The Writing Advice Game!

[Otulissa]

Great tip! I should try that with poetry!

Make sure that you never, ever copy other people's work, without asking their permission and giving credit.  

[Talon StarDrifter]

Yes, that's considered plagiarism and is totally wahmbulance . Es verdad. biggrin

Try not to start your sentences with the same word. Instead of "She did this... She wanted this instead... She received... She ate..." Go more like, "Mary did this... However, she wanted this instead... Despite her wishes, she received... In the end, Mary ended up eating..." It makes for better and easier writing. biggrin
 

[Otulissa]

Ooh! That's a good idea. I never thought of it in that way. XD;;

When writing a poem, try not to restrict yourself. Let loose, and let your mind wander, and the words will just come to you from inspiration. Don't try to force out something into a poem on paper; it doesn't work that way. (Unless it's a school assignment. XD;; Then if you have no inspiration, you will have to force it out. I don't think your teacher will like it if you say, "I had no inspiration, sorry!" But, if you are writing in your own free time, let loose!)  

[Virgil Lifeson]

Write whenever you get the chance.


I took every chance I got while I was at Cold Lake. Wasn't a lot of time granted, but I used it to the best of my ability.  

[Otulissa]

Hm... that's a good one! I hope typing counts...because I've been typing my work more often than writing it lately. xD;;

Take constructive criticism as a compliment rather than an insult. The critic cares about your work, and you should be flattered that he/she read through your work and took the time to find mistakes/errors about it.  

[Virgil Lifeson]

Everyone's a critic. rolleyes

Still, it's good, and helps you improve.

Also, NEVER TOSS ANY OF YOUR WORK AWAY. You never know when you might want to pursue a previous idea.  

[Otulissa]

That's good advice for me. XD I've gotten rid of some of my work. XD But, it was like second grade and third grade stuff. About tapeworms and flukes. Sci-fi weirdness. Don't ask how I wrote about parasites at that age. xD I watched a lot of documentaries about parasites...and sci-fi movies. So, I sort of merged the two genres. XD

When printing off a typed draft of your work, always read it over and edit it. Even the best speller could have an accidental typo.  

[Rigormortis Metamorphosis]

O.o I need to do that, Although I really haven't ever written anything yet. Or printed for that matter. Still thats a useful thing for checking homework and such.

Reread each sentence and look out for clutter, A.K.A you use more ',' then you do '.' .

 

[Otulissa]

That's a simple, good way to put it! Check for too much clutter by looking at punctuation. ^_^ Good idea!

Sometimes playing music can help you write. It helps me, for one. For example, if I'm trying to write a sad scene, but it always comes out with not much sad impact, or doesn't sound as sad as I would like it to be, then I listen to depressing, emotional music when I write that scene. And, it comes out pretty sad, actually. ^_^  

[Rigormortis Metamorphosis]

I do that a lot, then I pause and relize that I was just writing the lyrics of the song... whee

-ThinksForAMoment- I don't know if this is helpful, but try planning out your chapters and then doing a small summary so you know if you end at the right place to start the next one.  

[Otulissa]

Hm...that's an interesting thing to think about!

On the computer, spell check isn't perfect. Be sure to edit and proofread manually by reading it over yourself and consulting a dictionary if you are unsure. (I have had annoying experiences with the Word spell check messing up my spellings... xD Especially with names...)  

[Rigormortis Metamorphosis]

Otulissa

Hm...that's an interesting thing to think about!

On the computer, spell check isn't perfect. Be sure to edit and proofread manually by reading it over yourself and consulting a dictionary if you are unsure. (I have had annoying experiences with the Word spell check messing up my spellings... xD Especially with names...)

[My school computers used to think that I was trying to spell shoe lace when I wrote my name...its chelsea by the way...]  

[Otulissa]

((What does "Chelsea" have to do with "shoe lace?" ...That's just strange. They don't even look or sound the same...))  

[Guardian of the Skies]

the words of your written literature are scribed by your hands but written by your heart. like an artist's brush, the pen is used to make a genuine masterpiece capable of touching the soul and manipulating the observer's emotions.