Other Advice for improving writing

[NovellaVolt]

Does anyone have any helpful advice as to how I can improve my writing?
My writing style is very straight forward and blunt. I want to be more descriptive but, I always draw a blank whenever I try to enhance sentences.
I have this bad habit of editing while I write a story. I can be my own worst critic. It becomes so stressful to the point where I just give up because I nit-pick everything. I often compare myself to other writers who are much more talented than I am.

 

[-Random_Person-]

If it is about RP posts, then here is a strategy I was told can help a lot!

For the first paragraph, react to the prior post!
For the second, say what your character does! How do they interact with the characters and scenery?
For the third, add something for others to add onto!

you dont have to do 1 entire paragraph for each one, but do try to get out of your comfort zone more, start with a basic 12 words, then try 36, 70, 100, etc.

 

[Wyldflowers]

this might sound like a lame answer, but read more! read lots! the more that you read, the more inspiration you find. maybe you'll find a certain style that will click with you.

 

[HALO.]

Including both inner monologue on top of descriptive details. Show not tell if possible, and reading books for reference

 

[ricecrackermix]

seconding reading more. i also encourage you to vary what kind of content you read-- branch out naturally from your main interests to absorb all kinds of different writing. if you mostly read fanfiction, for instance, try to read published books, too. if you mostly read published books, try to branch out in genre-- i really struggle to read daily (bad attention span) and i found it was a LOT easier to read more when i was motivated to read. as a kid i loved YA fiction-- and i still do-- but it doesnt always scratch the itch anymore.

truth be told, when i first started looking for new books, i went to the local used bookstores anthology section and picked out a couple of sci-fi anthology books. my logic was that i would build up my endurance by starting with short stories-- that way if i only was able to read for 10-15 minutes at a time, it wouldnt matter; id be more than halfway through a story, if i wasnt finished with it in the first place. this worked pretty well to get me back into the swing of reading at all, but it didnt put me where i wanted to be overall.

i ultimately went to my local library and wandered through genres i wouldnt usually read and picked a couple of interesting looking books to read. most of them i ultimately didnt get past the first 25 pages, but the ones i did gave me a whole new appreciation for stuff i wouldnt "normally" read. it gave me new authors to take an interest in, it gave me new topics to get knowledgeable about, and it-- most importantly-- opened new doors for me.

i went from reading almost nothing (because YA fiction was no longer sticking with me) to reading a few books a month because i found new genres i liked. i have a soft spot for medical nonfiction (try the emperor of all maladies by siddhartha mukherjee, get well soon by jennifer wright, or ten drugs by thomas hager) and that i LOVED the "trashy" romance(= harlequin) novels! reading more often in general, i also found that it increased my general reading stamina when it came to things i wasnt already particularly interested in, or that i was having trouble with because the text was especially dense or complicated. i started reading things i wouldnt normally have bothered with, like academic papers and long-form journalism articles. i also spend a lot of time reading technical documentation for things that do interest me... and thats more words read per month.

side note: my favorite books are gone girl by gillian flynn, the martian and project hail mary by andy weir, and the great gatsby. i also really, really love ted chiang's and ken liu's short stories. i have had good luck reading anthologies edited by jonathan strahan, john joseph adams, and the vandemeers.

theres inspiration to be found everywhere! not just in books about "how to write better" or whatever. there are so many lovely words out there written by so many people from such diverse backgrounds and you should strive to read a little bit of everything, even if thats only 10 pages before you ultimately put it down and walk away. you learn more about yourself and your writing style with every word you read. this doesnt mean you have to hate-read stuff, but that you should at least give even stuff you think you wont like a shot-- and if you hate it, just put it down. EZPZ.

as a final note, pleeeease consider going to your local library! they arent all made equal, but my local library also has a subscription to libby, as well as hoopla and freeading, which give me access to ebooks and audiobooks, which is also super useful for reading on-the-go or on short notice (i love a good audiobook.) my library also gives patrons access to a website called "bookbrowse.com" which has a section called "read-alikes," where you can plug in a book or author you already like and get recommendations for similar books. its been kind of a crapshoot for me, but my taste can be... a bit esoteric, i guess. im not gonna lie, i am a bit of a hater. but still, its worth looking into, if youre looking for more books.

good luck!

 

[Wheatley]

People like reading about their own characters, so reactions is a must.

On descriptives, less is more tbh. Unless it's really necessary to get into the gritty gurgling melted yellow fats of something.

also give enough action/dialogue/ movement for the next writer to response to, but not too much.

RPing is more about acting and good direction than descriptive writing imo. You can write a whole essay, beautifully written and thoughtful but if the next person has no clue on how to react to it then it's effort is sorta lamed out.

 

[Paperstick]

Use your senses. For example:

"Mary walks into the alley behind the bar and looks around."

Sight: "Mary walks into the dark alley, the only light provided by a single, orange bulb hanging over the back door of the bar. The walls are cracked and dingy brown, and the corners are heaped with trash."
Smell: "It smells horrible, stale beer, garbage and worse odors surround her, and she wishes she had just paid the cover fee to get in through the front door."

Is it cold out there in the alley? Is the smell so bad she can taste it? Is she afraid to be back there alone? Are there unusual noises rustling among the trash bags? Thinking about what your character can see, smell, hear, taste and touch, and what they think or feel about all of that, is a great way to give your posts more depth.

