November 06th, 2021

So you want to write a story: Week 2

 My series for NaNoWriMo on drafting a story continues! My second week of posts delves into some of the more practcal considerations around how to write a story, as well as some motivation for you when you feel like giving up:

• Day 7: What if my writing sucks?
  • The trick is to make it suck deliberately, so you’re not an anxious mess about it.
• Day 8: But what if my idea sucks?
  • It's probably not the idea itself that's the problem, but the way you're writing about it. Here are some practical things to think about to help you approach your idea in a more deliberate way.
• Day 9: Character arcs
  • The way I get into stories is through character arcs, because a story doesn’t happen unless it’s happening to someone, or being told through someone’s eyes. Without a perspective to frame things, there is no story.
• Day 10: Plot
  • Many people confuse 'things happening' with 'plot'. Events =/= Plot. If you learn nothing else from me, learn this.
• Day 11: Setting
  • Your setting can reflect your charcters' internal states, enhance interpersonal struggles, and can cause struggles for your characters to overcome. In some cases the setting becomes a character in itself!
• Day 12: Inspiration
  • Some places I like to go when I'm looking to get out of my own head and motivated to write.
• Day 13: Avoiding the info-dump!
  • Fanfiction has lessons to teach us as writers, and one of those lessons is how to skip the info-dump when you're writing.

I hope you find something useful in these posts, and remember, if you'd like to hire me to be your writing cheerleader and help you finish your story, please check out my writer coaching page and book a mentoring session through my ko-fi!