What are some ways.....?

Question

To make your story, or book seem 'real'? like someone could relate to it.

Answer 1

The way I get drawn into a story is thru detailed believable characters. To develop these types of characters imagine you existing charecters in some odd/out of the ordinary places or scenarios – anything goes! Write down ideas on what would have to happen to your type of character or how they would react to the scenario you placed them in.

This may seem futile, but it will help you flesh out your characters further and give you insight into what you may want to happen to this type of character in your story. You may even come up with multiple story lines and can see if one of them just seems to be the best or easiest to continue/include

Strong well-crafted main characters can inspire readers to love your story as well as drive you to write a great story for these imagined beings to be in! :-)

Answer 2

Writing about what you know is the key to creating realistic fiction. In general, many new authors tend to believe their own lives are too boring or uneventful to write about. This is where the main problem lies. It is your vision that is unclear, not your writing skills.

It is all a question of "seeing". I mean seeing not only yourself and your experiences, but also the world around you. Nobody's life is boring, if you truly understand what reality is. The Buddhists had a fine example of vision. One day, a whole village came out to see the Buddha, who had wandered into their midst. He stayed on a hilltop where everyone from the village gathered to hear his wise words. When they came to him, everyone was stunned that he just stood there in a field, silent. Then he plucked a flower from the field and showed it to the crowd. Only one person smiled. Out of a thousand, only one understood his message. What was the message? There are no ordinary moments. All of life, including your own, is a mysterious process of becoming which has both horrors and beauty.

How does this relate to making your story or book "real"? Writing is a matter of vision, not only grammatical skill. You mentioned that you wanted someone who reads your stuff to be able to "relate to it". My question is, do YOU relate to it? If you think its not realistic and can't relate to it, its certain that no one else will. Be your own best editor. Your instincts are the clearest indicator of whether or not its "realistic".

Here's some advice on making more realistic fiction:

1) Read a lot of good books. If you write fiction, read only the best authors. By best, I mean NOT bestsellers! Any author who is "famous" with the masses of people tends to be poor quality. Avoid this type of bestseller (usually horror, detective, romance, sci-fi, fantasy) at all costs if you want to write realsitic fiction about real people. Authors like Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, Joseph Conrad, Michael Ondaatje, Margaret Attwood, and many others are writing the best literature around. Check your local university's courses in English literature. Get a list of books on their courses and that's a good starting point for which books to buy. You will notice that NO university has any "bestseller" on its course outlines.

2) Write about what you know. This is harder than it seems! Before anything, I'd suggest you know yourself first. This takes some psychological insight and a lot of humbleness. You are your historical context, your personal background, your gender, your fears and your desires, your family background, your economic background. This, and above all a living mystery playing out its temporary days on earth. Isn't that plenty to write about? Use your own life as the ingredients. Make fictional characters take on certain aspects of your own character. Imbue them with real emotions you have had. Write as if you are them.

3) Find your own writing style and voice. Usually, the more you read, you will find that some authors have ideas and a style you can relate to. Read everything by that author. A good author usually has recurrent themes and imagery. See how they did it and apply your own preoccupations to your stories. Again, its a matter of what you know. If you live in small town USA where people maybe like to gossip about each other, write about that if it bothers you or affects you in some way. Nobody will think its "unrealistic" if you apply things you've seen and thought in a story.

4) Keep a notebook and write down your thoughts. Not exactly a diary, but keep a notebook with you. If you see something outside (or inside you) that makes you have a strong emotion, the words and story will come out with it. At least, the germ of a story, which you can jot down then slowly develop.

5) Don't be afraid. Be courageous when writing. If you have to ask how to improve your writing, it means you are afraid of facing those problems yourself. Nobody can write a story for you. In the final analysis, its you, the paper and pen, and your mind. The main problem is usually your own mind. Do you know who you are? This is the main obstacle. Find out, go inside, write it out of you. Be sure that there will be extreme fear in this exploration. Finding out who you really are is in fact the main doorway into writing realistic fiction.

Good luck. Never give up!!

Answer 3

Use your own personal experience or something a friend or relative tell you about an experience. The more you use from your own life the more real it will seem.

Answer 4

Base the story off of yourown life experiences [or someone else's].

Answer 5

Detail and proper attention to dialogue. Bad dialogue can really ruin it.