How To Improve Your Writing

ATTENTION: I want to clear a thing before the beginning: me no published writer, me far from that. Me thank for reader consideration...um... I've written from experience (quite little).Don't laugh.

Introduction

Hello, reader. I'm willing to bet you came all the way here to find out a few interesting and helpful tips. Also, if you're reading this, there is certainly something wrong with you.

Your head hurts, your mind crawls through the deepest, darkest corners of the Imagination, trying to get the right set of ideas. You're surrounded by illusions, going nowhere. Realizing that it has been 4 hours since you struggle with a mere thought, you decide to leave it be. The next day, you come back, and plunge once again into the abyss of your mind, hoping...

And then, suddenly, it comes to you. The light, the invaluable light, unseen, hidden ... and you found it! Isn't it lovely? Oh, of course...it is, in fact, your idea, it represents you in a way, and IT wants you to write it down.

So, you sit on a table, in a chair, then lay down on the bed...then crawling on the carpet, afterwards climbing the walls, having 'one tiny little problem': you can't write anything!

OK, if you're a perfectionist like me, always in search of the best word, you know what I'm talking about. You've felt it too, haven't you? Do not despair, my friend, for this little tutorial will surely help you.

If you're a beginner, and don't know where to start writing good stuff, I bet this will help. It also contains some tips for a creation in progress...maybe you just stalled, who knows.

Remember, the tutorial is focused on fantasy when giving examples, but it tries to help everyone, especially if they don't need examples from their own genre.

General considerations

This tutorial is intended to help you write well, really well. You have to remember that it will not help you if in need of any ideas or plot construction tips. In this, you may want to search for help in other places. Try 'Basics of plotting' by Daryl Cooper (find it on FARP). I will try to help improve your style of writing.

We're going to start with a few exercises you might want to consider, then we will detail on four categories:

description

characterization

dialogue

action

since these are the main things that can make or break your style.

Tips

These exercises present two methods of writing. One of them is to write the scene spontaneously, after imagining it in your head, then return and polish it. The other one is what I call 'planned writing', which involves writing short, dull sentences that describe only the plot moments, then a coming back to add the details.

SECTION A - the exercises

1.1 Spontaneous writing

The first exercise consists in writing two to six hundred words about a given theme, making something like an elaborate scene. One thing you must respect, crucial for achieving the desired results: DO NOT read back what you've written only after you had finished it and had taken a brake of 10-15 minutes. This has got to be totally spontaneous. I'll explain why. By doing this, you'll find out your level of writing. After reading the entire piece, you will realize how good or bad it is. And thus you will set your level. Polishing counts a lot, I know, but a paragraph formed in dull, short sentences will be very hard to improve (I will add to this later). Plus, if you know your level, then it will be a lot easier to improve it.

If you can't manage to write well enough, please skip the first exercise and go on to the second.

It is also important to think at the scene for 5 minutes before actually writing it. It will come out much easier.

I strongly suggest reading other articles about description, dialogue and action before considering continuing (or at least check section B).

A. Beginners

We're going to split things up here and start on examples regarding dialogue.

Write 200 words in which you present this scene: a paladin enters a wizard's chamber. The wizard asks for the paladin's help, for he lost his beautiful daughter, who went scouring the Glaive Forest two days ago, searching a magical beast she wants to kill. The wizard is weakened, for he performed a healing ritual for his king, badly wounded in an artefact hunt.

I've given you all the motivations and all the details of the conversation. Try to limit at these, and write. Remember, totally spontaneous, without looking back more than three words. And do not cross the word limit. You are a beginner, right? Plus, getting yourself stuffed in details will surely distract you from your goal, which is dialogue. I also have an example, but it's larger, close to 450 words. Read and compare it with yours.

Let's try description. The rules are the same, only the theme differs. Try to describe a forest in 200-300 words. Use whatever image you can find buried in your imagination. Just write about the time of the day, the sun/moon/sky, trees and so on (not necessarily in this order). If this doesn't suit you, try a different theme, such as a mountain on a snowy day. You could try describing an elf castle, or an orc encampment, even a village, of hobbits if you want. You can limit your piece on only a room, or a house. But stick to landscapes and/or settlements, or something general you know of, don't start off inventing things. Remember, it is spontaneous.

I've made a special part for characterization, because it's something different that description. But it's easy to choose a theme. Think of a character, and describe him/her the way you want, in no more than 300 words.

And we left action for the last part. OK, we need a scenario here, too. I read this thing once, where a fighter is attacked in his room by three guys. He knocks two of them down somehow (and this is your part), but the third points his longbow at him, while standing in the doorstep. Before he got to shoot, a woman comes from the