thinking of writing?

Question

I dont have trouble getting ideas for stories what i have problems with is depth. I get bored with my own stories. The characters seem too fake and my choice of words sound forced out(as if i was using a thesaurus, which im not) what i want to know is how novelists like stephen king create so much filler without overdoing it?

Answer 1

As a freelance writer, novelist, and columnist, I can tell you it is difficult in the beginning. In time, it will become easier but here are some tips.

Read Stephen King's On Writing. There is a lot of interesting information concerning his writing style.

Read books by authors that you can lose yourself in while reading. Study the author's writing style, their voice. If it helps, mimic their style until you find your own voice, which you will find if you stick to it long enough. Your voice will become uniquely your own.

Regarding depth, when writing stories, it is important to remember that characters and any other scene in a story should mimic life. Real life has many layers so therefore any writing scene requires multi-layers to keep interest high.

Find a healthy balance between dialogue and description. Dialogue is difficult. I have problems with it as well. It helps when you actually listen to others when they talk. We actually speak differently than we write. Use dialogue in actual speaking words whereas with everything else, use your writing skills as a writer. Characters can use contractions, slang, incorrect English - depending upon the education level of the character, and all the other little idiosyncrasies with speech.

Write rough drafts, flesh out those drafts, edit, and edit again. Most importantly is to keep writing. You might consider an online or local writing workshop. Join a writer's group on the internet within the genre you write. Learn as much as possible from other authors that you can put to use in your own work.

Answer 2

First of all, be glad that you're not blind to what's wrong or not so great with your writing.

Second, you need feel, emotion, and depth. To do that, you need to really feel the characters to get their personalities down. If a character is in pain, then dialogue from the person could be something like:

"He's gone," she whispered, tears falling steadily as they rushed to her side. "He's gone," she said again, her face now twisted in agony.

You see? It's what the characters say, what they're feeling, and how they show it. If it was a character that kept to herself, a very stoic person, then her (or his) dialogue would be different:

"He's gone," she whispered, fists clenched. Her face was dry, but as they approached her cautiously, as not to startle her, they knew she was in pain. "He's gone," she said again, and her voice cracked.

If the person is stoic and reserved, you have to think about how the other characters are going to react to the person at all times, as well.

I don't see what you mean by your words sound forced. If it's like you're using a thesaurus, then are you using bigger words than the rest of your story, so that it looks like your vocabulary is very mixed? If so, then maybe the best way to fix that would be to read books from the genre that you're writing. Ask another question about that, explaining why you want the titles, and you should get some good recommendations for that. When you're reading the books, though, pay attention to the vocabulary and wording. Make sure you're not making a Young Adult book seem like an Adult book, though, you know what I mean? Pick the type of speech (this is for narrating, as well) that fits both the audience and the setting.

Everyone gets bored with their own stories. I do, and so do other authors, be they published or not. If it's just that you're not happy with how they're coming out, quality wise, then this should help. If not, and you're still getting bored, maybe the plots aren't exactly perfect enough for you. You may like your plot, but you could always improve it.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

In his book "On Writing" Stephen King will tell you exactly how he does it.

To be truly good, the act of storytelling should come naturally to you. The drama should play in your head as you're writing and the language that flows into the story would be the language you yourself would use in a given encounter. It's never forced if you're living the drama as you're writing it. An author once compared the phenomenon to "falling into a hole in the paper". As you write, your own surroundings fade away and are replaced by what you are writing about and the scene you are envisioning. Conveying that scene to a reader should be no harder than telling your girlfriend what went on at lunch today...it's a natural progression from action to paper. But it takes some practice. Don't stop writing. Don't give it up. Hone your skills daily. And for extra practice, just tell stories to people verbally. That's half the battle right there.

Answer 4

You should read "Bird by Bird"....I forget who wrote it, but it's a really good read about writing.
I heard that Stephen King only writes one page at a time. Even if he's in mid-sentence, he'll stop, get up, and walk away. He said that it helps control his urge to write excessively and unnecessarialy.
I don't know how true that is, but I am just offering it as an anetdote. Everyone's writing style is different and it sounds like you just have to find yours.
One character exercise that I always find helpful is sketching out a character (or all the main ones). On a sheet of lined paper, write out everything about that person so you can get in their head. Simple things like: birthday, height, weight, favorite color, favorite food, favorite song, hair color, eye color, bad habits, shoe size, favorite outfit, current place of employment, type of car they drive, hobbies, etc. Many of these bits of information will not come out in your story, but they will help you completely picture and know the character. If those traits do need to come out, they will come out easily and won't sound forced.

I hope that helps and I wish you well!

~Peace, love & light~

Answer 5

i know exactly what you mean, it's like i am better at writing short stories. i think different scenery and detail fill a lot of longer stories, and depending on what i am reading, i can get bored with that too. i know it is important to make your characters as interesting as possible and it seems sometimes that you have to create them out of thin air. go on your life experiences and change a few names of the people you know well, putting their personalities into your characters.