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Any writing tips?

Posted by Gray

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Forum: Writing and Poetry

I've been working on a fic recently since it's been years since I've actually tried to write my own, and I'm having some trouble with making everything sound right. I'm not too stressed about it as of yet, I'm still just getting started and I'm letting the first draft be whatever it ends up being, however, writing tips are always a big help.

I have a lot of issues with telling instead of showing if that makes sense. I need to add more descriptions and explaining how characters feel, but I tend to just quickly move things along for fear of being overly descriptive or going off on tangents.

Any tips on these issues or any other writing advice you'd like to share?


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Reply by Richie

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I would recommend to picture the scene you’re writing in your head and describe what’s important to the scene. For example if the characters are in a cafe picture a cafe and the most important things, describe the chairs, the decor, if there’s other people in the cafe make note of it even if it’s just “a girl is sitting alone in the corner her face so close to her laptop she could get sucked into it”. It makes it easier for the reader to picture the scene and it’s good to have a description of the background of the scene. When describing characters make it so you have enough understanding of the character that if you were to later point out something about the character that they’re recognisable from that ,ex. make a point to describe their eyes, their hair, a unique fashion choice such as a hair clip or a ribbon. This way of character A sees character B out in the street you don’t have to write “character A saw character B waiting at the bus stop in the rain” but you could write “character A noticed a light grey sweater out of the corner of his eye “CHARACTER B! HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT IN THE RAIN!””


I’m not sure if that’ll be much help but if you ever need a proof reader i’d be more than happy to help you out, just shoot a message and let me know and i’ll give you my discord !!


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Reply by silverlight

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It's great that you're letting your first draft flow freely! When it comes to "showing" instead of "telling," try focusing on the characters' actions and surroundings to express emotions. For instance, instead of saying "he was angry," describe how he slammed the door or his face turned red. To help with not being overly descriptive, you could use an article rewriter tool. It can help you find different ways to express the same idea concisely, keeping your story moving without losing depth.


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