Writing Advice: Archives

Advice Column | Originally posted on Instagram Nov 2023

Q: Any tips for writing compelling dialogue?

A: Give each character a distinct voice. What words or phrases do they say often? What attitudes and worldviews do they convey through their speech? Add subtext to your conversations. There should be a deeper meaning beneath everything your characters say that reveals something about their personality, desires, motives. Etc.

Q: Do you only use Google docs for writing? If not, what other platforms or apps do you use? How do you successfully write conflict and create tension, and how do you think we can get our desired writing style?

A: 1. Yes, I only use Google docs! I feel like people hype up paid programs a lot, but I have never had any issues sticking with just Gdocs. I also use Google sheets to track word count and to plot my works.

2. Conflict: Base the plot’s conflict around your character’s internal struggle. What are they insecure about? What are they scared of? The conflict of the plot should test their limits and force them to face their fears.

3. Writing style develops over time. As you write more, you’ll discover your strengths and learn what feels right to you. Read various authors to learn about their styles as well. 

Q: How to make characters more realistic?

A: Give them traits and quirks beyond whatever they do in the story. For example, a character who’s an artist should have other interests and things going on beyond their art. They should have personality traits beyond a stereotypical artist’s personality, too (introverted, shy, etc). Think about your characters’ histories with their family, friends, and education, and how their past shapes their attitudes today. Think about the complexities of the people you know in real life. 

Q: How to practice and improve my writing?

A: No joke, read and write every day, even if you don’t think your writing is good. Challenge yourself to write even when you don’t feel like it. Starting a journal or a writing challenge can help with that. Reading across various genres also helps tremendously. The moment I started reading every day, my writing skills skyrocketed, and everyone who reads my work can identify what period of my life it came from based on whether I read then or not. Classic literature is a good idea, too. 

Q: How do I find the motivation to finish my project:

A: The non-brutal answer: Build a habit of writing daily, and eventually, you’ll get into the rhythm of it. Try writing challenges or find a writing partner to hold you accountable.

The more brutal answer: If you really love something, you’ll do it regardless of having motivation. Motivation is not reliable because you don’t know when it’s going to come and go. You have to build a habit of writing every day and power through it even when you’re not in the mood to. Stop overthinking, and just do it!

Q: How do I get started on a writing project?

A: 1. Come up with an idea

2. Broaden said ideas (establish genre, setting, general plot, characters, arcs, etc.)

3. Establish your character’s fears, desires, and misbeliefs, then craft a plot that forces them to face their fears and reshape their view of the world.

4. Sit down and write !!!

You can always look for inspiration on PInterest, through music, through history/global conflicts, or by thinking of a personal experience that altered your brain chemistry. Develop a habit of reading and writing regularly. 

Q: How do I create meaningful characters that readers grow to love?

A: 1. Give them interests and abilities beyond what’s immediately relevant to the plot.

2. Give them complex emotional stakes and desires that conflict their fears.

3. Make them face issues that real people face, both externally and internally.

Also, avoid trying to make characters fit into a certain archetype or stereotype. Don’t restrict them to a box, and let them be messy and incomplete as real people are.

Q: How do I write love scenes without being corny or cringy?

A: 1. Avoid cliches or subvert expectations.

2. Make sure the characters involved are developed as individuals so the relationship seems more real and whole.

3. Don’t fall into the trap of writing “TikTok worthy” or “quotable” scenes or relationships! Make sure it’s organic and comes from your personal views of a good relationship dynamic.

Q: What’s your best writing tip?

A: Write for the sake of writing and because you enjoy it. Write stories that keep you up at night thinking about them. Write characters that face struggles you have firsthand experience with, and write with themes in mind over all else. 

Q: How to create a story that’s not generic?

A: Write from your heart. What do YOU personally care about? What stories do YOU want to see more of? Basing your writing around certain themes or ideas that appeal to you will make it much more personal and unique by extension.

Q: How do you organize your plots?

