PAPA'S TIPS FOR FICTION WRITERS ON STEEMIT

in #fiction7 years ago (edited)

This video was made at the request of @penauthor.


Trust me, with writers like @ericvancewalton and @johnnyray on steemit, I may not be the best one to ask for tips on writing better... but, since I was asked...

THE VIDEO

TIPS

While these tips were specifically aimed at the #fiction crowd, I do believe that anyone posting any form of writing on steemit could potentially learn something from the advice, so I've written some of it out for the folks who don't watch videos. I'll keep them short and simple, but I think that you'll get the points.



Writers can have a tendency to "write themselves into a story." This is where events, people, or places from the life of the author make their way into the story. Unless an author is specifically trying to avoid this, I say run with it. If it is what is flowing out of you when you write, then let it flow.



Proof-reading is crucial. Unfortunately, the hardest writing for an author to proof read is usually going to be their own. This is because they are familiar with the text. Since they think that they know what they wrote, often they will read it how they wanted to write it, without catching any errors that they may have made. I find this to be very true for myself. Whenever possible, try to have someone else help you proof read your writing prior to posting.



About a year ago I came across a post from @the-alien about some tips for writers. One thing that stuck out to me was that he suggested using shorter paragraphs. Many popular authors these days are doing this, so why shouldn't we? This was a tip that I picked up more recently and have been using in my writing on steemit.



Avoiding long blocks of text is going to be wise. Most readers these days are not going to want to look at an endless page of words. Add images when you are able to, or change up the size of the text to break up the monotony. This is what I have been doing in my Love, Like His novel.



I think that it is important to write about what you want to write about. Rather than trying to guess what your readers may want to read, just be yourself and write what you want. That way, a real person with real interests can connect with real readers. In the end, this will be a much better experience for everyone involved.



When possible, be consistent in your chapter posting. Though this is not necessary, it will help. If a reader knows that every day when they get home from work they can check out your next chapter, it'll help keep them coming back for more. Once one book or series is finished, they may stick around for the next one.

Until next time…

Don’t waste your time online, invest it with steemit.com


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TOP tips! thank you, very useful! i have one question.. at the end there you say we should be consistent! As you know im writing my Ecobuild Diary as a weekly thing.. pretty consistently.. Im curious though if you think it is better to post daily, or twice weekly to keep up the engagement?

The last several issues have had much- less engagement so im interested in your opinion? thanks @pappa-pepper

Great Writing Tips
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I like the short paragraph idea. Gives the reader the ability to take a few bites before they dig in. Also, changing the text in between paragraphs will encourage the reader...

Is Papa Pepper taking smart pills?

...to pay attention with significant points. No, he is a hard worker and a professional writer on Steemit where he has developed his craft and is being rewarded for his writing ability on every post he publishes.

This is so informative @papa-pepper. This will be the guidelines for us to be a successful on writing a good writeups. But one of my problems is how to express myself since english is not my mother tongue. It needs also at least have a basic knowledge in writing - those verb and noun aggreement and etc.

But anyway this article that you have posted @papa-pepper is so helpful to us and i will use this as my guide. Thank you for sharing this @papa-pepper

Thank you for that encouragement. I hope that it does bless you.

I personally think that for fiction, it simply requires a lot of reading and practice. Watching movies would be good too.

Don't forget to READ. That's all.

Watch the feeling you get when you actually read what's between the lines.

One day, you'll be able to capture and put into paper nuances of your own.

It's what's not being written that can provoke real feelings.

Nice post @papa-pepper

Intetesting pespective! Thanks.

Welcome!

One exercise I learnt which helped me to really capture nuance and improve understanding of art is this:

Watch a movie.

Read the summary of it on Wikipedia.

Most of the writing on Wikipedia is pretty good imo.

You tend to get an understanding of how the movie plays out on paper (in a simply, non-screenplay format) and sometimes, you realize what you missed out on.

True reading helps. But I also think good writing is an extremely scarce skill. Especially outside of the United States. I hope you have a WONDERFUL day! 😀 😃 😄 😁 😆

@papa-pepper,
Thanks for these tips! I have been writing since high school in the 70's. I have only a poem that has been published, but...since I have been on Steemit, I have really gotten back into writing and have written several short stories for contests. I only joined Steemit 5 or 6 weeks ago, but I have already taken 3rd place for one of them and I have several on here right now. Most of my older stuff I lost on a busted hard drive and I didn't have a backup or paper copy, so they are lost.
I also have a book that I have been writing since 2013 called The Adventures of Zachery Bragg. the first one is called The Secret Fate of the winking Witch. I do wish to make it a series of books for children, however, I only have about 4 or 5 chapters done on the first one.
Steemit and now your tips here tonight, along with PAL and The Writer's block over on Discord has really given me a drive again. I am happy to be here on Steemit with so many interesting writers and their varying styles. Thanks again for the inspiration.
@Lymmerik

The adventures of Zachary Bagg sounds cool. Have you thought about script writing for these? I hope you have a WONDERFUL day! 😀 😃 😄 😁 😆

@pjcswart,
I have thought about it, but I have never done any script writing. I'd have to educimacate myself! Lol
@Lymmerik

Yeah maybe.

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Great tips!

I tend to spend a lot of time proofreading. Steemit has been helping me write more and more frequently.

Papa have you seen this?

Just did. Let's get on it!

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Very proffessional

Very Good Suggestions... and have been using some of the those techniques.

Always good to review the basics...

Alas... IF only I could write as well as @EricVanceWalton...

Thanks Again Papa !!

Cheers !!

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