The Truth About Writing

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The Truth About Writing

Posted on September 10th, 2009 in Style by BMDonnelly

Some honest advice for young writers.

There is NO such thing as writer’s block: Being a writer is a job just like any other job, you have to do it every day whether you feel like it or not. You don’t hear of baker’s block, waiter’s block or policeman’s block, why should writers have a special term for not wanting to do their job just because they don’t feel like it?
Don’t rip off other people’s work: I have been sent quite a few extracts from young writers who have wanted my opinion on their stories and nothing is worse than when it is nothing butfan fiction. Create something yourself. Just because you like a movie/book/comic does not mean you have to write your own version or continue the storyline your self. Doing it for fun is understandable, everyone tries to guess what could happen in their favourite stories but don’t talk about getting it published. It already belongs to someone else. Think for your self.
Keep an eye out for plot holes: Nothing worse when reading a story with a plot hole big enough to drive a truck through. Read over your work and make sure that you have every possible question answered.
Make sure that everything has a purpose: Why did something happen in your story? Why does a character do what they do? Whether it be for character development or plot building, make sure that everything you do has a purpose. Does it add onto the plot and effect things to come in the future? Or does it show a side to a character that the reader had not seen before until know? Creating unneeded events can make a story boring and tedious to read. You don’t want your readers loosing interest in what is going on.
Be careful when naming brands/products: This is another thing I have complained about to beginning fiction writers. When it comes to naming an item, e.g the perfume a character is wearing, make sure you describe it properly. Just naming the perfume brand and name is not enough. Not everyone knows what you are talking about so if you have to keep the name in please describe the scent so they can imagine it. The same applied to food stuffs and music, just naming the brand/band/song name/product is not enough.