8 Humble Suggestions Regarding Fiction and The Art of Writing

Writing has always been my passion, and not to mention one of my very few interests that truly has me invested as these days become more and more hectic. However, what's a novice writer supposed to do when providing suggestions and advice to those who want to learn how to write?

Especially considering that I am by no means an expert in this field. However, it never hurts to get a fellow writer's perspective on how to go about your writing without losing yourself in the details or mistakes one might make.

Because I have committed mistakes before when writing, and I certainly would like to give advice and suggestions that allows people to benefit from them.

Which then begs the question of where to start first?

1: Draft. An Outline.

Trust me, you'll save yourself a lot of trouble.

The reason for this is that drafting an entire story from scratch with no outline is like trying to hike up a mountain with no clear map or trail to lead you up to the top. It'll exhaust you, take you too much time that you're probably wasting, and you'll be disheartened from doing the climb to begin with.

Drafting an outline can lead to being able to figure out where to place your story beats and plot points. However, more often than not, the benefit of having an outline is that it is flexible and ever-changing. If you write an idea and decided to change it up in the future, more often than not it's easy to do so without a headache if you write an outline. The best part is that an outline does not need to be strict, or rigid. If you ever naturally forget what you wanted write, the outline serves itself as a reminder of all your story beats and helpful ideas.

So an outline is definitely a must.

2: Work on Building The World's Foundations.

Now that you have drafted an outline of what you want to see in your plot, you also have to get to know and build the world in which the story will take place. To quote from Brandon Sanderson, a brilliant Fantasy Author:

Though in this genre we write about the fantastic, the stories work best when there is solid grounding in our world. Magic works best for me when it aligns with scientific principles. Worldbuilding works best when it draws from sources in our world. Characters work best when they're grounded in solid human emotion and experience.

Worldbuilding a fantasy world sounds simple, and yet very difficult, but not due to complexity. Simply because trying to ground it in a semblance of reality works the best for storytellers as opposed to worlds where rules do not apply. It's essential to start thinking about what you want to put in your world. Depending on your genre, you also may need to adjust the important factions and essential rules of your world.

Still, go wild with whatever you want to do!

3: Try to learn about Archetypes and Tropes.

While this may seem like a n inconsequential piece of advice, it does go a long way for telling your story. Archetypes have existed in fiction, literature, mythology, and storytelling in general. Often times, they may vary depending on Genre, such as the Hero Archetype, or how stories also have the Dragon Archetype.

However, Archetypes can also come in a set. Such as Carl Jung's 12 main archetypes that he listed, which are also an interesting read if you ever wish to know more.

Note, that archetypes are not typically always on the nose or too obvious. For example, the Dragon Archetype is typically used to refer to the final obstacle the Hero has to face before facing off the great evil that threatens the world. A personal obstacle, more often than not.

As for Tropes, these are defined as typical elements, whether related to plot, character, or visual metaphors. Knowing how Archetypes are used and what they mean, as well as how to use tropes in a way that avoids overused cliche's can help with writing your own personal stories.

If you learn a bit more about the tropes and archetypes, then there is more variety for you to learn and switch up the formula.

4: Establish Characters As Human.

This is simple, and seems a bit obvious, but it's important to write characters with distinguishing character traits, as well as flaws that make them human. I can't emphasize this any more, that an engaging character is not a perfect character. They don't save everybody all the time, they don't have the adoration of everybody around them, and more importantly they don't always have the right answer.

But characters like that are flawed, and yet very engaging. However, I believe that a flawed character is engaging due to the fact that many of us have made a lot of mistakes. Sometimes we might have made a bad impression, or may have said the wrong thing. And yet people like that are relatable, when balanced well enough.

A character can have likeable traits, but flaws allow the people to relate to somebody who is human.

And so, when it comes to making your characters, I advise that you give them good character traits mixed with flaws that allow for some dimension.

5: Form Character Dynamics.

Now, assuming you have made an ensemble cast with varied personalities and varying archetypes or different flaws; now comes the type of establishing their character dynamics. For example, the mentor-student dynamic can be used with two characters that fit. The student could be anybody who is in a position of learning, inexperienced, or wanting to be more advanced in their profession; and the mentor could be any person with a higher standing of knowledge compared to the student, and is willing to teach.

Or if you want to do the star-crossed lovers dynamic, where two characters have fallen in love; but they live on two different opposing sides that threatens to tear them apart.

These dynamics are small, but they can also grow to being relevant and important to the plot and theme of your story. As a writer, these little details allow for a greater understanding and engagement of the audience to the characters that interact.

6: Dedicate Some Time To Building A System

This advice takes place outside of the plot, but it certainly helps you as the writer to make your world consistent and a lot more easier to maintain. The system in this case refers to your ability to make time for writing, as well as setting up a routine that allows you to be put in the best creative mindset for writing.

While this may not work for everyone else, what does work for me is listening to music in an environment conducive to my mood, while also exposing myself to different creative outlets. Such as art, tv shows that excite one's own imagination, and on rare occasions maybe even physical exercise, which is known to have helped with the mind.

7: Find a Calm Environment for Writing.

This one may seem a bit obvious, but it also helps with getting writing done when you have a deadline or wish to simply be productive. When referring to a calm environment, I personally think of a library room with minimal distractions, silence that allows you to focus, and a desk that's empty save for your laptop. Of course, if you work well with music, have some headphones on and play focused music that incentivizes soothing harmonies as opposed to rock or jazz, which can be distracting due to it's rapid melody.

However, everybody's definition of a calm environment for writing varies; therefore, feel free to experiment what works for you as a writer when you are busy writing and figuring out environments that allow you to be productive with no distractions. Overall, be sure to take your time with this step.

8: Find yourself a Word Processor That Works For You.

Simpler said than done, but certainly an important step for various people. A word processor is very much an important tool for every sort of writer, which allows for various tools. Oftentimes, the internet has various word processors that are reliable. They provide perfect tools such as highlighting, formatting, and spacing which allows for the writer to have a comfortable sight of what they are building from the beginning.

Very popular word processors that people tend to use are Microsoft Word, and Google Docs, and for often good reason. Microsoft Word is built for PC and allows for insertion of many ideas and graphics that allow for easy writing for an aspiring novelist. Google docs is much more simpler, and also easily accessible from your Samsung Phone, which easily allows for access to your documents.

Be sure to take your time, but these aren't the two only word processors you can use.

Conclusion

Hopefully these small suggestions from a novice writer provide some form of help and entertainment, along with some helpful sources that allow you to take these advices to the best that you as the reader can take them. In general, writing is a tough hobby as well as an immensely rewarding and fun job.

Feel free to take these suggestions to heart. Or not. Or maybe somewhere in the middle.

Once again, it's all up to you.