I bet a lot of you have had trouble sticking with a story. Whether it be a poem, short story, or full on novel, everyone has trouble with sticking to it. Little did you know, there are ways to stick with it. Below are just a couple of tips on how to stay with your story. (Although if you do not like your story/plot I do not reccomend you keep writing it, over the years I've learned that the more you like writing the story the better your writing is.)
1. If you don't know what to write next, skip over it and go forwards a couple of chapters. But make sure you go back sooner or later to finish it, you should never leave somethin unfinished for too long.
2. Write, write, write. For the first couple of chapters don't worry about grammer or spelling, just get the ideas down. Even if it doesn't flow at first, you can go back and fix it all later.
3. List out your characters and their personalities. You don't have to know everything about your characters, but just knowing their name and how they look and/or how they act around other people.
4. Make an outline with notes or random quotes. Knowing some famous lines from your characters really helps all the ideas pile on top of each other. If you outline what will happen (like the big events) then its much easier to fill in the blanks.
5. Always give yourself plenty of time to write. If you don't have at least a good solid hour or two then I wouln't suggest even beginning to write. And like you've probably heard, write in a quiet area. Make sure there aren't very many people around if none at all. And a fimiliar enviroment is always a good thing too. (About the quiet area, I write to music [mostly classical and a little punk] so if you would rather listen to music, go ahead).
6. Write however you would like to. If you write better with pen to paper, then do so. Don't get held down by the thought that you must always type your stories. Every once in a while I myself pull out the old typewriter and punch in the words there. Write which ever way 'throws your frisbee' so to speak.
7. Get FEEDBACK. Even if you don't know the person most writers know how to give feedback. Or even readers. Even if you think you can give yourself feedback, sadly your wrong. And that's the truth. Most people are either too harsh towards themselves or too nice, that's why getting feedback from a second party always seems to help.
8. This tip sometimes doesn't work, but you should try it out for yourself. Find out how the story ends, and write that. Then write the rest of your story TO that ending. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
9. This is my number ONE tip for people who are still in school or are hired by someone to write. Write because you want to, not because you should. Writing is not a job or a hobby, it is a life. You aren't supposed to be tied down to some story that you don't want to write. Write because you love it, not because it's for a grade or money.
10. And lastly, this is more for the ending, leave your reader with an aftertaste of the story. If your writing is good enough to make people go "Yeah I remember that part!" to their friends who also read it, then you've done good. For example, most of my friends have read the best selling book by Suzanne Collins 'The Hunger Games'. When someone begins to talk about said book and they say something like "What about that time when Mage (I think that's how you spell her name) gives the pin to Katniss?" everyone else says: "OMG I KNOW RIGHT!!" Despite the fact that fangirls and fanboys can be annoying, they're great motivators. Make sure that what you write makes an imprint on your readers' minds.
