𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 ━━━━━━━━ 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.

Writing Tips - Language And Narration

I realized I haven't updated this book in a while and something recently caught my mind.

Someone was criticising my writing style, and I have had a few people actually complain about my use of hefty words. On the other hand, I have friends who always flatter me with praises whenever I use a good description and times when I drown in self-doubt.

I have made peace that not everybody can like me and my stuff (lie)

Anyway, so let's come to the topic. The first (and prolly the last. Tell me if you'd like this as a series and the topics I shall try helping y'all with. Note that I can be very moody and annoying) writing tip I'll share officially is about
✨language and narration✨

People often ask me to teach them. But I assure you, I am not the best writer out there and I firmly believe that there's always room for perfection. I am learning myself. You are free to disagree, of course.

The SHOW, DON'T TELL notion doesn't apply always. Sit back down, ladies and gentlemen and my non binary pals.

If you use this everywhere in your book, you'll have a pile of long and boring word pictures which nobody would want to read, no matter how good your usage of words is and how brilliant the plot is. Trust me on this.

Here's what you have to do :

SHOW emotions
TELL feelings.

That's it. But again, it's your call if you want to heed this advice. It might also happen that it's not right, but hey let's look at an example :-

i) She was mad and could not think clearly.

NO.

Fury bubbled and frothed in her like a mighty ocean hitting the shores, rendering any other trace of acuminous thoughts mute.

ii) Her eyelids drooped under the impression of exhaustion and her limbs could barely function when she laid herself and beckoned a slumber.

NO.

She was knackered as she dropped herself in the quivits and silk duvets arrayed by the oak bed, promptly embracing the goddess of sleep.

See? It's easy.

Moving on to the main stuff. The actual rudimentary thing for story narrating.

Ik some people will hate me for this.

But hey Cinderella, you need to know the difference between its it's, their they're, and gurl girl. Get me?

1. Do NOT use slang terms in your writing ever. Unless your characters are texting each other. Then I suppose it can be dealt with. Otherwise, it seems you were just bored and decided to let your inner chaos out on the screen by risking the sanity of your target audience.

2. Know basic grammar.
Nobody wants to read a chunk of grammatically murdered, ill executed writing with tons of spelling errors. One to two are fine, you'll edit them out someday as you grow. Too many mistakes, will ward away too many readers.

3. You DON'T have to know Shakespeare worthy English, alright? Just- just read your English textbooks (this is for kids and teens). NCERT, Cordova, Vikas, Yuvak/ Bal-bharati, Oxford, or anything for that matter. They have been designed to rival your level of understanding. You can always improve, as you gain experience over the months and years. But, be clear with your basics first. There's no shortcut.

When I started writing, I was in 9th and istg I'd rather chug down poison than come across that jinxed writing ever in my life. What does this show? I improved.

Majority writers I have seen around me (I am a Sanātana history aficionado, I love reading ffs and re-tellings about the same) are kids. They're in their early to mid teens and are desperately trying. Everyone is, and it's something to be proud of. It takes a lot of courage to begin learning and go through the embarrassment of being a beginner.

Just focus on your level of English. A key method to a good story narrating is not the use of hefty words (but again, it's one's call if they have developed a specific writing style. Like mine. I love being extra), but the use of appropriate language (I have this, I suppose).

Or, read novels and e books and paperbacks. READ BOOKS WITH GOOD GRAMMAR. DEVOUR BOOKS LIKE A BOOK DEMON.

4. Do NOT be OVER with the descriptions. I don't think it's been told enough. Too much of anything is not good.

Your sentences should be short to medium length. Long sentences can be irritating.

If you're recounting someone's appearance, 1-2 paragraphs of medium to slightly lengthy size are enough. Same goes for a place.

I lose interest after that and start skipping because it's monotonous as hell. Purple prosing is not the best. Or maybe... that's just my trait? *shrugs*

5. Also, try to use English terms more, when your setting is non-english.
Often times, frequently used terms which come from the other languages feel too tough to keep a track off. Your glossary won't help.

6. And, please have paragraph breaks. I see a book without para breaks and simply walk out, without reading the content. My patience should not be stabbed this brutally.
Para breaks are very crucial.

That's it for now!
Have a great time <3