Writing a Story for Dummies

Dedication

        As unbelievable as it sounds, it can be extremely difficult to stay dedicated to a story. Stories require a lot of time and effort to write, so completing them is often very challenging. Dedication is an extremely important trait for a writer to have. Without it, the temptation to leave a perfectly good story unfinished can overwhelm the writer.

        This problem isn’t obvious at first. When someone decides to start writing a story, they are almost always eager and excited. The thrill of expanding upon an interesting plot idea is often intoxicating during the first few chapters of a story. Everything seems so full of the potential to amaze readers that the writer faces few troubles with finding the urge to continue the story for a while.

        Usually, the author begins to grow a bit weary once the get close to the middle of the work. By that point, the excitement of starting a new work has worn off and the story’s end is still pretty far away. Being in the middle of writing a story is like being stranded in the middle of the ocean: both where you came from and where you’re going seem so distant that hopelessness threatens to set in. Dedication is absolutely vital at this point in the writing process. Without it, the story can easily wither away and die.

        Fear not. There are many ways you can fight off the temptation to abandon a story. In order to stay dedicated, it is a good idea to make a schedule that you can stick to. Make sure you set aside some time every day to focus on your writing. Even if you just take the time to look over a chapter for grammatical issues you will still be keeping the story fresh in your mind. Making any progress towards perfecting your work will make you feeling proud of what you have accomplished and will inspire you to keep on improving your writing. However, be careful how much time you spend editing when you are writing your first draft. It can be a huge time sink if you keep editing the same part over and over again. Instead, set deadlines for each chapter to be completed by. You will have plenty of time to edit your finished first draft later.  

        Schedules can be tough to stick to at times, so it’s a good idea to have a few tricks to get you motivated. Rewarding yourself for a job well done certainly couldn’t hurt. Personally, I usually end up eating some chocolate after doing some writing. That might not work for you, but there are plenty of things out there that can serve as good rewards. For example, you could go see a movie if you stick to your schedule for a week. Incentives like that will make it a lot more enjoyable for you to write on a regular basis.

        Planning out your plot well in advance can also be a huge help. A plot plan is basically your guide to what will happen in the story. Without one, you will be going in blind. I understand that not everyone enjoys making detailed plot outlines. That’s okay. Your plan can be as simple or complex as you want it to be as long as it helps you keep track of what’s happening in your story. The first thing I do when I get an idea for a story is to make a bulleted list with two to three sentence descriptions of what happens in each chapter. I might edit that list later, but at list it will keep me from going off on tangents that take attention away from the main plot. Losing your focus is an easy way to lose interest in continuing the story.

        Plans are great for keeping a story on track, but they aren’t quite the most effective tool a writer can use to resist the urge to abandon a story. The best way to keep yourself dedicated to a story is to become invested in the characters. Think about how much they mean to you. You’ve bothered to create them out of nothing specifically for your story. Certainly they must mean something to you. There are many trails waiting for them throughout your story. If you don’t write about them, those characters will cease to exist. Without a finished story to give them life, they will vanish. You will eventually forget about them. Potential readers will be denied the chance to meet them or to know them. 

        If you don’t become invested in your characters, there is absolutely no reason for your work to even be started, much less completed. You are their creator. Without you, they wouldn’t exist at all. If you only see them as words on a page instead of meaningful characters whose lives you have the honor to guide, then there is no hope for your story. Readers don’t just want to see characters as fictional beings who are title more than clusters of words. They want to have their hearts and minds deeply affected by these fictional beings. If you don’t care enough to dedicate yourself to these characters and to pour as much effort as you can into their stories, then nobody will bother to read your work. By dedicating yourself to your characters, you will feel driven to complete your story. When you have doubts about your story, remember that your characters, as amazing and inspirational as they may be, are relying on you to give them life through your writing.

        Writing a story is a labor of love. Your dedication will be tested repeatedly. Sometimes the ending of your story will seem as distant as Pluto. I’m not saying the journey will be easy. If anything, it will be long and difficult. Those who lack dedication should turn back before they try to torture a story out of themselves. The wonderful art of story writing is not for the faint of heart. It will take countless hours of fierce determination and dedication to reach your goal. No matter how hopeless your quest may seem, remember that your characters are depending on you. They will face this arduous journey with you one sentence at a time.