Today I'm going to talk about some writing tips and tricks I've learned throughout my writing experience that I hope some of you will find useful.
1. First, make your main character flawed, I know sounds crazy right? But it's true, people don't want to read about characters they can't relate to. Perfection isn't normal or even possible, so unless you're writing specifically about a person who can do no wrong, make them flawed.
Example: When you're watching a movie it's hard for us girls to identify with the drop dead gorgeous woman playing the lead because it isn't realistic! It's much easier to relate with the nerdy secondary character because she's more likely the character with some flaw to her. Equally, its hard for guys to relate to that love interest in chick flicks that can do no wrong, right?
2. Research, research, research. Especially if you write historical fiction, readers want a story that's possible, even the tiny details count. For example a few days ago I was working on a story set in 1906 and I had my MC (main character) explain a voice as 'melted gummy bear consistency' which I thought was a killer comparison until I started thinking, were gummy bears invented in 1906? Which lead to research to discover no, they were not. (They were invented in 1924 encase you were wondering. :) So if I hadn't researched my topic I would've been allowing people to read something that isn't historically accurate which for me is huge.
3. You need stick with your stories, if anyone looked at the files on my laptop they'd see pages of unfinished stories because I didn't stick with it. Now I'm not saying it isn't okay to take a break every now and then, sometimes that's even beneficial, but don't give up on it. You'll never know what could've been your next bestseller if you don't try.
4. Edit, Edit, Edit. Scary topic I'm getting into but it's true, no first draft is ready to hit the New York Times Bestseller list. And no matter how incredibly awesome your plot line is, it's going to be an extremely difficult read if it's full of typos and punctuation errors.
I entered a writing contest a couple years back with my first ever historical fiction short story. I was so proud of that thing, not even 8,000 words I thought it was the best piece of fiction you could find. I sent it in to the judges and when I got it back I was horrified to find tons of small errors throughout my story. I was embarrassed that I had sent that in for a contest, that's what I had presented.
I'll do a more thorough blog post about editing sometime soon, but remember to put your best foot forward when having people read your work.
5. Remember that this is supposed to be fun, if there becomes a time when writing isn't fun, step back, do some other stuff, come back to it later. If writing your story has got you so frazzled that you can't even have fun with it anymore; drop it for a while and come back in a week or so. Who knows you might have thought of your next awesome plot twist by then!
6. Read all the time! Seriously, if you aren't writing, read. I know at least for me that sometimes reading a good book is all that I need to get my wheels turning again. Sometime soon I'm probably going to be writing about some good books to read so stay tuned for that, but right now I'd suggest for you to read something you identify with. I write historical and contemporary fiction so that's what I read for the most part. (Trust me, I'm still a HUGE Harry Potter fan :p) I read in my genre to look for tips on what makes their writing so good. Why did this scene make me hug my book, it was so sweet? Why did this death make me cry? Why do I hate their villain? Sometimes all you need is a good book to make your writing that much better.
6. Pray that God will guide you as you write to glorify him, this has been something that I personally do every evening. I pray that God will guide my words as I write in order to make my work glorify him and not myself. After all He didn't have to give me a gift for writing. He could've made me a plumber or something instead of letting me receive enjoyment from imagining worlds and people I made up in my head. So I want to honor Him with my writing, to let Him shine through me.
Well that's all I've got for today, hope you've found at least one of these tips useful. If you'd like me to discuss a specific writing tip on my blog, comment below and I'll try my best to write on it.
Bye for now!
Libby
"Let all that I am praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there.When they breathe their last, they return to the earth and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God." Psalm 146 2-5 NLT
