101 Writing Tips

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I just published my first novel at the age of 69! I wrote about baseball players in , and this guy played ball in my high school. I remembered what he looked like in his high school uniform, described it, then the other characters just came out of the blue. In , Latin players were just breaking in in large numbers, and the regular players had names like Joe, Dick, Jimmy, Bobby, etc. I pulled out my high school yearbook and looked at the names boys had back then. I have been toying with the idea of writing a book for many years now.

The idea behind my story is to write about events that have happened to myself however I would rather change names, orders events happened and perhaps add some details to make it more entertaining. The story would consist of, love, heartbreak, abuse and murder. Right now however my story does not have a happy ending. In fact, probably only one or two chapters will seem like things are looking up for the main character but for most of the book it is just her trying to keep sane and deal with everything being thrown at her. Personally I have read many sad stories but they all tend to have some sort of positive at the end.

Even romeo and juliet, fair enough they both committed suicide but it was so they could be together. Is a sad ending suitable or should I really try harder to come up with a positive?

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Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this. I want to write something along those lines as well. I feel like novels can be written in a negative, darker only if done correctly. This is why I wanted to write a novel about my life obviously with some variations and focus on the somewhat dismal aspects of it as while these things might be upsetting, it is necessary that these things like mental health and abuse are talked about.

Not every story needs a happy ending as that is quite a common cliche anyway.

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Any sort of ending is great for a story as long as it is suitable and does not seem overly forced or rushed and is an accurate conclusion on the events that happened during the course of the book. My book, which just came out, does not have a happy ending. You need to find a great editor to help you parse out your ending.

Write it the way you WANT it to end, then the editor will guide you with your writing. Valley of the Dolls ended with Lyon cheating… again…. Lessons learned can be an ending. If it gives the reader a reason to lol at their own life, you write a good ending. What matters is writing a great story. I wish I stumbled with this post before. Anyways I will be sure to include your info on the next update. You can check my guide here: I appreciate all and any advice.

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Reading this list, I had a light bulb moment. I start writing and y characters come to life even with Flaws…but then they just sit there… I think i understand why now. I hate conflict in my life… I need to learn that conflict is a part of life and your characters need to experience the conflict so that you can tell their story.

Life happens whether you write it down or not. This has helped a lot— thank you so much. Thank you for this excellent advice and counsel — there is no one more credible than the published author who is doing what you are attempting to do. This is worthy of pinning to the wall in front of your computer.

Your few tips here say it all, especially the last. The advice here is succinct and possible. Thanks for taking the time to share your expertise. Hi guys, I am trying to sel-publish my novel and I found this on the way. Do you know anything about this. Please let me know if any one of you came to know about this. The titles alone of each of your bestsellers mentioned would be intriguing as the first step in processing my story…the first step to building characters and forming their journey. I think this may help. Thanks, Jennifer for the wonderful ideas.

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But all the tips are right on. Thanks for sharing, and good luck with the new book! I liked 4 because it answered my questions about my chapters and how to flesh out some characters. I plan to use the index cards the way you suggested so that I can see where my characters are going in the story.

Thank you for your great advice. Thank you very much for the advice, I look forward to implementing some of them in my current work in progress.

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I can see now where my plot suffered with a weak, undeveloped character I have a notebook now with her secrets , where the story floundered because it lost the momentum and importance of conflict. I gave up in December but started up again after reading this a couple of days ago. They are broad in nature: This list will continue to grow… so subscribe for free updates to receive the latest articles. Interested in creative writing?

Want to learn more about it? In this guide you will learn…. Are you an aspiring novelist? Will your novel see the light of day? For that, you will need to make the first chapter of your story as compelling as possible or readers will not even pick up your novel. That chapter can be the deciding point that determines whether your novel is published or not.

Because good editors know how you write just from the first three pages… or sometimes even from the opening lines. Check it out for more. I offer writing, editing and proofreading , as well as website creation services. Get your work done through me, and get fast and efficient service. No worries — we address all creative writing issues, magnetic writing tips, the nuts and bolts of writing and what not in our articles which are filled with this stuff. If not… hop on board for some truly awesome stuff.

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