advise for a beginner

[Tea is love]

i don't know if this belong here
hey! i want to try writing a story. do you have any advise for a beginner? for example: how to have a good story plot? how to make a great twist in the story? how to make your readers get excited or look forward for the next chapter of the story?
I also want to improve my sentences so if you have any tips or advise at all please tell me.

[I_Write_Ivre]

In theory, writing a good story is easy and only takes three thing: only write passionately; analyze everything as to why you like it, don't like it, and whether it works well as a story even if you don't like it; and take harsh criticism to heart and use it to improve your work.

It's hard to do these things right off the bat. You can't start looking deeply into things if you've never or barely thought about it at all. Its hard to develop a thick skin immediately.

To improve writing skills, keep writing. Pay attention to as many details no matter what you write; notes, memos, texts, whatever. The more you make it a habit, the easier it gets and the less you end up consciously thinking about it.

If you're stuck on how to analyze stuff, check out reviews by people at That Guy With the Glasses or SFDebris.com

[The Sauce Boss]

Write as much as you can and don't be afraid to throw out terrible portions regardless of how large.

[I_Write_Ivre]

The Sauce Boss

Write as much as you can and don't be afraid to throw out terrible portions regardless of how large.

But don't be afraid to write those parts either. Even if all you gained was that something sucked, you can use WHY it sucked to your advantage.

[The Sauce Boss]

I_Write_Ivre

The Sauce Boss

Write as much as you can and don't be afraid to throw out terrible portions regardless of how large.

But don't be afraid to write those parts either. Even if all you gained was that something sucked, you can use WHY it sucked to your advantage.

Keeping an old manuscript is a great motivator to not suck. I cringe at 11 year old me's writing...

[Maltese_Falcon91]

Tea is love

hey! i want to try writing a story. do you have any advise for a beginner? for example: how to have a good story plot? how to make a great twist in the story? how to make your readers get excited or look forward for the next chapter of the story?
I also want to improve my sentences so if you have any tips or advise at all please tell me.

Your first step should be to study formatting and grammar. You can have the greatest plot ever envisioned by man, and the most beautiful and creative twists possible, but your readers aren't going to be invested in the story if they can't actually read the thing.

[Kairi Nightingale]

Reading a lot of books will help you pick up a few things about good and bad writing as well as introduce you to different genres and styles. Try out a wide variety of authors and types of works to figure out what you like, what you don't like, what works, and what doesn't. Then try to use that in your writing. You can also see if your favorite authors have a writing blog where they share their writing process and post tips and advice to aspiring writers.

But no matter how much you read about writing, you'll still need to practice. Set up a routine and experiment to see what conditions you tend to like writing in most. There will be days where you don't feel like writing at all, but try to push out at least a paragraph or a few sentences anyway.

Here are some links that you may find useful:

Grammarbook.com
25 ways to Plot, Plan, and Prep Your Story
Writers Digest

[Lady Vizsla]

10 Tips For Beginning Writers

[LadySnark]

1. Read a lot: And I really mean a lot. Read anything and everything, but particularly things in the genre you are invested in. If you want to write sci-fi, it won't suite you as much to read mystery. You'll always learn something regardless of what you are reading, but its important to focus on your genre so that you know how the field is worked by other writers. Still, don't entirely rule out other genres either.

2. Write a lot: Again, I mean a lot. Practice makes perfect, right? The more you write, the more you'll learn each time. Write whatever you feel like. Fanfiction, flash fiction, short stories, novellas, novels, maybe even a series. The shorter ones are better for beginners because they are shorter and force you to really focus on writing. Longer stories allow for practice in plot and character development. Everything has its uses. Just choose which one is right for you and stick with it until its done, even if its garbage, its easier to work with a completed pile of garbage than an uncompleted pile.

3. Have Courage: And by that, I mean have courage to suck. Your first work will probably suck. As might the one after that and the one after that and the one after that. Take it in stride and resist the urge to give up and throw it aside. Just because your writing is bad now does not mean it will be bad tomorrow. Have the courage to allow yourself to grow with each failure and to consider all forms of criticism, even the harsh ones, as steps towards a better piece.

Naturally, my three rules in no way encompass the entirety of writing, but this is a good place to start. Once you have a little more experience you can broaden your focus to include all the other rules, but for now I think its important to stick to these three. It keeps you from losing focus and getting lost in the realm of editing.

[SebastiansLittleDoll]

Practice. 3nodding You're not gonna be a genius writer the first time you write something, but if you practice, you'll get better, and writing itself can get easier.

[FakeSatyre]

for now? just start writing. get it all down. then start thinking about where you should put plot twists, and how to improve sentences. writing is a continuous learning process, so it's best to just dive in and see where things take you. as long as you keep learning and be patient with yourself, you will improve. but being patient means letting your first drafts suck, so just go with it. write, man.
also, read. especially the kind of stories you'd like to write. that's part of the learning process, too.

[The Phoenix Rises Again]

Think Writing and reading won't get you anywhere if you don't think about what you're doing, why you like it, why it works

Do All your research and reading and planning won't amount to anything if you don't put stuff on paper or a computer constantly. The best part of writing is that you can write utter crap and fix it later, unlike a lot of other mediums.

Enjoy Are you enjoying writing? Enjoying reading? Enjoying editing? Enjoying researching?
If not, stop. A lot of writing is frustration and like most of your life, you'll have to work hard to get anywhere in life, but that also like a lot of life, you should find a way to keep yourself going, but not going insane. Find a way to enjoy your work or how to get around it, while still getting great results.

[irideae]

Practice, practice, practice. Even if all you ever write is terrible, the only thing that matters is putting words on paper.

[The_jackalopexX]

Visualize before you put fingers to keys or pen to paper. When you're writing AS you're brainstorming, it makes the work become messy cause, One moment you think up this crazy plot twist then when you're writing it down, you immediately think up another which has similar aspects and write that down too, not realizing that you're being confusing. it's good to think out everything you desire to happen, how it happens, when and where THEN write it down. Cause remember, just becuase you understand it, doesn't mean someone else who has never read your work before will.

heart

[I_Write_Ivre]

When critique points out holes or asks questions, it means 'you can do more and be better'. Do not answer them with 'I'd rather do less'.