I Complain Too Much

WRITING ADVICE

Hey, wonders. It's been a while since I've used this book, huh? But today, I'm gonna go over some stuff that might be helpful, and if something doesn't make sense or you want a further explanation, please just say something and I will do my best to clarify anything that's confusing. This whole thing is an attempt to help you all, and hopefully give you the starting step with which to yeet into your own writing and your own ideas. 

I'm gonna attempt to answer some basic questions that some of you have given to me, to start. We'll go through them in no particular order...y'all should know by now that I'm a mess when it comes to being organised in this book. 

@Alltimefangirl2505 and @KAT-KUNA00664 asked: How do you write longer chapters that have good grammar and plot without making it boring without using drama etc? 

This is something that can be really difficult to achieve, but the best thing to do is to get something written before you start. Don't give yourself a word count to beat, give yourself a meaning or an idea to express, or even an event to get done by the time the chapter ends. So maybe the characters have a conversation in which one person reveals a secret? Something like that. 

The best way to keep interest is variation, I've found. So that doesn't mean that someone is like Nymphadora Tonks and changes opinions and thoughts and appearances 24/7, I'm talking vocab. If you've got a conversation, and everyone is 'said' or 'saying' something, it gets old quick. Sometimes, if it's just two people, you don't need to clarify the speaker every single time. For example, using Taekook as characters coz laziness: 

"Hello, how can I help you?" Jungkook asked.
"Hi, I want to buy a potato please," Tae said.
"That's fine, is that everything today?" Jungkook asked.
"Yes please," Tae said. 
"Your food will be over in two minutes," Jungkook said.
"Thank you," Taehyung said. 

That just reads weirdly. Break the paragraphs up a little. Sometimes actions are a key indication of who's speaking. The better version of the same convo:

"Hello, how can I help you?" Jungkook asked, fiddling with his headset and smiling at the next customer. 
"Hi, I want to buy a potato, please," Tae replied, returning the smile.
"That's fine, is that everything today?" Jungkook tapped the screen of his till, inputting the order expertly. 
"Yes, please." 

Jungkook nodded in understanding. "Your food will be over in two minutes."
"Thank you." 

Sure, that's only one part of the process of writing, but if the dialogue is carrying part of the scene, you can't send readers to sleep. So yes, the example conversation is unlikely to be used in a story, but it's the way you treat dialogue that matters here. 

Let's move on to descriptions, as they also contribute to the length of a chapter. 

First thing to say: make them sense something. Sure, if you can see a cute boy behind a till, that's great. But where are you? In a cafe, or a fast food place? Can you smell anything? Can you hear people talking behind you? What's the temperature like? Is it cheerful or depressing in here? What's the message you want to give? 

Don't overuse metaphors unless it's on purpose. You can return to ideas, in fact that makes things link together and makes things better in general. It's okay to use simple ideas to start building an image. Don't describe every single person in a queue, for example, just the important people, otherwise you'll create too much mental traffic. 

That can be boring as well. It's all about finding a balance that works for you. It's not easy, and it's something that you need to work on for yourself. But those are the basic ideas you should think about.

But also, don't write to a quota. Write what you would want to read. If you think something deserves attention, give it attention. If you want something to happen, but you don't think readers will like it, make it happen anyway. Writing isn't for readers, it's an activity done for the self most of the time. Obviously be sensible about what you're doing but use your common sense.