Writing tips that help me!!

Starting off

Ok first off I am not a professional writer by any stretch. I just want to share what helps me best when I'm writing and what I've learned so others who are starting on their writing journey can get some peace of mind. 

With that said, lets start off with tip one!!

1: WRITING IS HARD AND TAKES TIME!! Don't get discouraged if you get stuck!!

This is one I struggled with for a minute but I've learned that getting any thoughts you have down is the best thing. Remember, your first draft is not the final piece. I myself have had to go back and edit some parts that I cringed at and asked 'why did I put that in?'. But having that foundation of a story down helped me to go back and look at it as a whole. This has helped me improve in many of my books. Not everyone is gonna write a book in one sitting. It took me about 3-4 in a half months to finish writing my first novel and even then it was because I spent every waking moment I got to write and work on it. The ones I've been writing now are taking me a lot longer, upwards of 6-7 months. So don't get discouraged if you can't write all the time everyday. Which brings me to point number two.

2: Try to write everyday.

Now this seems daunting but it's really not. Even if its just one sentence or word its still something. Sometimes I don't write a few chapters in a while but doing a few sentences everyday helped me get there and feel much better about what I've done. If you don't write, if any thoughts for the plot write it down on a piece of paper or on a note document.

3: Keep track of whats happening!!

Another one I struggle with. I tend to forget details and leave massive plot holes everywhere which is an authors worst nightmare. I'm using Google docs and make lists of my characters (try to have every detail about them you can think of under their name) and its helped my writing a ton. Organization is key. I use Rick Riordan's template for characters on his website to help with plotting my characters. And reread what you have to be familiar with what's happening in the past so you can keep it consistent in the present. 

4: Make your characters relatable!

I've seen everywhere that making your characters relatable is the best way to have your readers invest in them. I've looked on Pinterest for multiple ideas on how to make them engaging. I would start there and use the template I mentioned in the last point and go from there. Since I've used these resources my character development has improved a TON. Also try to make your character's personalities different from each other. It's totally fine if you want best friends to be almost identical but remember, no two people are exactly the same.

5: The power of music!!!!

I can not stress enough how much the songs of the world have influenced and empowered my writing. I have tons of different playlist dedicated to different things. I use certain songs and base my characters as if they were singing that song from experience. For example, for those who have read my Daughter of Wisdom I used the song Hold On by Chord Overstreet to put into words how Lura felt when her dad died (spoiler sorry!!) I use different songs for relationships between characters, scenes that I feel the song would play in the background of, and much more. In my first novel, The Quest, I used Legends Never Die by League of Legends for the major battle in the end (another spoiler sorry!!) It helps to envision it as a movie in my head and what it would be like if you were watching it. So music if definitely one of my favorite tools I've used. 

6: Have it mapped out!!!

I know some writers struggle a bit with this. When I say mapped out I mean have the story planned out from beginning to end. And I don't mean every little detail, just the main things you want to happen in each scene. That's how I have done it. I have the main scenes that I want to happen and then I just write how I think the story would get to the point. For example: One of the points I wanted to happen in my Forgotten Sibling book was Audrey to have a love of Pegasus smilier to her mother Lura. So I took Audrey's competitive spirit and her will to be great and made it so she was trying to beat the record her mother had with her own Pegasus. That might be a little confusing so heres a more simpler version. Let's say you want your main character to meet the villain sometime in the book. Well you could say your main character was traveling and happened to wander into the inn where the villain was staying and they ended up talking for a while, not knowing the other was their enemy. Something like that makes it interesting. 

7: Show don't tell!!!!!

This is something I STRUGGLE with. I even joined a class in school to try and figure this out (ended up dropping it lol). It's CRUCIAL to a story, because if you just say 'her hair was brown and her eyes green' thats not very interesting. But if you way 'Her long chestnut wood hair seemed to float as she walked by and her evergreen forest eyes lit up like a fire was inside of her narrow face' makes it sound MUCH more engaging.  It gives you a clear mental picture of the character. For actions, it is super important as well. instead of 'she was angry' you could say 'her jaw was set firmly in place and her eyes were narrowed, almost glaring down on everything.' NOW THAT is a great sentence. 

8: Fotor is a great tool for imagining you characters.

I know this can get a little iffy but I've used Fotor's AI image generator a lot. It helps me put down what I imagine my characters to look like and get an actual picture of them. I use it every time I think of a character and 9 times out of ten it gives me exactly what I want. It gives you 5 free image uses and then you have to pay a bit for it. Cutout pro works great too though the websites a lot more sketchy and takes longer.

9: no matter what type of idea it is, WRITE IT DOWN.

Anytime I have even a tiny shred of a story idea, write. It. Down. Most writers will have a phone one them. USE IT. write it down a note or google doc or pages. Whatever you have, use it. When I have an idea, I will pull up Google docs and type down a quick summery of my idea so I don't forget. Most times I'll remember but it's always helpful to have a backup plan. 

10:HAVE FUN!!!

Enjoy writing a novel. It's stressful and confuzzling at times but super rewarding and awesome to do. It's quickly become one of my favorite pastimes. If you have anymore questions or tips you need, drop a comment below and I'll answer it!