I'm a great writer, but how do I write better stories?

Question

I like to think of myself as a very good writer. I'm in my senior year in high school and I've always excelled in English, mainly in writing. I want to be a story teller though. I want to evoke happiness, sadness, despair, ecstasy, and laughter from people with what I write... And I wouldn't mind some tips on keeping stories and plot details organized. Any tips and/or help gratefully accepted. Thank you very much.

Answer 1

I find it amusing that you describe yourself as a great writer when you are what ... 17?

Great writers are Cervantes, Hemingway, Faulkner, Cormac Mc Carthy, Toni Morrison, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Poe, Fitzgerald, Dickens, Shakespeare, James Joyce, Maya Angelou, Frank Mc Court, Twain, O Henry, Kate Chopin and many more.

And they have one thing in common. They didn't have to go to forums to ask people to help them come up with plots for stories. Why? Because they lived ... they had more than 17 years worth of experience to back them up. They got out in the world and did things - Hemingway climbed mountains and drove ambulances in the first World War. All of them had a lot of life experience to back them up.

For now, write about what you know. That is not to say you are limited to only the experiences of the world around you. It is possible to research and write about what you learn, too.

You have to cut your teeth on short stories and grow up and mature into someone who can evoke those kind of emotions from people.

If you have trouble with organization, the issue is focus and you need to outline. You need to realize that a lot goes into the preparation for writing a book. I recently read a wonderful novel called The Fig Eater. The author spent NINE MONTHS researching before she wrote a single word. She researched turn of the century Vienna until she was able to write about it as though she was there at the time. She also did amazing character studies and knew her characters intimately. All of that comes before writing a story.

As a great author once said. Writing is easy- you just sit down in front of a keyboard and open a vein. Lower your expectations for a while, hon. You aren't "great" yet.

Did you drive the Indy 500 the day you got your license? Do you play Carnegie Hall the first time you sit down at a piano? No... It takes years of experience and practice to achieve such goals.

Work on being great, but realize that you have a long way to go before your name goes in the list above. Be honest with yourself, you know that is the truth.
----
They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

I'm great at coming up with the ideas. I've been working on Notes and Outlines for my Eight book series since I was 13, I'm 15 now, but I write short stories to keep the pen of my mind sharp enough to be able to write the series when the time comes this coming year, lol! =) 1) No, but my friends and I do that if we have an idea that we think the other could write well and vice versa 2) FANTASY! Weather it be realistic Fantasy or high Fantasy I love Fantasy and nothing else! 3) This is a hard question for my character, because it depends how old he is at the time, but I'd say A! =) Good Luck!

Answer 3

I don't think I'll write about writing here... I was a journalist for the most part, though there are some short stories and now, for some reason, I attempt a book, though I am retired--

What you wrote that interests me is that you want to be a story teller. That is an art in itself. Do you mean the actual telling of the stories, like I think you do?

If so, visit your local library and inspect any bulletin board that may be there (mine had a list of poetry slams they have there... which I wouldn't have known about it I hadn't looked)--

Or, perhaps better, ask the reference librarian about any group in town he/she may know of who tells stories, or organizes story telling events.
Then go to those events, and soak it all up. You learn a lot by seeing others do what you'd like to do.

And by all means keep writing; it's too much fun to do to just stop, huh? (my prob-- )
If you need organizational help, get some small separate notebooks in to put lists of plot details and times per story, and character details and times... oh, I'm sure you get the picture. If not, and even if you do, I suggest this-->

You will also hopefully be going to college, or a junior college, or a community college, as soon as you can; take a lot of writing courses: creative, journalism, historical... whatever you see in the course book that looks interesting. There may be Story Telling as well.
Luck--

Answer 4

Research. That's the main idea in writing any story. You're pretty young yet, so, I don't know about your being a 'great' writer, but I would venture to say you're probably a pretty darn good writer. You claim to have excelled in English and mainly in writing, so that's a plus.

Here's what I tell everyone who asks this question on writing:

Writing a book takes more than just sitting down and putting your idea into words. There are a lot of things that you have to consider.

You need a good grasp of the English language. Spelling and Grammar. You will also need to check and recheck your work. Editors are very expensive these days.

You need to know how to write an effective ‘query letter’ to a literary agent.

Can you write a synopsis that will hold the interest of the agent, and want to make him or her ask for the first three chapters of your work?

Do you know how to outline?

You’ll need to know how to format your manuscript. This includes the fonts that
most agents, editors, and publishers want. You will need to follow submission guidelines just as they are laid down for your submissions. Anything less will result in your manuscript sent back or destroyed unread.

Do you know what Point of View is? (POV) Do you know how to write in First Person Point of View? The can’s and can not’s?

Do you know how to write dialogue? How to format dialogue?

It’s a good idea to know some of the publishing laws. The use of names and places.

These include
o Delivery Of Satisfactory Copy
o Permission for Copyrighted Material
o Grant Of Rights
o Proofreading and Author's Corrections
o Advances and Royalties
o Author's Warranties and Indemnities
o Copies to Author
o Option Clause
Do you know how to get a ‘word count?

Do you know what a prologue is? An epilogue? Do you know how both of them are used and why?

Do you know what the word ‘genre’ means?

You’ll need to know how to use the proper ‘page set up’ for your work. Margins, indents, paragraphs.

Are you prepared to do a lot of ‘research’ involving your work? Many professionals such as, doctors, lawyers, nurses, public accountants, judges, architects, bricklayers, engineers, and police officers read, too.

Do you know what a plot is? A sub-plot?

Can you take rejection and constructive criticism? If you’re easily hurt in the feelings department, then this hobby is not meant for you. Critics will tear you apart or build you up. The best writers in the world “King, Patterson, Koontz, J.K. Rowling, and many others” have been torn up one side and down the other. You can’t please everyone.

If you decide to hire an editor, remember: Your manuscript will be double spaced, which means there will be twice as many pages. A 600 page novel could cost you around $1800.00, some even more depending on what the editor charges a page.

These are the things you must know to work at your craft. But don’t let these things deter you from writing. There are books in libraries and bookstores that can teach you all of these things. Buying these books (if you want to be a serious writer) is the best thing to do. Why? Well, because you can use a yellow marker to highlight all the points of interest. Then you can use the front of the book to make page references to those markings in order to check back on them at a later date, when you need to.

You’ll need to get a copy of Writer’s Market for the current year. This has literary agents whom you can send out query letters to. Some of them allow email queries.

I wish you the best of luck!

Answer 5

It comes from the heart.

Don't try to make up a random story with characters you don't even know. When writing try to get to know your characters, pretend like you know them in real life. Also put some of your past experiences when writing, it will flow better. Not exactly word by word.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Well - the way I improved my writing throughout the years, is by simply reading. Just read a lot. If you are interested in writing a particular genre (say fantasy) then pick up published authors who excel in this area. Study their prose - all the way down to the nitty-gritty. It will certainly help you with plot details and it will help hone your writing abilities.

Hope I've helped.

Answer 7

Read, read, read. The more you read of the best stories that other authors have written, the more understanding you'll gain about plot, character development, and all the other things a writer has to know.

Answer 8

The best way to improve your writing is to read other works by other authors. analyze how they use different literary devices and develop their characters and etc... also take alot of college writing classes professors will keep tearing down your work until you really start writing professional stories.

Answer 9

Try to think of another ideas. Read Award books to get you an idea.

Answer 10

maybe u can write about adventure about a spy