Everyone wants to write the next great American novel until they discover that writing is hard!
Crafting an intriguing tale that keeps readers on the edge of their seats, craving more, takes skill. Just compare something from the greats like Stephen King to your own writing, and you’ll see the difference.
But don’t despair. Any skill, including writing, can be developed.
These writing tips will help.
Writing Tips to Master the Craft
We’ve scoured the internet to bring you the best writing tips to craft compelling stories readers won’t want to put down.
If you want to become a better writer, start here.
Write Often
Kitja Kitja via Shutterstock.com.
They say practice makes perfect, and the same is true for writing. The more you write, the better you will become.
It works for non-fiction too.
I’m sure you weren’t here with me from the beginning, but I can tell you, my first blog posts were atrocious. I could barely string together 600 words, my grammar was awful, and I had no idea how to write an engaging article.
But I stuck with it. Every article makes me just a tiny bit better. And maybe I still can’t write an engaging post, but I promise it’s better than when I first started.
Read
To be a great author, you should learn from the greats (and not so greats). Devour as many books as possible to taste different genres, writing styles, and techniques. Discover through reading what works and what doesn’t.
Sometimes, reading new books can even help you overcome writer’s block.
Write What You Want to Read
Although you have to do what you have to do to make ends meet, the best stories will be the ones you’re excited about writing.
“When I first started in writing, I took any gig I could to make ends meet, and rarely was I writing about something that interested me, and my god, could you tell,” explained one user.
I feel the same. I was ready to give up on blogging because everyone told me I had to niche down. I didn’t want to niche down. Although I love money (who doesn’t?), writing about it all the time gets boring.
Instead, I expanded my niche so I can write about whatever I want, and I’m so much happier.
Don’t Judge Your First Draft
First drafts are drafts for a reason. They aren’t going to be good. “It should be really bad!” exclaimed one user, discussing the quality of first drafts.
The user went on to give a great lesson for all aspiring writers:
“Every first draft is perfect because the only purpose of a first draft is to exist,” they said, explaining, “if you wrote and finished a first draft, you did it perfectly.”
Let your first draft be sloppy. The fact that you finished it is more than enough.
Character Development is Vital
Compelling characters are critical to a great story. “Flat characters are way too common these days, even in ‘professionally’ made stuff,” lamented one user.
Others said you need to make your characters want something and make them change as the story develops. “In the end, make sure they have undergone some change,” advised one Redditor, “even if they didn’t get what they wanted.”
Need help? Check out our guide to character development.
Write Real People
The best writing tip I can give men is to write women as real people. This shouldn’t be hard, because women are, in fact, real people, but the vast array of men writing women fails (by popular authors even!), highlights the need to say it.
Write women as normal people, and you won’t have any problems.
Understand When Inspiration Happens
One user shared words of wisdom from acclaimed author Madeleine L’Engle: “Inspiration usually comes during work rather than before it.”
You need to start. It’s unlikely a random spark of inspiration will hit while you’re twiddling your thumbs, waiting for it.
Get started, and you’ll be surprised by how quickly the words flow.
Finish
How many stories have you started but not finished? “You don’t know what the story really is until you finish it,” shared one user.
Don’t leave your stories hanging. You may discover a gem of an idea hidden in your initial story’s ending.
Stop Caring About Politeness
One user shared a gem they picked up from Stephen King’s best-selling resource, On Writing.
“If you expect to succeed as a writer, rudeness should be the second-to-least of your concerns. The least of all should be polite society and what it expects. If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway,” King said in the book.
When writing, you need to be truthful. You need to dig deep into the vast darkness of humanity and showcase what you’ve found, flaws and all. If you avoid the truth to appease the pearl clutchers, you’ll never be successful as a writer.
Don’t Worry About What’s “Hot”
Some writers try to mimic the popular stories of their time. How many aspiring writers attempted to emulate the success of works like Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games to disappointing results?
“You’ll never make a splash by just doing what everyone else is doing,” advised one user, adding, “If you’re not passionate about something, then it usually shows in the writing.”
Write the story you want to write, regardless of current trends. Your passion for your story will shine through.
And who knows, maybe you’ll start a new trend.
Perfection is the Enemy of Progress
“Stop trying to make it perfect and just write!” exclaimed one user.
Your writing will never be perfect. Nothing we do in life will be perfect. Perfect is an unachievable goal that gives people an excuse not to accomplish anything.
Instead, just write. Write horribly at first. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’re doing it. The more you do it, the better you will get at it. If writing is worth doing to you, it should be worth doing poorly.
Show, Don’t Tell
Show, don’t tell is one of the biggest rules of literature. One aspiring writer in the thread said it prevents them from writing a boring story and helps them expand their vocabulary.
You don’t need to explain everything in a book. Show the reader what’s happening through action and dialogue, don’t describe it.
Use Prompts
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Some of us could crank out a thousand words a minute if we could just get past that first hurdle.
How do you start?
Prompts can help with a little boost to get your story started. They also serve as writing exercises to help you hone your craft.
Check out our creative writing prompts – each genre includes warm-up exercises and 10 prompts that guide you through an entire story. They focus on different aspects of writing, like character creation, tension building, and dialogue.
They’re our best seller on Etsy!
Understand Story Structure
If you want to write a story, you should know how a story works.
Learn the literary elements and how they combine to create a cohesive narrative. Familiarize yourself with the basic plot structure, so you know how the rising action, falling action, and climax intertwine.
Use Literary Techniques
The best writing has flair. Literary devices help you inject that flair into your work.
Use simile and metaphor, symbolism and foreshadowing. Add red herrings and misdirection into your thrillers. Make your poetry shine with alliteration.
Have fun with your words.
Writing is Tough, But Practice Makes Perfect
You can be a great writer. The Reddit thread is filled with writing tips to help you on your journey, but the most important thing you can do is start.
Write that first chapter. Develop engaging characters. Revisit your story and revise your drafts.
Before you know it, you will have a fantastic tale you’ll be proud to share.