Beginner Writing Tips

Hey, everyone!

Whoa, long time no see there. I lost track of time in the busyness of working on my own writing. Today I’d like to share some tips for new writers. Back when I did a survey, some survey-answerers mentioned they would like to see more of this.

I also plan to do a book review post soon; in fact, I ALMOST did one of Dune a while back, because I LOVE that book and got inspired to reread it after seeing the film. But, there are so many Dune reviews out there right now…should I? Not sure…not sure how to talk about such an amazing scifi book, honestly the “Lord of the Rings of scifi”, I’d say. So…let me know if you’d like a review of the book DUNE by Frank Herbert, or not.

Note: Today’s Featured Image at the top of this post is by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com.

1. “Write what you know”.

What does this mean, write what you know? What if all you know if your local street, school or work, and you see the same people every day, day-in, day-out? Maybe you think it would be boring to write about all of that.

But let me tell you, it is not boring. For example, right now I’m reading a book about 2 sisters. One of them is an adventurer and the other is a worrywart. The adventuring sister tricks the worrywart sister and sends her on a trip to a Mediterranean island, alone; making sure she’s got a nice hotel, etc. but she is secretly not accompanying the sister. Meanwhile, the reader is also hinted to that the adventurer sister may be sick, perhaps terminal, or had a disaster happen recently. But the worrier sister doesn’t know, because she’s sent on the trip.

A story about 2 sisters and one of them going on a vacation may seem normal, even boring. Predictable. There’s a romance with the hotelier, the sister takes photos for her sister back at home, etc. So why do I keep reading it?

Well, they hooked me first with the question – What’s wrong with the first sister? Then, they wrote about things I can relate to, and therefore find interesting , such as:

• Worrying a lot about little things
• Encountering annoying people on your travels
• The misery of sharing an armrest with someone on a plane
• Travelling alone can be scary

See? Not so boring, after all!

2. Use all 5 senses

Another tip beginner writers get a lot is: use all five of our senses. What does that berry pie the protagonist’s best friend is making smell like? What does the stained glass window design at their church look like? It can make all the difference. For example, your writing could look like this:

Linda was baking a pie. She tossed the finished product on the table and Jasmine looked down at the pie, exclaiming, “Yum! That looks so good!” She grabbed the fork Linda handed her and, without even getting plates, they dug in.

Or this:

Jasmine smiled as she watched Linda’s brown ponytail whirl in the air. The smell of slightly tart, slightly sweet rasberry rhubarb pie wafted through the kitchen as Linda opened the open. Jasmine reached forward to take the pie but then yanked her fingers back; it was hot! The heat made her think of that weekend she’d spent in Arizona years ago. It had been wretched. As Linda placed the pie on the counter, Jasmine leapt up and felt for their two favorite spoons in the silverware drawer. Aha! There were the familiar, rough grooves of the two floral-handled spoons. She tossed Linda one of them and they crouched over the pie. Jasmine didn’t care that her back ached with a sudden stinging sensation as she bent over. It was pie time!

Disclaimer: I just pulled those descriptions out of nowhere, not my best work, at all! Haha. But do you see the difference? Descriptive writing that calls to our senses puts us more in the story, and makes it more interesting to read. Here‘s an article from Enchanting Marketing on descriptive writing, if you want to find out more.

3. Show, don’t tell

This tip may be somewhat similar to the above tip, but there is a subtle difference. Using the five senses applies to only touch, taste, smell, etc. but “show, don’t tell” is about more than that. “Show, don’t tell” is a really useful tip for beginner writers!

Here’s another example. Would your rather read, “Bernardo was angry. Rachel could tell he was upset.” Or, would you rather read something like this?:

Bernardo paced back in forth, seeming to want to wear a new tread in the frayed brown carpet. With each of his heavy, quick steps, dust puffed forth from the carpet like puffs of air when Rachel had gone skiing with Mom. She dared to look up at Bernardo’s face. It was red, and a tic at his right temple kept throbbing. One, two, three. She got absorbed in counting each throb of his face, before it made her nervous. Ten. Swallowing, she looked down at his hands, instead. They were balled into fists. Rachel felt a stab of pain in her chest, and put a hand to the painful spot. She felt so guilty for what she’d done!

Now you can see and feel the area around Rachel and Bernardo. You can SEE that he is angry – his fists are balled up, his face is red, he’s pacing. It’s more interesting to read that than just “He was angry,” right? Personally if I read someone telling me someone was angry, I would lose interest pretty fast!

Here‘s more great info on “Show, don’t tell” and other beginner tips.

Conclusion

Again, I’d like to apologize for not posting on this blog in so long. Work has been crazy, writing has been busy. But even so, I wish I had posted more. I’m very grateful to each and every one of my followers. You all encourage me to keep blogging and keep thinking about the craft of writing. The ideas that I post about here help me to think about my writing more clearly, and improve it. I also find your blog posts intriguing and inspiring! And your reading posts really help me to add more to me “to be read” list! So thank you all, whether you are a writer, a reader, or just someone who stumbled upon this blog.

Let me know what you think of this post! If you are new to writing, did you find this helpful? If you are experienced, is there anything you would like to share with our newer writers?

Until next time,
Chaitanya