WRITING TIPS

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WHY YOUR SCENES MAY FEEL FLAT

1. Excessive focus on the character.

Focus on your character is very important. Focus on telling how your character feels is even more important when doing a 'Point Of View' chapter or story. But focusing too much on your character can start to bore the reader. Try letting the story of your character's past unfold throughout your story instead of jamming it all in one chapter. As for writing a one shot, adding highlights of your main character's past would be most interesting and helpful, depending on situation.

2. Lacking descriptions or pointers about setting and time.

This is another highlight beginning writers and fanfiction writers forget to make clear. Throughout your story, writing about the main subject, how a character feels or wants to feel, their thoughts and wishes can always be there to make it clear how the character is doing, but if no one understands the setting or time, it can get confusing. As for some people, they right where the character lives and their friends, acting as if a reader wouldn't need just a tiny bit more detail. For example :

Jasmine lives in a beautiful blue house in a sweet neighborhood. Jasmine has friends names Steven, Debra, Hannah and Barbara. Jasmine likes to eat fruits and is a vegetarian. She makes pie for herself and has no kids.

Adding small details as what the neighborhood is like, her friend's last names and one word to describe them and her favorite vegetarian typed dish is would make the story feel more life like and realistic.

3. Too much dialogue.

Add breaks between what the character says in sentences!! The character does have actions and should be acting them out during their words.

Ryan tossed and turned in bed, "Yeah, well, babe," Ryan let his words muffle into a pillow. "It's not my fault your dog took a fat shit on the front porch. We aren't supposed to have animals into this apartment, either." Ryan closed his eyes to start drifting to sleep. Jasmine sighed. "Yes, but our new neighborhood is gonna be beautiful. I'm still happy we got our new dog now." She replied and kissed his forehead while turning the other way. Instead of having a nasty remark, Ryan turned around and wrapped an arm over his girlfriend's body, cuddling her to sleep.

4. Secondary Character Focus

Focusing on secondary characters is fun! Those characters have fun moments and sad moments - mainly because they're human too! If they're your character's relative and there might be times when there were there trying to help the main character through major events, or were too weak/scared to do anything for through main character. Secondary characters do have flaws. And they're not always regular flaws. Common writing flaws are speech impediment, dyslexia or short temper. But for more unique ones, try making certain simple tasks harder for them to be unable to fully complete.

5. Bad word choices.

This one just never stops ... (more will be added about this in another chapter!)

6. Grammar rule!

"I" before "E", except after "C"!

7. Lacking motivation goals.

Remember, your character needs a goal to have motivation and build up tension in the story! A character being kidnapped's goal would be finding out who kidnapped them, if they're gonna call about a ransom, if anyone notices they're gone, ect. A character being hunted down has different goals depending on their personality. A brave character would illogically decide to find a way to defend themselves. Make traps, build weapons, and build a home secret base. A logical character would build a strategy for every time the person could be getting close. It might work and it might not, but it will build up into something strong in the future of the story.

8. Lacking tension.

When building tension it is important to make clear what every surrounding looks like and your main and secondary character's thoughts! Adding your personal experience can be helpful, as you're putting your character and the reader through an experience you've been through. Small things like 'heavy breathing', 'quick blinking', 'racing thoughts' and even doing things you or your character would never do builds fear and strong imagery.

9. An abnormally slow pacing.

Do remember that writing can go as slow, fast and normal as you want! But sometimes writing too much upon one scene bores a reader. Time does go by fast in stories when your character has time skip a lot through actions that would be slow in person. Letting your character's problems unfold throughought chapters are easiest when your main character is busy with something the reader would rather not read about, for the simple fact that it would bore them too much. Writing about how your secondary character got rid of a fear, accomplished a goal or even failed a goal is important to a sympathetic main character, or could be useless to a lack or moral compass typed main character, making negativity rise in their "friendship".

10. One character being active and the rest are being passive.

Every needs to be able to have a part in the current scene if they're there. If they're a third wheel in a date, they'd either be awkward and not say a lot but also be acknowledged. Focusing on that character is important, too! And if there is a character who is there during an argument then have them do something to get everyone's attention and be the bigger person while the others argue.

💫 xoxo, ro! 💫