The Anti-Guide

How do you try to improve your writing?

I try to avoid old, stupid things.	17.5%	[ 2370 ]
I add new things.	14.7%	[ 1993 ]
A combination of both (if one more than the other, pick it).	67.8%	[ 9169 ]
Total Votes:			[ 13532 ]

[Moral Gutpunch]

It's not like people THINK a winged person would be an angel or demon based on their appearance and named them such. People don't think like that.

[Sir Icehawk]

Actually, mentioning wings in a story will only make your reader hungry.

Also, it's a good idea to always include a long boring section at the front of your stories. Have to ease the reader into it. Take your time with it. Who cares if no one has any idea what's going on until page 69.

[Misuki Marishima]

Being descriptive about everything really pays off. From the specks of dust floating around in your room to the bright, blue glow of your monitor as you read these words upon this thread in a forum called Gaia Online, all must be described in every single bit of minute detail, from the amount of pixels in the very avatar that is posting this...

Okay, I'm done now.

XD

[The Phoenix Rises Again]

Sir Icehawk

Actually, mentioning wings in a story will only make your reader hungry.

Also, it's a good idea to always include a long boring section at the front of your stories. Have to ease the reader into it. Take your time with it. Who cares if no one has any idea what's going on until page 69.

Exactly. People will spend a hundred pages just to figure out where everything is taking place. All you need is action and foreshadowing for the first half of your book.

[the hidden ghost]

The only feminists that exist are the man hating kind. The ones that get offended at the word "mankind", the ones that spell "woman" as "womyn", the ones who look down on women who chose to stay home and have kids, and the ones who see themselves as vastly superior to men in every way and think women should take over running things. They will inevitably be the bad guys in your story.

Unless it's a feminist story, talking about how evil ALL men are.

There is no such thing as a reasonable feminist who just wants equality.

[The Phoenix Rises Again]

the hidden ghost

The only feminists that exist are the man hating kind. The ones that get offended at the word "mankind", the ones that spell "woman" as "womyn", the ones who look down on women who chose to stay home and have kids, and the ones who see themselves as vastly superior to men in every way and think women should take over running things. They will inevitably be the bad guys in your story.

Unless it's a feminist story, talking about how evil ALL men are.

There is no such thing as a reasonable feminist who just wants equality.

Either way, no man agrees to equality.

[marshmallowcreampie]

Sadira Commands you

It's not like people THINK a winged person would be an angel or demon based on their appearance and named them such. People don't think like that.

It's not like any creatures considered mythical, when they are, in fact, real, in your story universe could've influenced art or culture or religion in any way!

((Right now I'm making a story where the main character is of a race of winged people. He ends up in our world and many people believe he's an angel. (although everyone in the story at that point is aruging about it rofl ) Because it turns out, his species was once more common in our world and influenced many depictions of angels, and possibly demons and other creatures, partially due to the fact that many have special healing or fire-related powers.))

When your mythical creature is exposed in the human world, everyone will know exactly what s/he is regardless of how close your creature is to the convetional/traditonal beliefs, or even if the creature is made up entirely and the fact that they are a fictional species in the story universe isn't even mentioned until then. People will totally recognize a sparkly, superpowered person as a vampire, or a purple flying fire-breathing dolphin as a unicorn!

[The Phoenix Rises Again]

Never mix mythologies or have a point to a debate as to whether it is or isn't. You're not going to make people think if you give them two opposing opinions and don't tell the readers which one is correct.

((Some of my vampires have wings, yet any faith hurts them. There is constant debate as to whether they are angels, fallen included.))

[1upMushroomCloud]

The Phoenix Rises Again

Never mix mythologies or have a point to a debate as to whether it is or isn't. You're not going to make people think if you give them two opposing opinions and don't tell the readers which one is correct.

((Some of my vampires have wings, yet any faith hurts them. There is constant debate as to whether they are angels, fallen included.))

((Best alteration to Vampiric lore I have ever seen. Well done. ^w^ Tipped))

Never in a fantasy story is there a mythical creature that exists, but large amounts of people actually deny that they even do. For example, no in-world religion will ever deny the existence of a creature with magical abilities because it wants to dissuade people from seeking to perform magic which is considered a harmful practice or a form a heresy. ((Interestingly, for all the Christian witch-hunts, the Catholic Church denied the existence of witches because belief in witchcraft was seen as a superstitious pagan attitude that was seen as incompatible with the Gospel))

[Clare_N]

Everyone loves it when you give your story a pretentious title that has little (if anything) to do with the plot. Or when you name the story after your favourite song, again without any relevance to the storyline.

[DarknessofHeavenandDreams]

If your race of people has brown skin, name them darkies. ((I still can't believe this was suggested by a teacher))

[Mysterin]

Google "My Immortal fanfiction". That s**t is legit to make you a better equipped writer.

Your MC is always the hero. ALWAYS. If his friend's uncle's brother's stepson's neighbor's aunt's best friend's cousin is in a prison cell, he will ALWAYS think of a way to bust them out.

Speaking of wings, they only consist of feathers. Feather's are easily the most flawless attribute to flying.

When dealing with traveling into other dimensions, the citizens there are always ugly monster-people. Look like us humans? That s**t is ridiculous!

The south only breeds rednecks. Rednecks and rape.

[The Phoenix Rises Again]

'Creole' is just a cool name for a kid, nothing more.

[marshmallowcreampie]

Clare_N

Everyone loves it when you give your story a pretentious title that has little (if anything) to do with the plot. Or when you name the story after your favourite song, again without any relevance to the storyline.

Ya, just give it a name that sounds cool. Titles don't have to be relevant to the story or anything. Titles are the first thing that attracts readers, and it's not like you can have a cool title that's actually RELEVANT to the plot!

Also, if you have a vampire or werewolf novel, put words like "blood", "crimson", "red", "moon", or "night" into the title. That automatically makes it relevant to the story!

[The Phoenix Rises Again]

marshmallowcreampie

Clare_N

Everyone loves it when you give your story a pretentious title that has little (if anything) to do with the plot. Or when you name the story after your favourite song, again without any relevance to the storyline.

Ya, just give it a name that sounds cool. Titles don't have to be relevant to the story or anything. Titles are the first thing that attracts readers, and it's not like you can have a cool title that's actually RELEVANT to the plot!

Also, if you have a vampire or werewolf novel, put words like "blood", "crimson", "red", "moon", or "night" into the title. That automatically makes it relevant to the story!

This is because the title has such a big impact on the story.