Before I begin, I'd like to point out that I am not an expert द्वारा any means. I'm not a लेखन guru या a master advice-giver-person. I am simply a fellow writer who wants to pass on what she's learned; and if there's something I कहा आप don't like, आप don't have to follow it. Just take what आप can use and leave the rest.
Alright, here we go! Strap on your seatbelts, kiddies!
Dearheart's Do's and Dont's:
DON'T ever use textese!! (Example: "ill tlk 2 u l8tr.") I can't stress this enough...and yes, I am looking at YOU, preteen people. Just. DON'T. Too many so-called "online writers" do it. It's very, very bad (not to mention a slap in the face to the English language) and it shows that you're too lazy to bother लेखन something decent. Use proper spelling and grammar, break every idea and every new line of dialogue into its own paragraph and always proofread your stuff before sharing it. It's simply common courtesy for writers; there's no excuse for not doing it.
DO avoid Mary Sue-isms (and check out my पूर्व लेख if आप don't know what a Mary Sue is)...but also, give your character a good balance of virtues and flaws, strengths and weaknesses. Deepen and develop her character, and make her believable - someone your readers can truly care about and relate to. दिखाना how she struggles to overcome real-life obstacles like everyone else. The और human and believable she is, the better.
Having कहा that, आप don't have to go to extremes and make her totally boring. It's okay to give her a talent या two and add a little spice to her. As long as she's a real person and not some angsty warrior princess from heaven who's half एंजल and is destined to save the universe blah blah blah...well, आप get the idea.
DON'T start out your story with a विवरण of your hero/heroine's appearance, personality and specialness. BIG MISTAKE. It's boring, predictable, amateurish, sounds like a driver's license, etc. Focus और on her character than her appearance. Don't go to great lengths to describe the way her "raven-black hair shimmers in the moonlight while her starry बैंगनी, वायलेट eyes sparkle and her flowing गाउन flutters in the breeze", etc. It makes her look extremely Sue-ish. A little romantic, poetic language is nice here and there...but really!
DO दिखाना how each character is different. Show how they think, talk, act and respond differently. Develop your characters and add depth to them द्वारा letting their virtues and flaws दिखाना through sometimes.
DO use body-language and दिखाना what your characters are feeling. Use actions to tell the emotions. Like instead of लेखन "She was really scared", say something like "She shrank back against the wall, trembling, her eyes wide with fear". Instead of "he was angry", say "his eyes grew stormy and his jaw clenched in silent anger".
DO use good verbs to दिखाना the action (this is where a thesaurus comes in handy). Instead of "She walked up to the counter and took the vase", दिखाना the mood of the scene with better verbs, like this: "She snuck up to the counter and grabbed the vase." या this: "She waltzed up to the counter and hugged the vase." :-) A good strong verb can do wonders for you!
DO use the other four senses to describe things. Anyone can describe what they SEE...how about what they hear, smell, taste and feel? If आप were blind and taking a walk in the forest, how would आप describe your experience?
DON'T mess around with POV (Point Of View) if आप can help it. It's annoying and distracting when आप see the words "So-and-so's POV" and "end POV" stuck right in the middle of the story. Try to keep to one character's POV per chapter. If आप want to switch POV in the middle of the chapter, try to do so without directly saying so.
DON'T use cliche phrases. Avoid them as much as possible, especially the ones like "It was प्यार at first sight", "Believe in yourself", "Follow your heart", and "Maybe everything will be okay after all". They're nice, but very Disneyish and way too "warm-and-fuzzy-feelyish". We've all heard them before. Warm fuzzy feelings are okay, but after a while it leaves आप wanting something और solid. I want the story to stop SAYING those things and दिखाना how the characters are DOING them. Put away the jars of "baby-food" and gimme the "meat and potatoes", baby! I crave substance!
DO try and paint a picture of words for the reader. Use good imagery when describing what things look like. For instance, instead of saying "they watched the pretty sunset", say something like this: "They gazed up in awe at the painted sky above them. Stretched across the heavens in swirling रंग was a sunset of dusky purple and fiery सोना that set the mountains ablaze with orange. Delicate clouds of magenta whispered against the bright, fierce gold, as though the brushstrokes of a skilled artist had put them there..."
DON'T try to be Shakespeare. या JRR Tolkien. या ANYBODY. If आप try too hard to be uber-poetic, toss in tons of fancy words and create jungles of adjectives, your लेखन will sound gushy and ridiculous and you'll be in trouble. Be yourself and use your own style...and if you'd like to try and emulate someone else's style, that's fine. It's fun to do, now and then. Just don't try too hard.
Whew, I think that's all I have for now. (And hey, it worked! My concrete writer's block is slowly turning into ice-cream! There's hope for me yet!) I hope some of my tips were helpful, and again, please don't feel like आप have to follow all of them. Again, I'm not an expert...and there's plenty और for all of us to learn, me included.
How'd I learn all this stuff? It was a combination of my own experience and a WONDERFUL book called WordSmith. It's द्वारा Janie B. Cheaney and I highly recommend that book. It's extremely eye-opening, easy to read and lots of fun to go through (Janie has a great sense of humor, that's for sure).
So, boys and girls...say no to drugs, don't drink and drive, don't play with आग and most of all - KEEP WRITING! :)
A child huddles in a corner,
dirty and tired and alone.
He's too skinny, too tired, too pale.
But nobody notices.
His दिल breaks
as he watches the blurry-shaped people
walk past,
without glancing at him.
Screams echo off the cold walls surrounding him.
Not just his;
There's a few voices in that howl.
But they fall on deaf ears.
Hours pass. Days pass. People pass.
Still, nobody glances his way.
Darkness begins to creep in,
Bringing two एंन्जल्स with tear stained faces and heavy wings.
Silence has brought this,
and द्वारा the time people notice
it's too late.
The three एंन्जल्स have already left.
dirty and tired and alone.
He's too skinny, too tired, too pale.
But nobody notices.
His दिल breaks
as he watches the blurry-shaped people
walk past,
without glancing at him.
Screams echo off the cold walls surrounding him.
Not just his;
There's a few voices in that howl.
But they fall on deaf ears.
Hours pass. Days pass. People pass.
Still, nobody glances his way.
Darkness begins to creep in,
Bringing two एंन्जल्स with tear stained faces and heavy wings.
Silence has brought this,
and द्वारा the time people notice
it's too late.
The three एंन्जल्स have already left.
Carey Mulligan <3
