Writing Tips

Writing Tips from MaryAnn Easley

1. Don’t start at the beginning. Start when the action begins. Write your story scene by scene and make your opening scene important enough and interesting enough so that the reader will continue reading. Plan your story scene by scene like a movie. Every scene should move your story forward.

2. Characters rule! Know your protagonist or main character as well as you know yourself. Don’t write about someone older than you are. Write about someone your own age or younger. Develop your character. Know how your character looks, acts, and talks. Show, don’t tell. Dialogue and action tell more about your character than description. Who your character is and how your character acts determines the plot.

3. Don’t end at the ending. End when the story is over. In other words, stop after the treasure is found or the people are united or the protagonist is rescued. Don’t write on and on over explaining what happened.

4. Remember that the rough draft is really rough. It is trash, no good at all. The first time you write a story is simply to get your ideas down on paper. Once you have that chunk of clay, the real writing begins. You must rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. Each time you rewrite a story, the story gets better. Rewrite to develop the characters, to make sure they talk like themselves and act the way they should based on their strengths and weaknesses. No two characters should talk the same way. One might talk in short, clipped sentences; another might use a lot of slang. No two characters react the same way to something that happens either. One character might scream; another character might not be able to utter a sound. One character might be able to dive in a save a drowning victim; another might faint. Rewrite again to make sure each scene moves the story forward. There should be a reason for everything a character says or does and a reason for every bit of action. Rewrite again to make sure you aren’t repeating yourself and to make sure you haven’t left anything out. The story has to make sense from beginning to end. When in doubt, throw it out, not the whole story, just that extra unnecessary scene or a useless character, or dialogue that just doesn’t sound true.

5. Use descriptive language, but don’t overdo it. A few good adjectives are fine but don’t litter the page with too many. Use action verbs. Choose your adjectives and verbs carefully.

6. Research the name of your main character or protagonist. The character’s name tells a lot about him or her. Know your character’s first, middle, and last name. Know your character’s nickname, too. How does the protagonist’s grandmother refer to him or her? The teacher? Friends? Worst enemy?

7. Don’t model your character after just one person. Make it a combination of people you know. A reader should not recognize the character as someone in your crowd either by name or description.

8. Set your story aside for awhile and then go back and reread it aloud. You will find things you will want to change.

9. Check the title of the story. Now that it is finished, does the title still fit or can you think of a better title?

10. Proofread your story. Check grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

HOME | BOOKS | ABOUT