This is just a compilation of different writing tips, how to improve grammar and sentence structure, plot construction, and more.
I hope this helps other aspiring writers such as myself!
If there's something I should cover please feel free to commen...
Alright, here we go. We're just gonna jump right in, no hesitation.
Some things I see a lot when reading other people's stories is no separation of dialogue, so it looks like this:
"How was your day?""My day was fine, how about you?"
See? It's hard to tell who's speaking. Especially when you're reading a huge paragraph, it gets really confusing really quick. Instead, make a new paragraph every time someone else speaks. So it would look something like this:
"How was your day?"
"My day was fine, how about you?"
That's a lot better to read isn't it? And you can also tell who's speaking.
The next thing is see is the overuse of 'said.' You don't have to continually use 'said' if you've made it clear who's speaking.
"Hi," Bob said.
"Hello," Sarah said.
"How have you been?" Bob said.
"I've been good." Sarah said.
Instead, you can either drop 'said' entirely after you reveal who is speaking or replace 'said' with better words, so it could look like this:
"Hi," Bob smiled.
"Hello," Sarah replied.
"How have you been?" he asked.
"I've been good," she answered.
[Psst- you don't always have to say names either once your reader knows who's speaking.]
OR it could look like this:
"Hi," Bob said.
"Hello," Sarah replied.
"How have you been?"
"I've been good,"
{Sorry if I'm repeating, it just helps sometimes to see the same thing in a different way sometimes. It's also a super simple conversation.}
To keep from overusing 'said,' I try to A- keep track of how many times I've used 'said' so I don't go overboard, and B- remind myself, 'Said Is Dead.'
Here's what I mean by Said Is Dead:
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By replacing 'said' with one of these, you not only improve your dialogue, but you also convey your character's emotions/facial expression with fewer words. (While it may be fun to describe sometimes, descriptions can become really wordy really quickly.)
One last thing about dialogue- don't use slang when the narrator is not a named character involved in the story (meaning 1st person, we don't do disembodied voices around here). Unless you're writing in first person, slang is best used between two characters in a conversation. This is so your writing is clear and understandable. (But if you can wedge it in there for a funny scene, or just can't think of a better word that describes what's in your head, that's okay too.)
Good luck on your journey to improve your writing! 😊
