As a book writer, I write tones of fictional books. Actually, only fictional books. I mean, sure there are hints in there that are common in happening, but let’s be real: I doubt any mythical being or powers will be considered ‘normal.’ In any case, I’ve got some tips, or well rules, for those who want to start writing fiction as well. So, feast yourself and thank me later 😉
1. Weather
It’s wise to never start a story with what the weather looks like. Say it’s only to create atmosphere, you don’t want to go on too long. If you’d really want to include it, let it be a character’s reaction to the weather.
2. Use said
It’s wise to not use any other verb than ‘said.’ As the line of dialogue belongs to the character anyway. Say your character is lying, it’s better to put it like this: ‘I didn’t cheat on you’, says Vera to Ben. She was lying. This, instead of: ‘I didn’t cheat on you’, Vera lies.
3. Exclamation points
Keep them under control. You’re not allowed to use more than two or three per 100,000 words.
4. Use one dialect
If you write in British, you should write the entire thing in English. Don’t throw in any other dialects of the English language. Same goes for when you write American. Just stick to the American usage of words.
5. Avoid detailed character descriptions
If you want to describe someone, the way they’re looking or what they’re wearing, literally all you need is something like this: ‘she had taken off her hat and put it on the table.’ There, we know she wears a hat.
6. Don’t use great detail
For describing places and objects. It’s enough to briefly tell details about a certain building. You don’t want those descriptions to cause the action or flow of the story to be interrupted.
7. Avoid words as suddenly or all hell broke loose
Those who do use this, tend to exercise less control while working with the exclamation points.
Do you have some ‘writing fiction rules’ of your own to add?
Love, Deem ❤
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Thanks for the tips, I used to do some of these mistakes
If you can help me , what can be used in place of “suddenly”??
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You could use: in an instant, straight away, abruptly, immediately, all at once etc.
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My main rule is that for every popular rule coined by a famous author, there’s always another who’d broken that rule and found great success. So I take most tips with a grain of salt. There’s one rule I follow to the tee and never break though, and that’s: write every day.
Thanks for sharing this post!
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I couldn’t agree more with you. Some mistakes are owned by awesome authors and it suits the story. So you got the right mindset!
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Thank you for these tips!
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You’re welcome!
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I’m so bad at writing, that I’m not even gonna try to follow these tips haha
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Fair enough!
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I could use these 🙂
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Then you’re welcome!
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Always a pleasure to read your writer’s tips ^^
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Glad to hear!
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As always: thank you for your knowledge and wisdom
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You’re welcome!
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I appreciate such tips from you. I’d definitely want more 🙂
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Will do in the future!
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Nice and helpful tips!
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Glad to hear!
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Educative!
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Glad to hear!
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The first tip about the weather is extremely important. I edit writing all the time and the first thing I always suggest to readers is to keep information about the weather brief because it sets the scene quality and isn’t always the most interesting topic for readers.
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Exactly! I also see this happening often, which is why I wanted to add it in as a tip/basic rule
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