Our Alan’s Little Fiction Writing Tips

In this post I will highlight some tips that might help improve your writing.

There is no magic solution when it comes to writing stories, but there are little things we can do to help the creative process.

Ambience

When you write, engage your senses.

If your character is walking in a rainstorm, hear the rain as it hits the ground; the unmistakeable sound of traffic on wet roads.

Let your character experience this directly. This will help set the scene, bringing it to life in the eyes of the reader.

Time and a place

It’s good to have a place where you can write regularly.

Some writers like total peace and quiet, others prefer a bit of background noise such as the low sound of a radio. If you are a morning person, having to write at night might be counter-productive.

Life brings its own demands, of course, so see if you can adapt to new ways of writing. When you are “in the zone”, a time and a place can serve simply as a reminder to write.

Love your characters

In order to writer convincing characters, they have to be real to you.

What are their personalities? What dreams do they hold? Even something as simple as a character’s name can make all the difference when it comes to bringing them to life on the page. They are your characters; you have to like them — even the baddies.

Always ask questions of your characters. So, your heroine hopes her blind date is tall, dark and handsome. What happens if you make him exactly the opposite? It doesn’t mean to say they won’t fall in love.

History repeats itself

When it comes to story plots, everything has been done before. However, it doesn’t mean you can’t put a new spin on it, or make your story better than what’s been done before.

Don’t limit your imagination.

When it comes to writing, you could do worse than shoot for the moon.

For more fiction writing tips from the “Friend” team, click here.