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- 15
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- kent uk
- Seen Dec 18, 2010
well i'm kind of new to this so would like some tips on what type of storie to do and how to make it look and sound good to be a good read
i'm kind of new to this
- Thread starter pokemonash
- Start date
JX Valentine
Your aquatic overlord
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- Harassing Bill
- Seen Aug 19, 2020
That's a bit broad in terms of requests for advice there. The first thing I can advise you to do first is to figure out what it is that you're interested in. Read a lot of other people's fanfics (and I don't mean just one or two genres, either) and figure out which genre you like the most. Once you figure out what you like to read, you can figure out what you like to write because you'll know what your tastes are. Write something you enjoy first and foremost because you'll end up having to stick with it for a long while. Don't just write in the popular genres because you don't want to force yourself to write.
After that, spend a lot of time with it. Do some planning first by writing down your first thoughts. You don't even need to do an outline or summarize the entire thing. Start off with very vague concepts like "blind kid goes on a journey" or "shippy fic set in the past" and work from there. You may also want to do small character sketches (brief descriptions of characters) if you feel you need to.
Once you do that, spend time with your fic. Remember to add detail and describe as much as necessary to get your idea on paper. Don't feel the need to rush your work. Instead, take your time. No one's demanding that you update every day. Remember to let your work cool for twenty-four hours after you write the last word before going back and proofreading.
Proofreading. It's essential. Run your work through spell-check, then actually go back and read it yourself. Read it aloud as well to see whether or not what you've written sounds awkward. If it does, change it. Familiarize yourself with all the marks of punctuation and capitalization rules you've used and look for errors in that as well. Even a tiny mistake can change the meaning of a sentence.
Because you're new, I'd also suggest getting a beta-reader, or someone who's willing to look over your work after you proofread it and make suggestions to improve it.
Once you go through all that, you should be ready to post. I'd also suggest reading over the stickies in this forum to get a better idea.
Good luck.
After that, spend a lot of time with it. Do some planning first by writing down your first thoughts. You don't even need to do an outline or summarize the entire thing. Start off with very vague concepts like "blind kid goes on a journey" or "shippy fic set in the past" and work from there. You may also want to do small character sketches (brief descriptions of characters) if you feel you need to.
Once you do that, spend time with your fic. Remember to add detail and describe as much as necessary to get your idea on paper. Don't feel the need to rush your work. Instead, take your time. No one's demanding that you update every day. Remember to let your work cool for twenty-four hours after you write the last word before going back and proofreading.
Proofreading. It's essential. Run your work through spell-check, then actually go back and read it yourself. Read it aloud as well to see whether or not what you've written sounds awkward. If it does, change it. Familiarize yourself with all the marks of punctuation and capitalization rules you've used and look for errors in that as well. Even a tiny mistake can change the meaning of a sentence.
Because you're new, I'd also suggest getting a beta-reader, or someone who's willing to look over your work after you proofread it and make suggestions to improve it.
Once you go through all that, you should be ready to post. I'd also suggest reading over the stickies in this forum to get a better idea.
Good luck.
Clonage
Pokemon Cloner
- 3
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- 16
- Years
- w/ meh family
- Seen Jan 31, 2009
actually the type of story you write is up to you...
-in my opinion since you a begginner start out with short stories (if you want to)
-set out your plot and characters first
-avoid using "bleh!" words constantly and add details for example:
"Jim cried" try "tears started streaming down Jim's cheeks..."
or "Hana said "HEY!" try "Hey" Hana utterly cried out."
- try adding imagery
you dont have to write things EXACTLY this way (this is just how I do it) every author has their unique way of writing. (or thinking)
(I hope this helps!)
-in my opinion since you a begginner start out with short stories (if you want to)
-set out your plot and characters first
-avoid using "bleh!" words constantly and add details for example:
"Jim cried" try "tears started streaming down Jim's cheeks..."
or "Hana said "HEY!" try "Hey" Hana utterly cried out."
- try adding imagery
you dont have to write things EXACTLY this way (this is just how I do it) every author has their unique way of writing. (or thinking)
(I hope this helps!)
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- Age 37
- Seen today
To add on a bit to Clonage's advice, I wouldn't overload on the descriptive words. While there are times when it's all right to say "tears streamed down his face", you don't want to overload your story with that type of writing. Especially when you wind up with a sentence that would sound awkward to the reader. For instance, Clonage gave an example that sounded weird to my ears: "utterly cried out". While there's nothing wrong with that, "utterly" means to send forth a sound, and "cried out" means to make a loud sound. So it seems kind of redundant to say both.
Really, the best advice I can give is to develop your own style. Write in a way that feels comfortable to you. Practice a bit imitating another writer's style until you find what works for you and what doesn't. And you'll be able to tell what works by how you feel about your writing.
Not to sound harsh, but by looking at your post, I would second the suggestion to get a beta reader. We have a thread here that can help you find one. They work with you one-on-one to improve your story before you post it.
Also, don't forget that all reviewers are here to help you. Whether they leave you praise, or if they leave constructive criticism. The latter might be a bit disheartening, but the honest truth is that the person leaving you constructive criticism is only helping you improve your story. So don't give up!
One last thing that can be helpful for you: your lovely PFF&P moderator. I'm open to any and all questions you might have about posting in this section, so don't be afraid to ask.
And good luck to you in your writing!
Really, the best advice I can give is to develop your own style. Write in a way that feels comfortable to you. Practice a bit imitating another writer's style until you find what works for you and what doesn't. And you'll be able to tell what works by how you feel about your writing.
Not to sound harsh, but by looking at your post, I would second the suggestion to get a beta reader. We have a thread here that can help you find one. They work with you one-on-one to improve your story before you post it.
Also, don't forget that all reviewers are here to help you. Whether they leave you praise, or if they leave constructive criticism. The latter might be a bit disheartening, but the honest truth is that the person leaving you constructive criticism is only helping you improve your story. So don't give up!
One last thing that can be helpful for you: your lovely PFF&P moderator. I'm open to any and all questions you might have about posting in this section, so don't be afraid to ask.
And good luck to you in your writing!