Thanks to what is going on in the world, I have had a lot more free time. Due to this, I have started another story which I hope to get posted soon. Instead of uploading singular chapters, I will upload one arc at a time to help keep my mind focused on finishing one story at a time. All my older stories are up for adoption as I lost all the data since my old laptop died...dumbass me never backed anything up lol. My writing style has changed. There is less dialogue, more writing, and a focus on keeping the chapters around 2 to 5k words long which equates to five to 8 pages in Microsoft Word. Hope to be back soon!

TIPS FOR NEW, OR FUTURE WRITERS

To any new or future writers on this site, how does it feel to start your very first story? Do you see it as a daunting challenge, does nervousness form in the pit of your stomach, do you second guess yourself when you are about to post your chapters for the very first time? If you have, don't worry, I had it when I started on this site many years ago, and no doubt other authors have felt this as well. What I am about to describe is how I go about creating a story; some massive, some not. A disclaimer to this is I know that my technique will not work for everyone.

When I first started writing, I had no set way of making my story flow. I just made chapters willy nilly, and cared little about how my work came out. Sadly, I found out that I should have cared. Many reviews and PM's bombarded me with how to critique my work, some a little on the flame side, and I was starting to feel overwhelmed by this. So, I took a break from writing a little bit, and then thought back to my many English classes in high school, and in college. The answer hit me fairly quickly; I had no outline, no backbone to my story. I had a beginning and end in my mind, but what about the meat of the proverbial story sandwich?

So, ever since then, I planned my stories carefully. Although it took longer to get to writing the actual story, by time I started doing so, I found it to be much easier. On this outline was many things.

A title of the story. The plot of the story. What are my main characters, who are the protagonists, and who are the antagonists. Character descriptions if they were not going to act like cannon. Chapter Summaries And, just added recently, Arc Summaries.

Like composing good music, it takes time to plan everything out. I usually spend about a month or so getting the outline done. A fair warning to all, is that 9 times out of 10 this outline will not be followed chapter wise. Why? The best answer I can give is reviews. Some of the readers on this site have really good ideas, and they sometimes happen to end up in a review on your story. My advice to you? Listen to it! No matter how corny it may sound, listen to it. Look back in the outline you made, and see if it can be fit in somehow. If not, kindly respond back and tell them that you like the idea, but it will not fit into your plans. That is another thing, try to respond back to almost all of your reviews. It forms a virtual bond between reader and writer, and, in some cases, can be very beneficial in the long run.

Next on the list is starting to write the story. So, the question is what environment do you work in best? Do you like absolute silence, some noise in the background perhaps? For me, I find that listening to music that fits what I am writing about helps focus my mind on the task at hand. Refer to your outline time and again to see if you are going the right direction. Once the chapter is done, proofread it. Now, you may not get all the mistakes out of there, but the readers will be happy that you took the time to do this. After this, edit the chapter on this site, and then post it.

As reviews come in, and your favorite, follows, and community numbers start to increase, you might start feeling the need to pump out chapters as quickly as possible.

Not the case.

Like I said about composing music; it takes time. For me, I try to post every week depending on work and college, more if I have nothing else to do. So, what is the average chapters a week one should post? In my honest opinion, that would be two. Why? It gives the brain time to rest, and time to think about the last chapter you just wrote. More ideas might come to mind during this time, so quickly jot them down to see if they would fit in the story. As more chapters get written, I get in the habit of rereading what I already posted. This helps lessen the chances of these things happening.

Plot holes. Continuity errors.

Eventually, the time will come where your story will be completed. You can now breath a sigh of relief. But, don't just stop at one story, no, I beg for you to use that imagination of yours; let the words flow from your mind and onto the paper. There are many out there that will like what you have to offer, some, not so much; but don't let that deter you. The longer you keep writing, the better you will become. So, in recap, this is what I recommend to any new or future writers on this site.

Get an idea in your head, and make an outline of the story. Once done with the outline, find the environment you work best in, and start to write. Refer to your outline as you write the chapters. Reread your work to avoid plot holes and continuity errors. Listen to reviewers, and try to respond to them. Take your time.

Thank you all, and I do hope that you enjoyed my advice.

Best regards,

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