A: I plan all my books on paper, usually in a notebook, or on Google sheets. I plan chapter by chapter, but I’m ont afraid to deviate from it if I ever feel like it. You can also use spreadsheets to track chapters or word counts, but I’d definitely recommend chapter-by-chapter planning.

Q: “I'm currently writing a novel. I keep getting discouraged that many others won't see my work, so that's why I'm making an Instagram account to spread my work. Simply, what do you think my main focus should be? Should I finish writing my first draft? Should I wait until after I'm done to get my ideas out?”

A: I think a lot of people do both! They write a few times a week while continuing to write. Making posts and running my Instagram account obviously takes a lot less time than writing the actual book, so I focus more on the writing. In general, I would prioritize writing over all else because, at the end of the day, you can’t sell a book that doesn’t exist. That said, you can still share pieces of your draft or general reels/posts about your characters, themes, plot, tropes, etc. while you’re still drafting.

Q: How to overcome the feeling that you are writing something terrible and uninteresting? Because of this problem, I don’t see any point in continuing to write, although i have ideas for various novels

A: If you dislike your idea, there are 2 things you can do: 1) fix it by going back to the drawing board, making a list of things you like and things you want to change, and then coming up with a strategy to replace all the things you don’t like with better alternatives; or 2) scrap the idea and do something else. There are inevitably gonna be moments regardless of what you write when you aren’t satisfied with your writing, but the important thing is to take action and make the changes that you see necessary. After all, you should enjoy your writing and create the story that you want to see in the world. You just have to keep searching and editing and revising until you’re satisfied, and don’t compare yourself to others!

Q: How to start getting my work published and seen by others?

A: I think the first step to getting exposure is to post about your work on social media. It can be scary but it’s worth it if you consistently post unique, quality content about your book. As for publishing, that’s a whole can of worms that require a lot of research, but the first step once you have a manuscript is to edit it relentlessly, consider what kind of publishing you wanna do (self VS traditional), and the paths diverge from there. I’d highly suggest looking on YouTube for info!

Q: This isn’t really advice but I didn’t know where else to ask (sorry) how did you make the book cover?

A: For BNW, I wrote out all the text and drew the picture with a sharpie by hand and scanned it onto my computer, then I used Photoshop to assemble all the parts. The blue wallpaper background was a stock image I bought for like 20 cents and then changed the color of. I know you can find other people to make covers for you if you’d prefer, probably on Fiverr, Etsy, or other sites like that :)

Q: Best websites for information? Like historical info or anything from different cultures to types of fruit in specific regions.

A: I don’t know if I’m the best person to as this to because I just Google the specific question and stuff usually turns up. If you’re in school, you can easily find stuff from your school library or by talking to staff who may have expertise on certain subjects. I think JSTOR and Google Scholar are great for detailed research and for finding primary sources or articles :)

Q: How do you start a chapter?

A: I usually come up with at least a bare bones outline with a few key events I want happening in each chapter, then improvise from there. For example, I might plan for chapter 5 to involve a robbery scene. Then, when I start ch 5, I start by establishing the foundations for the event (what are the characters doing before the event? what is the atmosphere like? etc). It might help to treat each chapter as a mini episode where you have to build toward a specific event.

Q: How to market a book! (especially if it's your first one and you don't really have a following)

A: TBH I am still trying to figure that out (most of my following came from viral Reels that were variations on popular trending audios/captions, so I’m still struggling with getting my audience to care about my writing instead of just my funny posts). In my experience, what helps is posting regularly, posting unique content, and taking time to make posts that are high quality (HUGE emphasis on quality). You can use Photoshop, Canva, or similar things to create posts that have non-grainy images, aesthetic design, neat/helpful text, or take time to think of clever Reels/Tiktoks to make if that’s the direction you want to take. Look at popular writing accounts and take notes on what they’re doing (how often are they posting? What hashtags do they use? what’s the nature/quality of their content?).

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