I require assistance.

[Laydee Kaze 400]

So like... Firstly, are there any avid writers here?

 

If so, I'd love a few tips/tricks on how to get better at writing. o_o

 

I seem to have the problem with repeating words a lot. I know I don't write FiMFics so maybe posting here is, *shrug*, but still... here's an example of what I keep doing:

 

Pinkie Pie trotted down towards Fluttershy's house, where she suddenly bumped into Rainbow Dash. "Oh hey Dashie, I didn't expect to see you here... thought you would have been up in cloudsdale." The blue pegasus shook her head and laughed. "Oh no Pinkie Pie, I'm coming to visit Fluttershy as she asked me to help her take Angel and all the other bunnies to a nice field she's set up for them!" Pinkie smiled and nodded, before suddenly bouncing up and down excitedly. "That's what I'm here for too!".

 

Like, I don't think I can really show what I'm doing without being completely in my /zone/ of writing. But an example there is that I repeated 'suddenly' a few times. It really bugs me, because even though I re-read through what I've written and neaten it up, some words seem to just kind of go un-noticed by me. I do it with 'before' 'of course' 'a lot' etc too. :< It's just frustrating noticing it way too often and having to change an entire sentence or similar to make it work, or get rid of the word.

 

Erm... Also just wondering if anyone can give me some more general tips? I think I'm alright with keeping in the same tense. But yeah. >.>

 

Oh one more question. If you do your chapters in like, event's... if one chapter is short, would you put two events together, or keep them separate and just have one chapter shorter than the others?

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

Avoiding word repetition can be more difficult than you might think. It takes significant amounts of practice and time. I succeed in doing it because I try my best to keep a large vocabulary, though that sometimes leads to me sounding a bit too pretentious.

 

Better would be to switch up how you write sentences. Rather than writing them the same way all the time, change the flow, change their length. Some sentences can be short. A few tiny. Others should be long, in depth, engrossing, with just a few clauses. Notice this short paragraph? I'm doing the sentence change intentionally here in an effort to demonstrate to you what I am trying to say.

 

Apart from that, I notice the dialog you wrote there sounded quite awkward. It also didn't really sound in character, not quite. Preventing awkwardness in dialog is difficult, but one of the best ways to do it is to say every line aloud, so you can hear how they sound to your ears. What sounds good in your head can often sound quite different when spoken. Characterization, on the other hand, requires that you pay more careful attention to the characters you're writing for. Sometimes rewatching old episodes can help with that, since they can hammer down just how the character acts. Most important when doing so, however, is to observe the characters in action rather than just taking in what they're doing. Examine their actions from all possible angles and consider why they're saying what they're saying or doing what they're doing.

 

If you'd like general FIMFiction help, EQD's Editor Omnibus is actually quite helpful and provides a number of supplementary links. In terms of fanfiction in general, however, probably the best way to go about it is to look up general writing tips, as they apply just as much to fanfiction as to published works.

[Laydee Kaze 400]

Avoiding word repetition can be more difficult than you might think. It takes significant amounts of practice and time. I succeed in doing it because I try my best to keep a large vocabulary, though that sometimes leads to me sounding a bit too pretentious.

 

Better would be to switch up how you write sentences. Rather than writing them the same way all the time, change the flow, change their length. Some sentences can be short. A few tiny. Others should be long, in depth, engrossing, with just a few clauses. Notice this short paragraph? I'm doing the sentence change intentionally here in an effort to demonstrate to you what I am trying to say.

I've been trying to widen my vocabulary by using a thesaurus when it comes to me noticing that I'm about to repeat a word, but I've noticed that a lot of the time, the suggestions will not fit in at all. hah.

 

I tend to change the sentence length in my actual fanfic, but I can completely understand what you mean. Like this, is my first chapter in the fic I'm writing. xD As I've gone on my paragraphs have definitely become a bit samey with the structure.

 

 

 

 

Quiet. Everything was quiet.

It was just before mid-day, and there were only a few minutes left before the silence would be broken. Filled with the sound of gunfire, screams and jeers of the RED and BLU teams.

The objective? Capture the intelligence.

 

 

 

 

Apart from that, I notice the dialog you wrote there sounded quite awkward. It also didn't really sound in character, not quite. Preventing awkwardness in dialog is difficult, but one of the best ways to do it is to say every line aloud, so you can hear how they sound to your ears. What sounds good in your head can often sound quite different when spoken. Characterization, on the other hand, requires that you pay more careful attention to the characters you're writing for. Sometimes rewatching old episodes can help with that, since they can hammer down just how the character acts. Most important when doing so, however, is to observe the characters in action rather than just taking in what they're doing. Examine their actions from all possible angles and consider why they're saying what they're saying or doing what they're doing.

 

Yeah, I can understand that, also. However the little snippet I wrote just then was very rushed, and was probably awkward. xD hah. Was just trying to demonstrate the repetitiveness more-over my actual writing. With this TF2 fic I'm writing, it's pretty hard to keep the characters in-character, as I have pretty much a 3 minute video of them, and a handful of in-game dialogue to go off. I /think/ I've made the Spy in my story a bit nicer than you'd usually see him. Thinking of gradually changing that, but I'm not sure if it will affect the story or not, considering he's been a bit on/off, to really nice... with the current other character he's been frequently interacting with.

