sorry, but i'm going against the 101 tips for writers in the resource section, which says, "Always know your ending before you start."
Whenever i write (at least if i have developed my charecters as well as i should), i sometimes find myself thinking that a story will go one way, and then i find out that the charecter would not LET it end that way, or they would do something else that would result in another ending. I believe (and so does Stephen King in "On Writing, a Memoir of the Craft," a great book definately worth reading) that your characters should determine the direction that the story goes.
So i guess my tip would be, "Listen to your characters!"
Ok, I'm not sure if someone already said this, but it's good advice (I guess), so it's worth rereading.
-always bring something to write with to the bookstore- or anywhere for that matter- because your all most guaranteed to get an idea at the spur of the moment.
I realized that I said I'd be gone for only two weeks...but I was gone for much longer.I hope to stay on this time.
Write your first draft with your heart. Re-write with your head.
Simple as that.
Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a bestseller that could have been prevented by a good teacher. ~Flannery O'Connor
Actually, this goes for all things but I've always put this full forced towards my writing. Because if you don't love what you write, how can you ever expect anyone else to love it either. That love has to stem from a passion towards your characters and your story.
Duffy -- "Watch out for Jesse, he wants what he can't have."
Emily -- "Oh boy, he can have me."
Duffy -- "Figures..."
I read that in our Lit. book. It's a quote from Ray Bradbury. I can't stand the things he writes ((haha, sorry)) but I like that quote from him. Also, I like,
"Just go with the flow".
That helped with my latest story, The Arms Dealer.
That tip has stuck with me since I read it four years ago. As a result: the untitleds, The Edge of Forever, Hail Mary, Azaleas for Susie, and For Diana.
Got YWS?
"Most of us have far more courage than we ever dreamed we possessed."
- Dale Carnegie
Sorry if someone already said this, but I think that even if you think you're crap now, all you can do is improve. You can't get worse. And with every draft you write, even the smallest one, is giving something to your writing experience.
no second thoughts, the knife is nearing you'll never hear the little pitter patter pitter patter
This might seem a bit odd, but when and if you talk to yourself, write the conversation down afterward. I've got many good lines by doing this. Okay, I don't always do that, but every once in a while.
One of the worst things I've done is this: After greatly inspired by an awesome book, you start to write a story that's so similar to it, you even use same names for characters. Wonder why I never finished the stories?
Hmm... Carry a notebook and a pen with you wherever you go. I know this has been said before, but it's such an important one it doesn't matter.
"Your jokes are scarier than your earrings." -Twit
"14. Pretend like you would want him even if he wasn't a prince. (Yeah, right.)" -How to Make a Guy Like You - Disney Princess Style
