So you want to write a book, huh? That's awesome! I'm excited for you, but I'm also terrified because a book is hard, and you're probably gonna lose your mind. The writing process is complicated. There are so many steps along the way, and it can be really overwhelming, so today I'm helping you out and hitting you with the ten writer hacks that will make the writing process a little bit easier. Hopefully, they'll be just as useful for you, and they'll save you a headache or 10. So here are the ten tips and tricks you should know if you want to write a book, while still keeping your sanity intact.
by Jenna Moreci
1. Skip the narration (for now). For realistic conversations, write your dialogue straight through without any narrative. A lot of writers struggle with making their dialogue feel authentic and giving it a natural flow, and quite often shifting back and forth between narrative and dialogue plays a huge part in this issue. Your narrative is your writer's voice. It's professional and correct, whereas dialogue is your character's voice. It's messy and real. Switching back and forth between the two can result in clunky dialogue or boring conversations that go nowhere. Instead, when you come to a dialogue-heavy scene, ditch the narrative, and write the conversation straight through (no pauses for description, body language, dialogue tags — just the voices). This allows you to craft the conversation naturally and without any interruptions. Then you can read through it and eliminate anything that comes across unnecessary or forced. Once the conversation is up to your standards, that's when you add the narrative and dialogue tags. Writing conversations like this will often make your dialogue way more natural and a lot quicker to craft.
2. Color code conversations. When writing conversations featuring a large number of characters, color code. A lot of authors write ensemble casts which means having to navigate dialogue featuring four or more characters at a time. In order to make these conversations less overwhelming, assign each character a color. Color coding the dialogue will clarify who is speaking at a given time, making it much easier for you to follow, and it'll also let you know if anyone's been left out of the conversation. Has a particular character only had one line? Maybe they don't need to be in the scene. Maybe they don't need to be in the book period. Once you've finished the exchange, you can switch the color scheme to normal, and move on.
3. Read to an audience. For spotting mistakes, lulls, and awkward wording, read your manuscript out loud to an audience. Everyone knows that reading your manuscript out loud is the easiest way to spot mistakes. The problem is, it's super tedious. Sometimes writers will have a program read the content out loud to them which can work, except these programs don't usually take inflection or tone of voice into consideration. Thus, a great writer hack that can subvert all of these issues is to read your writing out loud to an audience. You don't need a literal audience; it can be just one friend or one family member. Not only will this help you spot all those pesky mistakes, but it'll also give you an outside perspective, who can tell you if the scene was interesting or if they were intrigued. It'll also help build your confidence. You're forcing yourself to share your writing with another person, and the more you do that, the easier it'll become.
4. F.E.S.H.O. Struggling with physical descriptions? Remember F.E.S.H.O.
Figure: body type
Eyes: color, shape, and size
Skin: color
Hair: color, length, and texture
Other: any defining features
If your having trouble describing your character's appearance, just remember F.E.S.H.O., and you'll "F.E.S.H.O." get the description written. *awkward smile* That was stupid!
5. Five Senses: Struggling with setting the scene? Remember your five senses.
Hearing
Touch
Taste
Sight
Smell
You don't need to include every sense because sometimes certain ones aren't super relevant, but tapping into them is a great way to get a setting nailed down when you're feeling stuck.
6. Passive Voice Checker: Use a passive voice checker, not "by zombies." Everyone knows that the number one suggestion for handling passive voice is the "by zombies" test. Attach the phrase "by zombies" at the end of a sentence. If the sentence makes sense, then you've written in passive voice. If it doesn't, you're in the clear. Problem is, due to sentence structure and other variables, sometimes the "by zombies" test doesn't work. A better option is to simply use a passive voice checker online. There are tons of them. If you're unsure about a sentence, slap it into a detector, and it'll let you know if it's passive voice. Not only that, it'll break down exactly why the sentence's passive voice which trains you to notice this issue on your own in the future.
7. Roller Coaster Method: Not sure where to end your chapter? Use the roller coaster method. When you first get on a roller coaster, they always begin the same way: climbing up really high. Once the ride stops, you're low to the ground: the complete opposite of where you begin. Chapters should progress in the same way. It doesn't need to begin on a high note and end on a low note, but it should end in an opposite place from where it began. If your chapter starts off happy, it should end with anger or sadness — a low to offset the high. If your chapter starts off with tension or fear, it should with humor or romance — a high to offset the low. Implementing this method will ensure that your readers' emotions are constantly changing which will get them more invested in the story.
8. Plot backwards. Not sure where to take your story? Plot backwards. A lot of writers know where their story begins and ends, but the middle gets them all screwed up. An easy way to make the middle less of a pain in the butt is to start with the climax and work your way backwards. Figure out the big bang of your book, the moment where everything comes together, and then rewind. Maybe the climax is a fight to the death between two wizards for the Amulet of Truth. How do they get into this fight? Maybe the bad wizard stole the amulet, and the good wizard has to get it back. How did the bad wizard steal it? Maybe he kidnapped the good wizard's mother and held her hostage. Step by step, question by question, you are bringing yourself closer to the beginning of the story. You're filling the middle with interesting details.
9. Puzzle Method: Has your outline gotten overwhelming? Try the puzzle method. Outlining can be difficult. You're essentially building an entire story in a very short period of time. An easy way to bypass any frustration is to implement the puzzle phrase in your outlining process. This is where you write all of your plot points on post-it notes and organize them on a poster board or a wall. Move the post-its around. Find the perfect place for them within your timeline, you know, like pieces of a puzzle. This gives you a simple visual of your story and it also makes it a lot easier to create a natural chain of events, and of course, it makes the process fun because now you're not working, you're just solving a puzzle.
10. Writing Sprints: Not able to get words on the page? Try writing sprints. Sprinting is a really easy exercise for people who struggle with word count goals or motivation. The concept is simple. Pull out your laptop, set a timer, and write as much as you can during the allotted time. Sometimes writers even sprint in groups which is a great to hold yourself accountable. Now, there's no guarantee that what you write will be amazing or perfect, but that's not really the point is to get words on the page despite your hangups. You're producing content that you can edit later.
YOU ARE READING
writing 4 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: WRITING ADVICE TO MAKE YOU A BETTER WRITER
Non-FictionWriting is hard. Being a writer is even harder. But with "Writing 4 Writers," you CAN become a better writer. Every time I sit down to write, I reference this collection of writing advice from a variety of blogs, writers, and YouTubers: Jenna Moreci...
