Tips for writing good stories (may be edited later

Aug 4, 20133 min read

Deviation Actions

Published: Aug 4, 2013

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Hello, there! Here, I have some helpful tips that should help you aspiring authors out there. Here are some ways to make your stories better. I hope these will help you guys!!!

Try to picture every detail of your story as you are writing it. Sensory details are one of the most important parts of your story. Try to picture every element. Ex: Background details (such as people, sounds, smells and ambiance) Character details (Such as facial features, body structure, personality...etc.) These details will make it easier for the audience to picture your story.
Become your characters. Try to imagine yourself in their situation. What would you do if you were in their position? Try to get inside their heads. A good author will connect with his/her characters. And if an author is able to connect with his/her characters, then the audience will most likely be able to as well.
Use good vocabulary and proper grammar/spelling. This is another very important part of writing good stories. People don't usually like to read stories with sentences like this: "she falld and breaked her neck and it hurted rly bad" I know that's an exaggerated example, but you get the picture. Avoid run-on sentences, be creative with the vocabulary and if you're not sure how something is spelled, look it up. Also, idioms and similes can make a story fun to read. Ex: "His voice caught in his throat" or "As innocent as a lamb". Though, don't use bad similes like these.
Pay close attention to people and their actions. This will help you get an idea of how your characters should act. Watch their body movements, facial expressions and how their voices change as they feel different emotions. Ex. if someone is about to cry, their voice will most likely sound shaky and strained. Also, think of their personalities and compare them with your characters. If you have a character who reminds you of, and/or is based off of a certain person in your life, then pay attention to that person's behavior and try to mirror your character's behavior off of that person. Ex. If your character is quiet and reserved, you can mirror them off of a person you know or even a TV character who you think your character is akin to. But try not to make them too much alike: you want your characters to be somewhat original.
Avoid overuse of words. Overusing words is a mistake a lot of authors make without realizing it. Ex. "She looked beautiful. He admired every beautiful feature of her beautiful face". Instead, you can look up synonyms on thesaurus.com, and you could end up with a sentence like this: "She looked beautiful. He admired every magnificent detail of her angelic face." That sounds much better, doesn't it?
Read it out loud yourself. Make sure it sounds good when you read it. A lot of times, a story will sound much better in your head than they do in your own words. Also, it's good to get a second opinion from an honest friend. Maybe even a parent or teacher.

Well, those are all the tips I have to offer at the moment. If I think of any more, I will edit this journal entry. Hope these will help you.