User blog:Jaxswim/Tips for Aspiring Writers

Hey, Jax here.

I recently stumbled upon an extremely helpful section of Rick Riordan's website, advice for writers. Some writers here are working on outside projects as well, and I'm one of those. This is the perfect thing for me right now and I'd love to share it with you all. This could help in your fanfictions as well.

http://rickriordan.com/about-rick/writingadvice.aspx

Some of you are busy and don't have time to read everything. I've highlighted some major points if you are in a hurry.

How Can I Improve My Writing?
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 * Good writing is subjective. Because one person thinks your writing is bad does not mean everyone will. A simple fact that we can easily forget.
 * What is not subjective is good grammar and technical parts of writing.
 * Here are some examples of how to show "sentence level competence," the ability to write at the most basic level.
 * 1) Example: It was a sunny day. (the subject "it" is boring and vague.) Better: The sky was brilliant blue. (Here the subject is sky, which is what the sentence was supposed to be about.)
 * 2) Example: He was six feet tall, three hundred pounds, with brown hair, small brown eyes, a big nose and big fists. He wore jeans and a muscle shirt. He looked angry. (this is way too much description for the reader to keep track of, and it is offered as a random list)  Better: He looked like a rhino, ready to charge. (then you can pick a few details that reinforce the image of a rhino)
 * 3) Example: Can you help other writers who are writing books like me? (I got this question recently. I understand what the person is saying, but 'like me' follows the word 'books' so he is implying, without meaning to, that there are people producing books that look like him.) Better: Can you help other writers like me who are writing books?
 * 4) Example: He likes dogs, hiking in the woods and reads books a lot. (Dogs is a single noun, hiking in the woods is a participial phrase, reads books a lot is a simple predicate. These are all totally different things. Make them the same, and the sentence will flow much better.) Better: He likes walking his dog, hiking in the woods, and reading lots of books.

​ How Do I Develop Characters?

 * Five tips on characters:
 * 1) Define a character first through action, second through dialogue and description, and never through explanation.
 * 2) Be impressionistic rather than realistic.
 * 3) Do not be afraid to use real people as models, but do not be restricted by your models.
 * 4) The reader does not have to be told everything you know about your character.
 * 5) Your character must act, not simply be acted upon.
 * If you are having trouble understanding your characters, it's a good idea to fill out this profile for them. Even if you think you know your characters well, you may still want to do this! [[File:Character_Profile.pdf]]

How Do I Write Good Dialogue?

 * Five tips on dialogue:
 * 1) Avoid authorial instrusion.
 * 2) Compress dialogue.
 * 3) No two characters should sound the same.
 * 4) Show only the dialogue that needs to be shown.
 * 5) Use dialogue to display conflict, not impart information to your reader.
 * This is very important. Do not include the reader as a third party when writing dialogue!!

How Do I Plot An Entire Novel/Story?

 * Five tips on plot:
 * 1) Don't write the parts the reader would skip anyway.
 * 2) Distinguish between mystery and confusion (with the reader).
 * 3) Get going!
 * 4) Identify the moral dilemma driving the novel.
 * 5) The protagonist must exert influence to solve the problem, and the antagonist must exert influence to stop the solution.
 * Note: Consider using this in a fanfiction not over the course of the entire fic, but rather with a single plot. Perhaps an elimination that the protagonist wants and the antagonist does not. Just think about it!

I hope you enjoyed reading, and please read the full version if you have time!!

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