Writing Tips

[Ultimate Hero]

Hey everyone, as you can tell I am a beginner level writer. Often at times my storys will be half assed and rushed. But currently I am working on a fic that I will put all effort and skill into. I was wondering if any of you other writers have tips and ideas for me or other critisims on my past work.

[Kali_WolfChilde]

Originally posted by Ultimate Hero
Hey everyone, as you can tell I am a beginner level writer. Often at times my storys will be half assed and rushed. But currently I am working on a fic that I will put all effort and skill into. I was wondering if any of you other writers have tips and ideas for me or other critisims on my past work.

hi. i'm the writer of PR: Gemstone, the thread titled min-series. i've been writing things - however silly - since i had this silly little two-page story to make up in third grade. i've always drawn inspiration from the world around me. names, ideas, places, people, mundane things like hobbies and interests have always come from things i've done, listened to, or witnessed.
i draw all my ideas from my personal life, my music i like, the books i've read or seen summaries of, the movies/DVD's/TV shows i've seen, and other people who donate their ideas to me. a friend of mine once asked me to critique his work. i found that he overused the word 'said.' Instead of that word i suggested he use words such as: quipped, piped up, retorted, replied, etc. He took my advice, and had a pretty good story after that. Just my thoughts. hope you find some ideas from my words.

just a bit of rambling now, but i'm part Irish on dad's and mom's sides - very very very distant ancestors - and they supposedly have a love for words. have a good day!

[Ultimate Hero]

So use the word I? Jking.

[JPHBK]

I think you have potential to become a very good writer. Your stories are almost always interesting concepts. Your imagination and flare for storytelling it superb. Grammar and Spelling are your two weaknesses it seems, but those can be corrected easily enough. Like Kali said, don't overuse the word said, but then again don't go to crazy with it's replacements. It is ok to use it just not every single time. (Not that you do that) And just don't rush anything, when I am writing several times while in one chapter I have thoughts about what I want for the next few so I write down the ideas I am having on a piece of paper, that way when I get to those chapters I just refer to it, to ensure I use my ideas.


Of course I am no expert writer. I do enjoy reading fics. I have written three on Rangerboard. One didn't fly because of lack of interest in the subject. The other two, had great reviews. One even won the fanfic of the month in February. I don't mean to sound like I am bragging. I just wanted to list my credentials so you would know who was, "critiquing" you.

[y3k]

my tip? I use MS Word each time I write a new episode for Olympia. Use spell check. That's how my fanfics are almost compleatly flewless, while my regular posts-like this one-have a ton of grammical and spelling errors.

To quote JPHBK, I am no expert writer. PR Olympia is my 1st ever attempt to write fiction (aside from one or 2 short stories I did for school, and my Role Playing on NationStates and Thread RPG's)

Aside from the grammical and spelling complaints, yours is better than mine. I mean, it shows. The fact that more people respond to your's, the fact that you got nominated for not one, but TWO fanfics for Fanfic of the Month last month....

well, I'm rambling, so I'll stop

[JPHBK]

Originally posted by y2ktm2
my tip? I use MS Word each time I write a new episode for Olympia. Use spell check. That's how my fanfics are almost compleatly flewless, while my regular posts-like this one-have a ton of grammical and spelling errors.




Same here.

[KyrieEleison]

To touch on what JPHBK said, one of the best ways that I come up with the plot of a story is to map it out. I have a notebook that I use for story maps. I start with chapter one and write a *highly* detailed summary, with characters' feelings, actions, and sometimes even what they'll say.

I also have a question to pose to the board, but I didn't want to add another thread for it.

What is the best way to write fight sequences (or, the "sentai footage" of the story)? I am not much for violence, so to come up with it in my head is difficult, much less put it into words.

Right now in my story I'm generally describing the action, but I feel like I'm rushing through the battles.

[foreverhunter]

You're not a bad writer. That's for sure. You, like me and everyone else, has things to work out. I myself find writing action scenes to be diffucult and not my favorite part to write, but it remains crucial to fulfill the fantasy part of Power Rangers.

Things to avoid . . .

1.) Stupid subtitles: There are some pretty stupid subtitles for stories on this board. Some went away recently, some are still around.

2.) Short chapters/episodes: That's something I hate seeing. Short chapters is a dead giveaway the writer is a novice at the art.

3.) Omitting emotions: People connect well with character descriptions, humor, emotions. Pop culture references are cool. I find fan fics with mainly action and war talk to be flat and boring.

4.) Love: Love makes better for a sub-plot, not the plot. Just my opinion. I loathe the majority of fanfiction.net's PR fan fics because they just make it all about love, some specically on making male characters into homosexuals. Ugh....

That's all I can think of for now. I could use some tips for my fic if you got any. It's my first fic so I know there are weak spots and I'd love to correct them.

[JPHBK]

Originally posted by foreverhunter


2.) Short chapters/episodes: That's something I hate seeing. Short chapters is a dead giveaway the writer is a novice at the art.

4.) Love: Love makes better for a sub-plot, not the plot. Just my opinion. I loathe the majority of fanfiction.net's PR fan fics because they just make it all about love, some specically on making male characters into homosexuals. Ugh....




I just wanted to comment on those two.

On the short chapters, I agree that really short chapters are no good, but by the same token, if you make them too long it can be a hinderence to someone reading it. I recommend a medium size chapter/episode.

On the love deal, allot of people do like love as the main plot, allot of people do not. The thing is here on Rangerboard, you will not find many at all that are all about love. So it isn't overpopulated here on Rangerboard. FF.net, maybe. Besides allot of people just like to take a break and read a good old fashioned love story everyonce in awhile, so one here and there is good.


KyrieEleison: Fighting scenes can be very difficult to portray what you want people to vision when they read them. I had a heap load of trouble writing them for my Angel/PR crossover(Silent Heroes). It can be very tricky. Just describe them as best you can, you don't have to go into complete detail. It is also good to show character reaction to a perticular blow landed on them or what not.

[KyrieEleison]

Originally posted by JPHBK
KyrieEleison: Fighting scenes can be very difficult to portray what you want people to vision when they read them. I had a heap load of trouble writing them for my Angel/PR crossover(Silent Heroes). It can be very tricky. Just describe them as best you can, you don't have to go into complete detail. It is also good to show character reaction to a perticular blow landed on them or what not.

Thanks a lot. I'll try that.

[JPHBK]

Glad to help.