Writing can be a difficult undertaking, and knowing just a few pointers can make a huge difference to your end product. If you already know what your story is going to be about, and need a few ideas to get past that initial discovery to knowing the basic outline, these tips might be just what you’re looking for.
Lie
Not to insult any morals, but it is very important to lie to your reader. Whenever the narrator or a character envisions the future, or any end to a plotline, he or she must always see it as it won’t happen. This leads your reader, who is (hopefully) right along with your character and his or her thoughts, to expect everything but what you’ve prepared for the ending. Surprise is what will keep your readers coming back.
Kill Your Writing
When writing a story, it is important to get as many thoughts down on paper as possible. That being said, not everything you write is going to be something you want to keep in your end product, sometimes you even have to cut entire scenes. Don’t be afraid to cut what you’ve written, to change it, re-write it, or get rid of it all together. For many writers this is the hardest part of writing.
Motivations
Your characters will not ring true to your readers if they have inadequate motivations for what they do. Readers are quite smart when it comes to character development, and if someone rings false or one-sided, it is harder for your reader to become invested in what happens to them.
On the same note, knowing your character’s motivations does not mean to advertise them in your writing. Keep your reader guessing why a character might choose to do something, and thus keep their interest.
Details
The details you add in your story, which includes anything from describing a room to side plots in addition to your main storyline, are essential in development not only to your product, but also to your development of personal style. However, knowing what to include and what not to include should be based on the observations of the narrator’s point of view. So when you are writing details, think: what would your characters notice? What is it important to you add to your reader’s already working imagination?
Foreshadow
This is one of the most important facets of your story: it creates a sense of seamless writing, where everything you mention is important in some way. When you know what’s going to happen in your story, hint towards the ending in sly ways, but never be too blatant (remember to lie!). For example, if a certain object plays an important part in the final scenes, we must already be familiar with that object before the scene in which it suddenly becomes indispensable.
Remember, if you want your reader to take to time to read your writing, be sure to only give them the essentials and all the interesting bits. Their imagination is already likely working in overtime. For example, if you use a word such as “tavern”, their mind already conjures up an image of wooden, smokey, beer-smelling, patron-filled building. What words you add to describe that tavern must also show why this tavern is unique, and why you are talking about it.
All in all, choose your words carefully.
Valerie Suydam - Valerie is an Anthropology major at Grinnell College, where she also volunteers and has been known to perform in theatre productions, ...
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