 

If you'd like general FIMFiction help, EQD's Editor Omnibus is actually quite helpful and provides a number of supplementary links. In terms of fanfiction in general, however, probably the best way to go about it is to look up general writing tips, as they apply just as much to fanfiction as to published works.

 

Cheers, I'll make sure to check it out :3

[Speedy Transition 788]

THIS IS MY CHANCE! THAT FANCY GRADE C ENGLISH GCSE WILL SAVE YOU!!! wait... haha never mind

Good luck with your writing

[Laydee Kaze 400]

Cheers Speedy :3

[Speedy Transition 788]

Cheers Speedy :3

 

TEEHEE!

[Ajay 10]

a thesaurus can help with repeating words too often

know your ending and write to it

if two events are relivent to each other they could work together, but most times having them separate can allow you to add more detail later

[Laydee Kaze 400]

a thesaurus can help with repeating words too often

know your ending and write to it

if two events are relivent to each other they could work together, but most times having them separate can allow you to add more detail later

 

I dunno, I don't think I'll really go back and add more once I've posted it up for everyone to see, since I know a lot of people don't like re-reading chapters.

 

But, hmm. trying to word it in a way to help get advice...

 

I had a chapter where a character got caught doing wrong, and left it on a cliffhanger.

I just wrote a chapter to wrap up that event, and now I need to move onto the next day.

 

Not sure whether to join the 'wrap up' chapter with the next day, or just have it as a short one... I think it's around 1000 odd words, and most of my chapters have been 2000-4000 words, so it seems a bit short...

Edited May 16, 2012 by Laydee Kaze

[Prince Lightning Da Cute 619]

Word repitiom doesn't seem like a much of a problem any more but describing the scene and actions could use a bit of help my friend.

[Chigens and Kay 3,832]

Is it weird that I read this thread title in the Spy's voice..?

[Guest]

I think it boils down to natural talent and practice.

... Okay, not really natural talent, just practice.

If you haven't grown up in a household where language is a heavy focus, then you may be at a slight disadvantage (when compared to those who have, of course.)

 

If you've grown up with it, it's natural.

If you haven't grown up with it -- practice makes perfect.

[Hat988 108]

If you are saying the same words often, I think of the thesaurus as a not-quite solution because it is only repetition in disguise. If there are two happenings in the story that can be described in similar ways (like suddenly bumping into a character), instead of writing them essentially the same but with different words, try coming in to the situation from a different angle. I can't explain it very well so just think of attacking a fortress. Don't use the same strategy twice, check the sides and look for other openings. This way you won't have to use a similar description with replaced words from the thesaurus because it will be different but achieve the same objective. Hope it's clear enough for you to get what I'm trying to say.

Edited May 17, 2012 by Hat988

[Laydee Kaze 400]

Is it weird that I read this thread title in the Spy's voice..?

 

That was initially the plan ;D Haha. Glad ONE person had it happen >:3

 

I think it boils down to natural talent and practice.

... Okay, not really natural talent, just practice.

If you haven't grown up in a household where language is a heavy focus, then you may be at a slight disadvantage (when compared to those who have, of course.)

 

If you've grown up with it, it's natural.

If you haven't grown up with it -- practice makes perfect.

 

Yeah, I can completely understand that :3 It is my first time writing in about... three year xD so ~

 

If you are saying the same words often, I think of the thesaurus as a not-quite solution because it is only repetition in disguise. If there are two happenings in the story that can be described in similar ways (like suddenly bumping into a character), instead of writing them essentially the same but with different words, try coming in to the situation from a different angle. I can't explain it very well so just think of attacking a fortress. Don't use the same strategy twice, check the sides and look for other openings. This way you won't have to use a similar description with replaced words from the thesaurus because it will be different but achieve the same objective. Hope it's clear enough for you to get what I'm trying to say.

 

Yeah, I can understand what you mean. So like, if I'm struggling getting a sentence/paragraph right with wording, maybe change the actual actions of the character and see if it's easier to write?

 

Word repitiom doesn't seem like a much of a problem any more but describing the scene and actions could use a bit of help my friend.

 

Mmm, yeah. xD I mean, that little thing I wrote up was no where near what I properly write like... eh, I'd like, link and stuff, but it's now gone into the sort of NSFW side of things from Chapter 5 onwards. 1 - 4 I think I was alright with describing scenes/actions. Haha.

[Hat988 108]

Yeah, I can understand what you mean. So like, if I'm struggling getting a sentence/paragraph right with wording, maybe change the actual actions of the character and see if it's easier to write?

 

Yep, change the actions or have the character find out something from another source so you don't have to run the character into the same situation.

 

Edit: With the 'suddenly' problem, I find that tends to be an issue with cause and effect. If you need something to happen but nothing in the story has indicated it should happen, 'suddenly' gets used. In your situation it would be very minor - have Pinkie Pie notice the sky looks like it's just been cleared (some indicator of RD's presence). That way it doesn't seem as surprising she would bump into RD randomly but it is still interesting because you don't yet know why she is there.

Edited May 17, 2012 by Hat988