Administrator AquilaTempestas Posted August 18, 2015 Administrator Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 The Do's and Don'ts of writing! List your tips that every writer should be aware of! DOs Do be sure to spell check DONTs Don't be a troll! Don't write what everyone else is writing - find your own voice Add yours! Stubborn Saber 1 Quote Link to comment
Stubborn Saber Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 My does and don'ts are: Dos: Have fun with what you're writing. If you're up for a challenge try writing with topics you feel you struggle with, it could help you with future stories. Accept constructive criticism. Don'ts: Force yourself to write, you'll think it's a mess and you won't like the end result. Jumble everything together in one massive block of text, use paragraphs to separate dialog from text and appropriately split text into nicely sized paragraphs. Bother feeding and getting into a internet war with a troll, they get joy from watching your misery. Quote Link to comment
StormyAmethyst Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 Do: Have fun, of course! Walk away from the masterpiece for a while if you're really stuck--you may come back inspired! Read/Watch/Play other works in the genre you are trying to write--both good and bad, so you also know what to do well, and what NOT to do. Write what YOU want to write, no matter how harebrained and off the wall it is. Listen to constructive criticism Give constructive feedback to your fellow writers Respond to requests in a timely manner Admit and accept you don't know everything about writing--there's always room to improve Write what you know, and research what you don't--this way you SOUND like you know what you're talking about Don't: Put down other writers Feed the trolls Completely trash another writer's work Forget to spell and grammar check Throw stuff in the story just because Play too many cliches straight--dare to subvert, invert, avert, and play with them too Write too many Mary Sues/Gary Stus--give your characters realistic flaws, fears, and regrets Overdo the angst/swear words. Done well, it can make a powerful scene, but too much will turn the readers off Sakura Alexia 1 Quote Link to comment
SilveryMoonShadow Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 Do Leave honest reviews Research Know where to draw the line on information. Too much looks stupid, and too little looks lazy Don't Leave nice reviews just for the sake of being kind Forget to thank your readers MasKaiHilFantic 1 Quote Link to comment
yewonthetrashcan Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 DOS: - Be descriptive. A good way to get the reader into a story is to help them visualise what is happening. - Develop your characters. A story with flat characters is boring. - For fanfics: Try to stick to canon, but don't be afraid to experiment! - If you notice that no one has written about something that people seem to want, WRITE ABOUT IT! DONTS: - Copy people's ideas in ANY way. - confuse your reader with too much. Try to leave explanations if you can in author's notes, or the notes section in AO3. - As a reviewer, do NOT express anger just because something you wanted to happen didn't happen. Write about that yourself instead! MasKaiHilFantic 1 Quote Link to comment
MasKaiHilFantic Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 Do... Be sure to write what you want Write in your own style Write about the couples you like Also try once to write things you do not like, it may be tough, but it can be challenging, and challenging is fun Write for someone you like, or you care about. Write as a gift or a thank-you Write when you feel like it Take good suggestions given by your readers, they always help Some research does not hurt Use some new words you learn Learn new words from others' writings Take notes from others' criticisms, positive notes that is. Be inspired from things, be it other fandoms, manga, comics, TV, music, books, pictures and images etc. Do not... Fuss over negative comments Overdo stuff Be too descriptive Be too mysterious Write too much third person view Abandon your fandoms completely in favor of do no.3 Overdo lemon scenes Be afraid to take criticisms, even negative one Take too much time in writing, write as soon as possible. Quote Link to comment
pyrosocks Posted November 10, 2016 Report Share Posted November 10, 2016 do whatever you want but make sure your reasoning for it is bullet-proof. Be unapologetic about your content but learn to take criticism. Create content you would read. Have fun! don't forget that no one's entitled to read your work and don't let that bother you if you don't have a lot of readers/reviewers be afraid of trial and error or if you feel like something is imperfect, succumb to self-depreciation. listen to people who say that "art is made out of madness" MasKaiHilFantic 1 Quote Link to comment
Laggy Posted November 10, 2016 Report Share Posted November 10, 2016 -Do Be logical Understand the limits of your characters Let the romance be slow and well developed Sneak in a few light moments here and there if possible Maintain the overall theme Maintain immersion Have adequate descriptions Proofread and have it beta-read Fact check -Don't Make the romance too quick and sudden Break immersion Leave important details out Have your typical Mary Sues and Gary Stus Be lazy Be afraid to kill main characters Quote Link to comment
