I'm having trouble writing my story. Any writing tips?

7 Comments

1. CaptDare says:

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   Do you have an outline? Do you know where the story is going?

   Try this: figure out who your main character is. Figure out how that main character is going to change through your story. That is character development. As you write, keep that in mind. Don’t worry about symbolic meaning. Don’t worry about your message. The message will be there – because you do have a point of view and will probably come out through your main character and what happens to him/her.

   What is the main conflict in the story? Why did you pick that particular conflict? How you resolve that conflict will play into the "message" of your story.

   Try sitting down and deciding how you want the story to end – what things have to happen, who has to do what, and how the characters change. Make an outline, IF you think it will help. Some people are not helped by outlines.

   Don’t worry about the "message." It will come, and it will be there.
2. aidea says:

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   first off, most fiction stories dont have messages. We the readers, take in what we think could be a message. Second of all- dont worry so much if no one is ever inspired by something you write. I mean its a great thing… but it doesnt always happen. You write because you want too, not because of someone else. At least thats what most writers have to learn at some point.

   I would suggest that you just write. Write for you, and always just write. Keep a copy of everything, so you can look back and see how your writing is changing in your life. Try keeping a journal too.
3. Snuffles ッ says:

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   Look at the best answer for this question http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AsovfUuUhud2Bbnd5T0teDvsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080106221839AARaM2N

   It is very helpful!
4. k_corn says:

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   Maybe your story is not meant to be for others to read maybe its an exploration of who you are. Also, in cases where I don’t know where to go with an essay or story I find a quiet place and do a free write and just write whatever you think, eventually you will get somewhere. If you are having trouble "finding your true self" writing is probably something you should do often. When thoughts are organized properly you can analyze the thoughts or events and it might help you begin to notice attributes of yourself. Beings that you are only 14 I wouldn’t worry about finding yourself right away that’s what life is about, having new experiences, and learning about yourself along the way. People change easily, and sometimes we just need to be open to change rather than thinking we have found ourselves.
5. TL says:

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   Oh,Cookie…
   1st.Stop beating yourself up.Fear of writing is what you’ve got and not necessarily writer’s block.The reason,I think,why you’re having trouble is because you put the cart before the horse,so to speak.Writing a novel(as opposed to s short story)are almost completly different animals.One,by virtue of it’s name,forces the author to"write tight" in other words,getting your point across with an economy of words.Now, writing a novel means you’re working on a much larger canvas,hopefully multi-layered with a through-line from beggining to end.Any story has to have a beggining,middle and end,so I would suggest writing a rough draft of the entire story.Get it down on paper,then it won’t be quite so overwhelming.Who is your main character and what does he or she want?Take,"The Wizard of Oz"for instance.What does Dorothy want more than anything?To go home,of course.And,what’s stopping her from achieving her aim?Well,there’s the distance she has to travel(literally and figuratively,because her journey is two-fold,she has to do a bit of growing up to realize that"Happiness can be found in your own backyardThen of course,there’s The Wicked Witch of The West who stands in Dorothy’s way in achieving her goal.That’s tension and that’s one of the elements that makes the story(both on film and on paper)so compelling.All good stories have tension in the resolution of conflict.The writer(L Frank Baum)makes us care about the characters.That’s what you need to do as a story-teller.Why not use a trick I found to be helpful.I write down important plot points on color-coded cards(look in the staionary dept.) that’ll help you keep track of who’s doing what and where,and how and why and save you a lot of time reading back over what you’ve already written(save that for the inevitable revisions you’ll do)In terms of the action in the story,don’t tell the reader what’s happening,show them,in dialogue.Let your characters do the talking.Try to avoid the pitfall of thinking tht EVERY WORD you set down is written in stone,it’s not,so don’t tie your hands.If a phrase,sentance or paragraph doesn’t move the plot foreward,no matter how clever it is,out it goes! It’s your baby,but you have to teach it how to walk.!
   Try my suggestions before you throw up your hands and see if they work for you.Remember,you’re only 14 and you’ve got the world ahead of you,so don’t give up!
   Good Luck!
   TL
6. loryntoo says:

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   First of all you need to decide who your main character is. What does she want? Where is she? What is her family like? If she doesn’t have or doesn’t remember a family, why?

   What does she look like? Who is her best friend? What is going to happen to her?

   Get to know your main character first. You’ll also need to define the rules of magic for your story, too. I suggest you pick up two books by Orson Scott Card. One is CHARACTERS & VIEWPOINT. The other is "How to Write Fantasy & Science Fiction. " Both are great books.
7. james p says:

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   There are some fun exercises for writing that may help you.
   Try this one:
   Make a list of all the characters you have so far.
   Then, write a short story about each one telling what they did the day before your main story begins, and make each one from that character’s point of view. Remember, the bad guys usually don’t think of themselves as bad.

   I am starting work on my second novel. I will not write even one scene until I get the characters defined. So far, I have created a timeline going back to when my main character’s grandparents were born. This shows how his family developed; where his culture and attitudes came from; what emotional baggage he’s got; what relationships are in his past; etc.
   It also shows these things for a lot of others who are in the story, like his parents and sisters, in-laws, enemies, etc.
   I also wrote a character description of his father, and next I will do one for his mother, sisters, and for him, complete with backstory to show who they are and how they got that way.

   By the time I start the actual manuscript, I won’t get stuck wondering "Hm….what would they do or say at this point?" because I will know the characters so well, I will already know what they would do.
   When I wrote my first novel I found that with lots of preparation: backstory, timelines, character profiles, maps, etc. the story almost writes itself….it’s as if all of the ideas were quietly brewing in my subconscious while doing the research.
   Besides, it’s part of the fun of creating a fictional world.

   You don’t have to include all (or any) of your backstory in your book, it’s just to help you know who you’re writing about before you begin.

   Best wishes,
   James