazil, or jump into a pool with your clothes on to see what it would be like to fall out of a boat--those aren't practical. Fun, but not practical and very time consuming. What "write what you know" means is simple. Just switch around the words. "Know what you write." One word: research. Yup. If you're writing about Brazil learn about the culture, the food, the animals, the smells, the industry, etc, until you can act like you've been there.
Another helpful thing to remember in writing is to act like a reader. What would the reader say to what you've written? Stories can be too short or too long. Or they can be long and not interesting or too short and so interesting the reader wants more! Keep it a good length according to the level of interest and topic.
Thirdly, after you've found a good topic, get good characters. (or find characters before the topic.) These characters have to be real. They can get away with being really bad, but nobody will buy or really love a perfect character. They can have faults that they try to overcome, or just faults that they never fix in the story. Either way, they have to have faults. And they can't always be perfect. Messy hair, dirty clothes, a little awkwardness here, a bit of a stumble there, can make a character more real, if added alongside their good qualities. Also, think about how a character would respond to another. Their motivation usually establishes their personality, or vise versa.
Lastly, pray about what you want to write about. God can use stories in powerful ways for good!
I like to write--that's probably obvious. But writing's pretty hard, although really fun. I've heard quite a few tips about how to write. First, write what you know. That can be misunderstood. No, you do NOT have to travel to South America to write about Brazil, or jump into a pool with your clothes on to see what it would be like to fall out of a boat--those aren't practical. Fun, but not practical and very time consuming. What "write what you know" means is simple. Just switch around the words. "Know what you write." One word: research. Yup. If you're writing about Brazil learn about the culture, the food, the animals, the smells, the industry, etc, until you can act like you've been there.
Another helpful thing to remember in writing is to act like a reader. What would the reader say to what you've written? Stories can be too short or too long. Or they can be long and not interesting or too short and so interesting the reader wants more! Keep it a good length according to the level of interest and topic.
Thirdly, after you've found a good topic, get good characters. (or find characters before the topic.) These characters have to be real. They can get away with being really bad, but nobody will buy or really love a perfect character. They can have faults that they try to overcome, or just faults that they never fix in the story. Either way, they have to have faults. And they can't always be perfect. Messy hair, dirty clothes, a little awkwardness here, a bit of a stumble there, can make a character more real, if added alongside their good qualities. Also, think about how a character would respond to another. Their motivation usually establishes their personality, or vise versa.
Lastly, pray about what you want to write about. God can use stories in powerful ways for good!
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