Literature Assistance

Tips, suggestions, and help with writing.

[literatureassistance]

Writing Tip #7

Building Your Setting

The best part about becoming immersed in a book is the fantastic detail. And much like the details of each character being important, the same goes for the setting. Imagine reading a story that is set in 1980's Kentucky, but that's all you have to go by. No specific town or streets or scenery is written out for your minds eye to capture. The characters can be extremely well-written, but does it really matter if the setting is a grey blob in your mind? When writing out your story, keep a clear idea of where it takes place, whether real or fantastical. Express details. What street does the main character live on? What places in town do they frequent? What does the land look like and how does the character interact with the setting? Think of all these details and make your world come alive so that there are no grey areas for the reader to question.

[literatureassistance]

Writing Tip #6

Diversity In Your Characters

Do you automatically notice how different each character is when you read a book? It's this diversity that creates drama, disagreements, friendships, romance, and more. A group of characters can be dull and conformed or they can be colorful, unique, and exciting. Even in writing a couple characters that have almost everything in common, you can create a difference in them such as their personal conscience or morals. It's essential to use each character's uniqueness to push their own development forward. Character 1 may be bright and optimistic, whereas character 2 may be emotionally damaged but persistent. Another character may be angry and passionate and so on. Their backstories (if you choose to include them) should create a reason for their personalities and situations that led up to the present state of their ego or mindset. Reality is full of diversity, so creating that diversity in a story will entice the reader and pull at their curiosity.

[literatureassistance]

Writing Tip #5

Developing Likeable Characters

Do you ever read a book and just completely fall in love with a character? You begin to invest yourself in the story and you care deeply about how they will get out of trouble or whether or not they "get the girl". Writing out a character with deep traits and great flaws and personality makes them seem so much more human. When a character is written this way, it makes the reader so much more invested. When you write out a character, do you think of their purpose in the story? How about the little things? Seriously, little details like how they react under pressure or what position they sleep in can add to the depth of a character. Making them relatable and imperfect is one of the best things you can do when writing them. Don't try to make them so unique that they seem alien. Just think of how you want them to be, but add some extra quirks.

[literatureassistance]

Check out my Twitter for more writing tips and suggestions!

[literatureassistance]

Writing Tip #4

Creating Your Ending

So, let’s say you’ve reached the last planned chapter of your story. Stories can be very volatile and although that is the beauty of writing out the ending, consider planning multiple ways that the story could come to a close before writing it out. See what fits best with the angle you’re going for, but remember to ask yourself these questions concerning the end:

Is this the ending you wanted or the ending that you think the readers would want?

Does this ending tie up all the loose ends?

Are you happy with the outcome?

If you plan on writing another story to continue this, is the last chapter left open-ended?

Once you know what these answers are, you can focus on editing and piecing that last chapter together. Be sure to be thorough in your ending as it is important to the story that led to it, and for goodness sake, don’t end it with “The End”.

[literatureassistance]

Writing Tip #3

Keeping up with your facts.

It’s very important to keep up with your facts when writing. It would be confusing to say your main character has blue eyes or long hair in chapter one and then change it to green eyes and short hair later on without noticing. Any changes made need to be sifted through to leave no space for major plot holes. Although it can’t always be avoided, changing information or veering away from the original storyline, description, or action can really hurt your story. It helps to write down these important bits of information and stick to what you choose. Writing without a plan can sometimes be very good practice, but can also be harmful if not thought through thoroughly. Enlist help, read over your work, or find ways to make sure that all your facts are straight. Remember, you make the world, characters, and scenes, so describing it all accurately is part of the job.

[literatureassistance]

Writing Tip #2

Spreading Information Out

When writing, it’s important to not be an open book (pun intended). Suspense and curiosity drive a reader to continue reading because they want to gather all of the information. A character’s backstory, their description, the setting, the storyline; it all needs to be explained in small amounts in order to keep the reader curious. For example, if you are introducing a new character, it’s not speaking to the reader’s curiosity or adding any suspense if you throw their entire backstory and character description into one or two paragraphs. Instead, use hints, drop little bits of information like breadcrumbs throughout the chapter/story. Don’t tell me that a woman named Lucille walked into the parlour wearing a red dress that complimented her curled blonde hair and bright blue eyes and that she had a slim figure. Separate that information so that I can piece this character together like a puzzle. It’s so much more interesting.

[literatureassistance]

Writing Tip #1

Character Development:

Nobody is perfect. But in a story, it’s important to view these imperfections as a means to create personal growth. When writing a character, their flaws and mistakes are often a large part of their personality. You always see a character arriving in the story as they are, and to see that character blossom or strive to better themselves in one way or another is what enriches the reader’s experience and elevates that character. The opposite is also true in a hero turns to villain scenario. With strong character development, especially among multiple characters in a story, the reader can become invested and immersed.

[literatureassistance]

Book Suggestions for Review

I’m always looking for new stories to read, so I would love some suggestions! Whatever is suggested, I’ll give it a read and follow up with a personal review on it.

Looking forward to some reading!

[literatureassistance]

Hello Tumblr!

I’d like to make an introduction to explain the purpose of this blog and what I will be posting here. 

I’m sure you can find writing tips all over the web, but here I want to share my personal experiences and tips for writing as well as offer suggestions for books that I have read. I’m open to suggestions and interactions from anyone who might have some. I hope this blog can be helpful to you if you’re looking for anything from prompts to tips on writing, or even if you just need a good book to read. Most of my posts are going to revolve around personal writing experience, but I will absolutely include outside links or sources to go along with tips for anyone who could make use of it.

Here’s to hoping for success in everyone’s writing endeavours.