 

[HazyKnights]

Reading more sounds so silly but it helps so much! just one or two new pieces of literature a day can really help.

 

[houseplant]

^^^^ Reading has helped me a lot. I would also say revising. Writing your reply and then going through and highlighting what you think could change and what could be done better.

 

[GojiBean]

Does anyone have any helpful advice as to how I can improve my writing?
My writing style is very straight forward and blunt. I want to be more descriptive but, I always draw a blank whenever I try to enhance sentences.
I have this bad habit of editing while I write a story. I can be my own worst critic. It becomes so stressful to the point where I just give up because I nit-pick everything. I often compare myself to other writers who are much more talented than I am.

Hoyo!

As a perfectionist and a horribly strict self-critic, I feel your pain.

But if it's just descriptive writing that you want to improve on for now, here would be my top pieces of advice for you (in no particular order):

• Use Imagery
  
  • Being a descriptive writer is like being a painter, and it's your job to simply describe this painting as you see it in your head.
  • For example, if you're in a medieval fantasy RP and the current location is a busy marketplace, you might phrase the scene like this:
    
    
  • Example: The bustling swarm of activity in this deceptively open market nearly stole his breath. Just walking a single step felt like an Olympian feat of athleticism with how rapidly he had to twist and contort himself to avoid bumping into passersby. The deafening assault on his ears came from all sides. Everyone was shouting and fighting tooth and claw to be heard over each other while they clamored for the vendors' attention and services. Every so often he would look up to the vast empty skies as if beseeching the Gods to make way a path to his destination. But no such silent prayers were answered this day. The Gods had forsaken him in his quest for a simple grocery run.
    
    
  • In this example the use of words/phrases like "bustling swarm" and "open market" tell you the space is quite large, but is nevertheless overcrowded. Phrases like "stole his breath" help to paint a very claustrophobic image of this marketplace's activity compared to the viewpoint of the character in question. And this is further reinforced by the phrases of "a single step felt like an Olympian feat of athleticism" and "twist and contort himself" which showcase just how hard it is to progress towards one's goal. Describing the sounds of the market as a "deafening assault" and "everyone was shouting and fighting tooth and claw to be heard over each other" helps paint the picture of how chaotic and cutthroat just trying to get a vendor's attention can be.
    
    
  • Using image-focused words and/or phrases can really help to solidify your intent with how the scene is meant to look and feel for your readers.
    
• Use Hyperbole
  
  • If writing can be likened to cooking, hyperbole is the seasoning.
    
    
  • Hyperbole is an intense exaggeration of description used for dramatic effect
    
    
  • Example: "I've told you a gazillion times!" - Obviously, no. Whatever is being said was not said "a gazillion" times. But to the one making the statement it feels like it's been repeated that much and their frustration is obvious. And it's using phrases like these which can help you to really showcase your character's state of mind and their emotions without being on the nose about it (aka, following proper "Show, Don't Tell" best practices). We don't want to hear your character "is angry." We want to "see" them angry and "hear" them angry and "feel" them angry.
    
    
  • Example: "The gray branches reached low as if to strangle any passersby" - The words "reach" and "strangle" give an ominous impression of what these branches must look like. Since they're "gray" the trees they stretch from are obviously dead or dying. So the scene is probably set in a foreboding dead forest. And that information can be gleaned just from the words "gray," "reached," and "strangle."
    
• Use Metaphors
  
  • Like Hyperbole, Metaphors are a type of seasoning in the dish that is your writing
    
    
  • Metaphors provide comparisons between two things of similar qualities even if they are otherwise totally unrelated
    
    
  • Example: "His steadfast heart of stone would not be swayed but such sweet words promising him power." - Hearts are not made of stone, but the quality of being unflinching and unmoving is what's being conveyed/captured.
    
    
  • Example: "She's like a tigress when she's protecting her child." - Comparing a mom to a tigress can be a very intimidating statement. You imagine her screaming, scratching, biting, etc, and you don't want to mess with either the momma or the kid.
    

These three elements of writing aren't the only way to beef up your ability to be descriptive. But they're my three favorite, so I focused primarily on them.

Obviously, there's no substitution for doing a bit of personal research on the literary practices and techniques which are available to you. But hopefully this was somewhat helpful!

Cheers!

~ GojiBean

 

[UndeadTyrant]

I hate writing imagery. I hate it with a passion, because I can never convey exactly what it is that I'm trying to show my readers. My best trick: avoid imagery for the sake of it. If the detail doesn't matter to your character, then it doesn't matter for your reader. Get into the character's voice, see the world through their eyes. After all, your job as a writer isn't to tell your audience how to see the world; it's to show them how your character sees the world.

Are they a particularly morose sort? Then instead of describing the sky as blue and cloudless, you might describe it as, "It was a sky too clear for his preferences. Perhaps it should have clouds as gray as his thoughts, or rain threatening to fall like angry retribution, or even a malignant twister brewing off over the horizon, but it had none of these things. It simply did not match the mood." There's not a lot of imagery there. In fact, it describes what isn't, as opposed to what is - as if the character exists in the negative, in the absence.

Remember, your character is inarguably far more important than what the world around them looks like. Additionally, their appearance is the least interesting thing about them. I wouldn't focus on imagery as the be-all-end-all sign of good writing, and I would just encourage you to use fiction writing as an opportunity to explore how different perspectives perceive the world in different ways.​