Starting a story
The very begining
There are a few basic way's to start a story.
- Start with one of your own life experences
- Start with a quote form one of your characters
- Use a refrence to a popular book
- Use a quote from another book, poem, or person.
- Write something funny, something completely irrelivent to the story
Once you picked one write it down and stick to it! You can always start again if it doesn't work out, but don't just stop after a few sentences.
Keeping organized!
Confused?
When writing a longer story it's easy to get confused. On another piece of paper or other document on the computer write out, like notes, what you're going to have happen in the next few chapters. It makes an easy refrence, expecily if you don't write for a while and you forget what you were planing.
Characters
Who's Who?
Like keeping notes as to the plot of your story you should do the same with the people that make it up. Write as many details for your characters as possible, right down their eye color and what they like for breakfast. The more you 'keep in touch' with your characters the easier it is to write about them.
Body
What makes a story a story
Depending on how long you are planing your story to be is how much you should pay attention to this section. If you are writing a small book, maybe for children, you don't need to wory about this that much. But if you're writing a 600 page novel then pay attention.
If your character is just waking up form a long night's rest make sure you streach it out, put in so much detal it takes him/her half a page to get out of bed. This makes it more interesting and often easier to understand, but don't go to far. Usuing the same idea, if it takes your character a page or more to wake up, tone it down a little, if it gets to long some people will get bored with it.
Ending!
How to end your story with a BANG
No matter that length of your story ending it is always important, other words, it wouldn't end. The hardest part is choosing exactly when to end it. If you add to much extra at the end it gets boring, but only let off to soon if you are planing a squel.
When writing the ending think like the end of a movie, end it right after or maybe a few pages after, the 'end'. The end is when the main character gets what he/she wants or defeats the evil person etc. etc.
If your story is part of a long line of them end it bluntly. Right when something exciting was going to happen, make your readers wait to read it, the flood once the next one comes out will be much larger than if you had ended it dully.
Writer's block!
The reall big one!
We all get it, waether you are writing an essay or a story. Many people say this: "Forget about it! Go do somehting else and you'll think of something when you least expect it!" Honestly, it's true, but not in the way you think. The idea just doesn't some to you, weather you notice it or not something inspired you with the idea. Depending on whats going on here are a few other things that might work:
- Put in a life experence for you character, it adds body to your story and help people relate to the book
- Need diologe? Get something form another book, or your own mouth!
- Get some other people's ideas, you might not even pick one givin to you but it often helps you with your own ideas.
- Can't think of a name? Use a common word, like Courge, Hope, something that relates to the one being named.
- Need a name for a city? Completely make one up! Be creative!
Little extra advise!
When your writing a story it's easy for life to happen and you leave it. It happnes all the time. Something causes you to leave and it's easy for you to forget about it. If you used the orginazion and character tips it's easy to get back on track. If you feel as if the spark has left, write a new one, it's no big deal. Use the same story even, just change it.
