A recent poll found that there is a great number of people who are using the lockdown to write stories, a passion which they have clearly always wanted to explore. Of course there are other common activities which people are doing to get through this from learning languages and musical instruments, to playing chess or getting in shape. To those of you who are writing stories, you would do well to listen to the greats in the industry such as Roger Wolfson, who has been sharing some of his tips via his social media channels. There is a lot to learn from these greats and here are some of the things which they have been suggesting.
Write What You Know
One of the best pieces of advice is to write about what you know, this is not only going to make it easier for you to engage with your work, but it will also help you to come across as more authoritative. It is true that a great many authors will do huge amounts of research before they put pen to paper, and this is because they want to be confident in what they are telling the reader. Make sure that you are writing from a place of knowledge when you tell a story.
Character Development
It is essential that you invest a good amount of time on the characters and that you aim to provide them with real depth and with a good sense of self. The idea is that we connect with these characters and that they represent us. This is what people relate to when they read a story, the realism and the personalities of the characters in the story. The better that you develop those characters, the easier it will be for you to continue the story and to push it forward.
Shifts
Away from the technical skills which are required when you are writing a story, it is essential that you have a good approach to getting this story written. This means that you should work in shifts, even if it is just an hour or two per day. If you take the approach that you’ll write whenever you get some time, this will slow down the process and it will also break the consistency in your mind. Be sure to treat this seriously and you’ll get there in no time at all.
Edit by Chapter
It is very tough to go back through the story and edit it as one piece, which is why editing by chapter is the far easier way of going about this. You will still do a full edit at the end of course, but if you have been editing as you go then you will find this process to be far easier. Try to get into the habit of doing this as each chapter closes, and you will thank yourself for it later on.
These are some handy and simple tips to follow when writing a story.
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