Hey guys, welcome back to my blog! If this is your first time on my blog, or if you haven’t checked out my last few posts, here are parts one, two, and three of this series. (link posts) In this post, I will be telling you how to write a good story. Later on, I may create another post telling you how to write better non-fiction and informative-type prose. For now, I’m just going to start with this.
How to Start Yourself Off
A lot of people start their stories at the wrong time. Usually this involves being either too close or too far from the climax. For example, a while ago I tried to write this fantasy story about three kids who travelled into a new reality by accident. My problem when I wrote that story was that I started it and less than a page later it was at the climax. If I were to go back in time, the tip I would give myself would be to start the story a day before the characters are thrown into action, so the story can start off slow and get keep snowballing until it’s at full speed. This way it seems more natural.
How to Finish a Story
A lot of people don’t know how to end a story properly. Usually you want to close any loose ends. One way to make sure you’ve finished a plot line properly is to read over the story again and make sure there isn’t any “unfinished business” in there. Of course, if you’re planning on writing a sequel, you can have an unfinished plot line (though I recommend the only plot line you leave unfinished be the main one.) Other than that, just try to tie most if not all loose ends in your story.
How to Hook Readers
There are many ways to hook readers into your story. The first one doesn’t have quite as much to do with the actual writing. If you can, write a short summary but leave the reader on a cliffhanger. They will almost 100% come back for more. Another way is to separate parts of the story by chapters, and leave the readers on a cliffhanger after every chapter. In general, cliffhangers are great ways to bring in and keep readers with your story until the end. Yet another way is to stick to the storyline. This one seems obvious, but I have seen many times when a story completely strays from the main storyline/plot line. Make sure to check in every once in a while so that you don’t bring the story too far away from the main idea.
The End?
Those are just the three most common mistakes that people make when writing. Hopefully this helps!