Administrator AquilaTempestas Posted November 10, 2016 Author Administrator Report Share Posted November 10, 2016 Mine is simple. Do write the story you want to tell Don't write the story others want you to write Laggy, MasKaiHilFantic and Lady Mechanika 3 Quote Link to comment
Beywriter Posted November 25, 2016 Report Share Posted November 25, 2016 DO Write what you know Research (if needed to add realism) If you don't know, look it up Seconded: Use Spell Checker Try and get a BETA reader to assist and give opinions before going live Try and make it belivable/logical Try to make plot notes DONT Write poorly constructed sentances/sentances that don't flow properly Too long paragraphs Forget soft and hard returns (resulting in a huge colossal wall of text) Steal other author's works Upload stories full of gramatical and spelling errors Write Author's notes halfway through a story - Authors don't do this and it really breaks the flow. I think its against the rules on ff.net -A hard return is pressing enter starting a new paragraph, A soft return is pressing shift enter starting a new line which ff.net requires and here for that matter. Laggy 1 Quote Link to comment
Administrator AquilaTempestas Posted March 15, 2018 Author Administrator Report Share Posted March 15, 2018 Instead of having this thread die after several replies, I figured it would be better if we share a tip a day (per person naturally). Since most of us are writers here, I think it would be quite useful to compile a Tazland guide on writing to help others. So my tip for today is simply: Write what you would want to read. Quote Link to comment
congresscrab Posted March 15, 2018 Report Share Posted March 15, 2018 If you want to better your writing, read more. Quote Link to comment
MasKaiHilFantic Posted March 15, 2018 Report Share Posted March 15, 2018 The best way for me to write now-a-days is to write whatever idea I have in my mind, be it 'original' or not. If an idea hasn't been done by you, then it's still original. Quote Link to comment
onewiththewheels Posted March 15, 2018 Report Share Posted March 15, 2018 As simple as it sounds, make sure to edit your work before posting. If you don't feel like you're able to do this, find someone who can. Particularly true when it comes to grammar. Quote Link to comment
Administrator AquilaTempestas Posted March 16, 2018 Author Administrator Report Share Posted March 16, 2018 You can't please everyone. Some people are just going to find your work boring. No. That doesn't mean your writing is actually boring - it's boring to some people, not everyone. Don't get disheartened. MasKaiHilFantic 1 Quote Link to comment
onewiththewheels Posted March 16, 2018 Report Share Posted March 16, 2018 Show, don't tell. Figure this simple rule out, and the writing will come alive. Quote Link to comment
MasKaiHilFantic Posted March 16, 2018 Report Share Posted March 16, 2018 Don't be scared to ask for help, and don't sell yourself short either. FishSlayer 1 Quote Link to comment
onewiththewheels Posted March 17, 2018 Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 Research, research, research. Nothing ruins a piece more than a badly researched setting. Of course, minor mistakes or things changing are fine, but a nonsensical plot is not. Quote Link to comment
belmakori Posted March 17, 2018 Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 Always use a spell checker...most writing programs come with one... MasKaiHilFantic 1 Quote Link to comment
Administrator AquilaTempestas Posted March 17, 2018 Author Administrator Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 Write what you yourself would want to read. At least you'll be interested in it. FishSlayer 1 Quote Link to comment
onewiththewheels Posted March 18, 2018 Report Share Posted March 18, 2018 The comma is not the new period, people. Remember that and you'll go far in life. Quote Link to comment
aikotters Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 Acknowledge your writing will not always be amazing. Quote Link to comment
VectorLogic Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 Keep things as simple as possible. Twists and turns are okay, but a lot can divert a lot of readers away from it. (Side note, keep them relevant to the plot, it'll help you stay away from resorting to deus ex machina.) Quote Link to comment
onewiththewheels Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 Going to post two here because I was supposed to post one yesterday but forgot: From yesterday: Be careful of redundant information. Detail is great, but there's a limit to what it can do. For today: If you are going to do a complex story, make sure to keep track of your own rules and characters. Make it so that readers can too. Quote Link to comment
onewiththewheels Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 Don't have someone die just for the sake of dying. If the character does not need die to achieve something in the plot, leave them alive. Quote Link to comment
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