Writer's Handbook

Step 1: Plot

This is probably one of the toughest things to do when coming up with a story.

I cannot tell you how many times I've practically read the same story ten times, but not really. They had different authors, but the plots were just too similar.

There are many, many, many different kinds of plots out there, so why go with one of the cliche ones?

Here's a list of plots that are overdone, so this is what you avoid:

1. Old best friends who meet again- Come on, it's been done at least a hundred times...

2. Meeting on a plane- The girls sits next to boy, he sees a song she's listening to on her iPod and strikes up a conversation and then they fall in love and nothing happens to them.

3. Famous- The girl's famous, the boy's famous, they meet, fall in love, the end.

4. Hater- If it's a fan fiction story about a famous celebrity, the most overused plot is when the non-famous love interest despises the famous character, but then meets them and ends up falling in love.

Alright, there's probably a lot more but those were the main ones I could think of.

Now, I'm not trying to say you can't use these plots.

However, if you do, try to make it your own. Add your own little twist. My twist to #2 was that the girl was a flight attendant, not a passenger.

Your story has to be exactly what I just said- your story. Make it original, make it reflect your own writing style, and whatever your brain can come up with.

I promise, if it's original, more people will want to read it.

Oh, and I'm seeing more and more of these vampire books. Again, make sure it's your own. Come up with cool things to add to it- maybe make the vampires have cool powers or whatever.

Cool plots captivate a reader :) xx