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1)Tools of the trade:
Though I enjoy using Wordpad (things seem to flow better with it), some work require more than it offers. This is where Open Office and Microsoft Word comes in. Open Office is completely free but it has less features than Word. Since I've lost my Word CD, I have been using Open Writer ever since and it's great. Google for Open Office and download it. Simple features like spell check will save you a lot of time.
I also recommend you have a thesaurus on hand. It can substitute a dictionary and it's great to find synonyms to the words you want to write. If you think you've used a word too often or it simply feels too plain for the occasion there's an exit out of this.
Let's 'Tes' the world 'sad' and see what we can get:
Dejected, desolate, dispirited, down, downcast, downhearted, dull, dysphoric, gloomy, heavy-hearted, low, melancholic, melancholy, sad, spiritless, tristful, unhappy, wistful
The sentence originally was:
He was feeling sad.
Now becomes:
He was feeling melancholic.
Isn't that much better? This is only an example. Further down this list, I'll teach you how to further improve your writing while using this method. To make things better still, I also have a free alternative:
Online Thesaurus
Fast and good. I recommend it. This finishes this section. I was going to write about how you need to find a keyboard that your really comfortable with but that's common sense, isn't it?
2) Beginning a story.
Stop typing! Before you begin writing something you must know two things:
How it begins
and
how it ends
The in-between can come along as you are already typing the beginning. This will save you a lot of time! It also gives you more opportunities to further improve your story as you go along. The only exception is when your feeling overly creative and inspired. In this occasion it's better to just let it flow. Enjoy the moment many of us wish it could happen at will.
You should also have created your characters by this point. You should at least have created the protagonist prior to writing.
3) Characters
Characters are more than words in quotes. They need to be treated like living people, you gave them the breath of life and they now live within your story. A character needs a complex personality. Things like:
demeanor, nature, habits, flaws, qualities, back story , and many other things you can think of and are willing to do. Even if a lot of information the reader doesn't get to see, this is important to making your character unique, captivating and lifelike. Characters in my opinion are the most important aspect of a story. Never underestimate a story with characters that the reader finds charming and can relate to.
4) Improving your writing
If you think I'm going to give you a lecture on grammar and spelling, your quite wrong. In reality if a story is good and can really draw in the reader the last thing he's gonna care about how correct your english is. Look at me, my english is far from perfect. It's my third language yet I seem to please quite an amount of people with my work. You should only worry about writing correctly if your at school or at work.
Now let's see how you can truly improve your writing:
He was feeling sad.
He was feeling melancholic.
You already know this much. So let's take it to the next level:
At that point of time, he felt melancholic.
John held his forehead. His eyes staring out between the spaces of his digits. So many things were on his mind. His body felt heavy yet hollow. A tear ran down his cheek, his lips trembling. "Why, Rosangela? Why?" Everything felt futile to him. Things no longer had a meaning. The joyful flame of life was extinguished for him. He sat back against the bed and shut his eyes. He started to wish he was someone else and somewhere far away.
So much for one message? Not really this can be improved even further (and further). There's no such thing as 'enough improvement'. There's only how much your willing to do or time allows. That's the moral of this story.
5) Posting a story
Your story is now complete. As a writer you must be dying to let see people see your hard work. Thankfully ES has our beloved Writings section for this. Let me give you a few pointers:
A)Have your story available as an attachment. People that like your story will read better this way.
B)Don't be oversensitive. If people don't like your work, don't give up! Next time you'll blow them away. That's the spirit.
C) Don't write if you aren't having fun.
This finishes this thread. If you have any questions I'd be more than glad to answer them. Thanks for reading!
-Overdose
Edited by Overdose, 27 May 2008 - 01:30.
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There is something about that example that I find funny... 
it will be soon found out why 
