If you’re looking for tips on how to write better, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ll give you 12 tips on how to write better, more effective stories that will ensure that your readers keep coming back for more. Keep reading for more information on each tip.
1. Edit What You Have
The first and most important step to becoming a better writer is editing. You can’t write a novel in a day, and neither will this article edit itself for you. Before you go any further, take some time to read through what you’ve written and ask yourself questions about it. Once you’ve done that, take a step back and look at what you’ve written from a critical point of view. You can’t become a better writer if you don’t know what “better” means.
Even in my early days as a writer, I know that there’s always room for improvement. Every story that I’ve ever written has had at least a few glitches in it. It might be something as simple as the spelling or grammar on a few of the pages, or it could be something more complex like an inconsistency in a character’s dialogue or attitude. Whatever it may be, there’s always something that I can work on to make the story better.
When you find a typo or grammar mistake, correct it immediately. If there’s something in the way a character speaks or acts that you think could be improved, go ahead and fix it. As a writer, you’re always going to find yourself in a position where you’re trying to make the story work as well as it can, so be as objective as you can when you’re doing your edits.
2. Make Connections
A good story is one that not only gives the reader information but also connects the information to something familiar to the reader. If you want to make your story more effective, you need to make connections between what you’re writing and what the reader knows or is experiencing. Your job as a writer is to give the reader an experience that is as real as possible and make them feel like they’re right there with you, experiencing everything that you’re writing about.
For example, if you’re writing about a drug deal gone wrong, the reader might feel a little uneasy about it because they’re not really sure what type of characters they’ll encounter or what could possibly go wrong. By relating the story to something that the reader already knows, you’re able to overcome this hurdle and open up some interesting storytelling opportunities.
3. Play To Your Audience
If you want to write an effective story, you need to know your audience. The better you know your audience, the better you’ll be able to write an effective story for them. That means that before you start writing, you need to do some research and figure out who the target audience is for your story. What do they want to read? What are their needs? What are their interests?
Once you’ve got the basics of your story down, you can start playing with it. Consider the needs and interests of your audience, and try to figure out a way to make the story fit what they want. Some writers like to begin by imagining that they’re speaking directly to their audience. When you do this, you’ll be able to play with more ideas and possibilities, because they’re the ones that you’re writing for. This tip will also help you establish a connection with your reader and establish trust. They’re the ones that you’re writing for, so you’ll have to earn their trust over time.
4. Begin With The End In Mind
One of the best pieces of advice that I was ever given as a writer was to always begin with the end in mind. This means that before you start writing the first draft of your story, you should have a clear idea of what you’ve written so far and what you intend to write. It’s easy to get distracted by all the fascinating details that pop up along the way while you’re writing, but if you want to write an effective story, you need to keep your eye on the prize at all times. This means that whatever you do, you need to be thinking about how it connects to the end.
5. Use Emotional Reasoning
If you want to write an effective story, it’s important to use emotional reasoning. This means that you need to put yourself in your characters’ shoes and consider what they’re feeling and going through as you’re writing. If you want to make your story more relatable, connect with your readers on an emotional level and help them feel like you’re talking about them. This requires that you be observant of and attentive to your characters’ feelings and that you put yourself in their position. If you’re ever unsure of how your character is going to react in a certain situation, ask yourself, “What would I do in this situation?” This will help you make the right decision and create an effective story. The more you do this the better you’ll become.
6. Make It Fulfilling
A good story should always be able to satisfy the reader. This means that your story shouldn’t leave them hanging or wondering whether or not what they’ve just read was actually worth reading. To determine if your story can satisfy the reader, ask yourself these questions:
- Does the story have a clear, satisfying beginning?
- Do I have a clear idea of what’s happening throughout the story?
- Does the story have a satisfying ending?
- Does the story leave the reader feeling empowered?
If you answer “yes” to all of these questions, then you’ve got a good story. You don’t want to rush to write a story that you think might be effective, but instead, you want to make sure that everything is thought out well in advance. This will help you avoid all kinds of problems as you’re writing. Once you’ve got the basics down, you can start adding more detail and dimension to it. Think of the story as a painting and add oil to it until it’s just the way you want it to be. Don’t worry too much about whether or not what you’ve written is good. Instead, use this as a tool to better yourself as a writer. Every story that you write will have something good about it.
7. Use Details To Give Perspective
To add some realism to your story, you need to use details. These details can help you establish the time period and place where the story is set, as well as offer some insight into the world that your characters inhabit. For example, if you’re writing about the Wild West, you might want to include details about the culture in your story. This can help add an extra layer of meaning to your story and make it more relatable to the reader. Consider using details like this to shape your character’s perspective of the world and give the reader a feeling of being there.
8. Create Good Chemistry With Your Character
As a writer, it’s your job to create good chemistry between your character and the reader. This means that you need to consider what your character is doing and saying and how it’s fitting in with the stakes and themes of your story. If you’ve got chemistry with your character, then it’ll be much easier to write an effective story, because you’ll already be connected to it. Think of it like this: Imagine that you’re in a room with someone that you’ve just met, but you feel like you’ve known them forever. You have good chemistry with this person, and it makes what you’re saying and doing feel real and genuine. This is what you need to look for in your writing. When you have good chemistry with your character, they’ll feel like they’ve known you for years and will want to be with you forever.
9. Find The Story’s Moral
Every story has a lesson to teach, and it’s your job as a writer to find this lesson and communicate it to the reader. The best stories always have a moral to them, and this is what you need to work on finding. Your story might teach the reader something about society, life, or love. It could be a character-defining moment or the start of a new relationship. Whatever it may be, you need to find a way to make it clear to the reader. This might require that you re-phrase something or add an extra twist to the ending of your story.