Creating stories and writing novels is one of my favorite hobbies, but creative writing can be a daunting task. Whether it’s a novel you’re trying to write or a short story, there are times when even the best writers struggle with crafting the world of their imaginations. Sometimes you don’t know how to start the story, other times you don’t know how to move the plot forward or how to drop in backstory without boring the reader. Whatever your writing troubles are, here are five tips that I’ve picked up along the way that have helped me improve my writing.
1. Begin the story: start after the inciting incident.
The inciting incident is the part of your story that sets off the main conflict. It’s the point when your main character is taken from their usual, everyday routine and thrust into the world of the story. Most writing advice encourages writers to start as close to the inciting incident as possible, but you could also start the story after the inciting incident has begun. For example, in Cinderella, the inciting incident is when the Prince decides to put on the ball but Cinderella can't go. If you were re-writing that fairy tale, you could start right after that moment. This can be helpful because it takes away the pressure of starting the story at exactly the right spot and it gives you the momentum needed to start writing the story.
2. Good description: keep it short but detailed.
Description can be difficult to write, because you don’t want to bore the reader but it's necessary for you to describe the setting. Don’t underestimate the imagination your reader: give them a few details to go on and they will be fine. Try making a list of everything that would describe the scene as you imagine it. Then, only pick out items from that list which are unique to the setting, or that reveal something about the character, or that add mood to the scene. If none of your items fall under those categories, just pick a few off the list and give them specific, revealing details. For example, instead of saying the carpet was old, tattered, and didn’t look as if it had ever met a vacuum, you could mention the blue stain on the ground or the crumbs that the main character steps on. Instead of saying that the vanity was grand and stocked with expensive makeup, you could describe the unopened tube of Chanel lipstick lying on the glass. The reader will get a good grasp of what the writer wants them to take away from that scene and will be able to fill in the gaps on their own.
3. Moving the plot forward: introduce or re-introduce a subplot.
So you’ve gotten your main character started on her journey: she has just gotten off the train which will take her to the town that has all the answers about her past. But now you're stuck: you don't know how to move the plot forward. A helpful tip is to introduce a subplot, either a new one or one you’ve already mentioned. Subplots are mini plots within a story that connect to the main plot and they us,ually concern the main character or a side character. For example, perhaps the subplot of your story involves a character who is secretly working for the bad guys. To move your story forward, you could mention that when the protagonist gets off the train station she sees this character taking a cab into town, even though she knows this person shouldn’t be here. This could cause the protagonist to investigate, which helps to move both the main plot and subplot forward at the same time.
4. Dialogue: say it out loud.
Dialogue can be tricky to write, because you want it to sound natural while at the same time use it to reveal information either about the characters who are speaking (their personalities or their relationship to each other) or to give background info and reveal important details to the reader. A helpful way to make sure your dialogue sounds natural is to say it out loud, as if you are the characters who are speaking. Once you hear it being said, you’ll know how to write it too. For example, you’ll notice that most people speak using contractions (i.e. “don’t” rather than “do not”) unless they want to emphasize something. Also, make sure your dialogue is necessary to the story, i.e don't have the characters talk about the weather unless that's significant to your story or revealing about your characters.
5. Backstory: interweave it with a moment of detail.
There are many ways to drop backstory into your novel and the tried-and-true method to follow is never drop in too much at one time, as that will bore the reader. Instead, you want to sprinkle details about the backstory throughout your book. One helpful way to do this is to include backstory in a moment that has detail. For example, the main character may step into a library, and the smell of books reminds him of the library at his grandfather’s house. Then you can give a few lines on the backstory before bringing the reader back to the present. This technique is helpful because it prevents the reader from feeling disconnected with the story, since you’re connecting the present detail with a past detail. If you keep the snippet of backstory relatively short, the reader won’t be bored by it either.
So those are five ways to make your writing flawless. Hopefully, you will find those tips as life-saving as I have. Which one is your favorite?
