I need your tips!

Be aware of using the same word over and over again. I, ironically, use the word seldom often. In the Rangers Apprentice series(I read part of it not to long ago and remembered the it after reading the post above), Flannigan said that "the sound carried" way to often.

Write with mood. I want to feel the humidity, the echo, the vibrations...

Develop your characters.

Build a world! I don't just want a terrible plot-line with a dude named Bob Williams II going through a series of events. I want an exciting plot-line with twists and a world around it. Bob should have a sexy wife and a kid with Telekinesis! A world should surround the plot and, if the world was reality, you could live in it.

Don't over-describe. I don't want a description of dialogue to be longer than the dialogue!

Write differently.

The more you confuse the reader by saying something that seems contradictory at face value could cause someone to think more about it, and the less you explain, the longer it stays with you(or makes you mad). I think Stephen King said something like that...

Some tips for ya!

1) Remember that a good plot is defined through depth, not accumulation.

2) Spread out character descriptions: when a writer devotes an entire page completely for the purpose of describing a character(s), it is extremely tedious for the reader.

3) Internal dialog is in most cases just as important as external dialog.

-Kafka

Share your work with someone. I didn't for a long time until I joined this website. Just keep in mind critiques are going to help, not hurt.
Megan S. America

--Begin with action - as long as you hook us and something is happening, we are willing to prolong our disbelief about the characters, the world, even the laws of physics. Do now; explain later. But do explain, eventually.

--Don't tell me that Maggie is scared; show me her strained eyes, her trembling voice, the encasing clouds above her, and the frozen sweat trapping her in her own body.

--Get to know your character inside out - what's her birthday, how did they celebrate, what holidays were special, why did she like them, did her parents like them, what's her favorite color and why, does she like or hate cheerleading and why, what's her favorite class, what does she normally wear, what's her favorite season, why does she hate her annoying neighbor, etc.? Get to know all the tiny, unimportant details about her that only you know about you, because even though you won't use a fraction of them, they will begin to pop up in your writing without any added effort on your part, and those little details will create the believability of your character, the effect that maybe, just maybe, that person is real, or they could be. Every reader, deep down, wants to believe that what they're reading is real.

Show, don't tell. NEVER use "then" to start a sentence in a chain of events. If your writing reverts to that word, look up words in the dictionary. Again, don't TELL me things; okay, I get that the main character's name is Kathy, but you didn't need to TELL me, you could have SHOWED me: dialogue or description besides a long rant would suffice.

Reading Material: On Writing by Stephen King, The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison (to give an idea of personal style, of course).

Zac H., Oklahoma, U.S. of A.

BEWARE OF EXCESS EXCLAMATION AND THE CAPS LOCK KEY, AFTER A WHILE IT LOSES IT'S FLARE!!!!!!

-Sarah, A small town no one has heard of

The top tips i have received from others are
1. Show not tell!!!
2. Learn form you mistakes and keep everything you write so you can someday go back to it.
3. NO Mary Sues

And that's all i can think of right now. I hoped I helped.

If you're stuck for a name, try deliberately misspelling a common noun. I'd have no objections to a wanderer named Weye.

Just make sure everything is authentic and comes from the heart-something from the soul is far and away superior than something that is "manufactured" for an audience or for success.
And also look for voices from our generation, (I don't actually know if you're from my generation) I'm sick of hearing the same old themes and such and the monotonous drum of supernatural stuff like Twilight and such.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY...

Don't sell out when your magazine is bigger than Time and Playboy and Sports Illustrated combined!

Make a brainstorm of each character before you start. You don't want them to start acting out of sorts for no reason.

Make the writing sound like you. Don't try to impress people and know what criticism is good for you and which you know isn't right. Everyone has their own writing style. Some prefer simple yet interesting writing, some like description more than plot, and some wouldn't settle for less than perfect. You be the judge on what you like, no one else.


Nicole B.
Utah, United States

If you are totally stuck for names, or just need a bit of inspiration, especially in fantasy, try visiting random name generators.
Two really cool ones are
Seventh Sanctum (makes characters and storylines and dragons and anything you can think of)
TheForge. I use it more for inspiration than actual name generating, but it has the coolest interface!!

learn the conventions of the genre you're writing for and experiment with them. however, some conventions will help keep your writing on course and enhance the experience for your reader. experimenting too much with these conventions leads to chaos, cue Twilight. playing with the conventions of vampires become...well, hated. and unrealistic. and irriting. enough said.

Charlotte H, England.

also, some of this reading material i approve. for example, "On Writing" and "The Book Thief".
i also think poetry is a wonderful source of inspiration. not clichéd, regurgitated, highly-structured rhyming stuff. a bit of free verse is good for the soul every now and again.