“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ― Maya Angelou
So I’ve gotten a lot of questions from you guys about story tips so these are my tips for you. One of the most famous things I’ve had people tell me is that they’re scared to post a story. They think it’s not good enough. Which leads me to my first tip!
1. Never compare your writing to anyone else’s.
If I compared my writings to perhaps 1Donlyyou, like the Queen of 1D fan fics, I’d probably think my writing is crap. So don’t ever compare your writing to someone else’s. Your writing is your OWN. Everyone has different styles of writing, which really makes writing special. Have confidence in your writing!
2. Try to be different.
If you look at a lot of fan fics on Wattpad, it’s all about oh, the girl magically bumps into One Direction and fell in love with one of the members and they get married and have kids. Or the main character is like Louis Tomlinson’s sister. Very common. A way to mix it up is maybe it’s Simon Cowell’s daughter, Eleanor’s sister that was always stuck in her shadow since El’s a model and all, or even Josh Devine’s cousin.
3. Write about what you love.
I know it’s kinda cliche but it really is true. I tell a lot of fans this. As you all know, I love One Direction. I mean, come on, how can you not love those crazy boys? It’s kinda fun writing fan fictions because I’ll admit...I know a lot about them. Not that much info though...like their measurements and stuff. >.< But if you’re really passionate or interested in something, it’ll show in your writing.
4. Planning your story
Try not to just jump into a story. If you’re thinking about actually posting it on Wattpad, make sure you at least plan it out a bit. Maybe just a simple outline. This is an example of how I outline my characters:
Adelaide “Addie” Thompson: Blonde hair, green eyes (Sara Paxton); witty, funny; pretty but doesn’t know it; works at a cupcake bakery “Piece of Cake” or “Little Indulgence”; meets Niall at the bakery
As you can see, not everything goes through, like how I ended up naming the bakery. It’s just a little outline to kinda guide you. It prevents a bit of writers block. Maybe you might put little notes for ex:
Chapter 1: Niall and Addie might finally meet up.
Chapter 2: introduced to the boys.
Little things like that. When you’re making your plot or even just writing your story, it’s all right if you jump around in chapters. When I was first writing More Than This around Chapter 8, I already had a good idea of how the story might end or how the girls would be saved. It kinda gives you a bit of motivation because you just can’t wait to actually write and publish that part.
5. Starting a story
Prologues and first chapters. Ugh. This by far I think is the hardest part of writing a story. Even I have trouble with it! But please, please, please, please, PLEASE, do not start the story off with the alarm clock ringing. It’s very cliche. Try using dialogue. Look around at famous books like the Hunger Games or Harry Potter. The Hunger Games starts off with Katniss describing her surroundings and mentioning her sister Prim. She also realizes it’s the day of the reaping. When you first read the book you kinda wonder, ‘Who’s Prim?’ ‘What’s the reaping?’ and you get kinda interested, maybe even wondering where she lives. Never be afraid to look at ways other people start their stories, but DON’T copy them because you will get in big trouble.
6. Promoting your story
My original fans know I used to have a Harry Styles fan fiction. It maybe got 100 reads a week, if I was lucky. I promoted it in ‘Share My Story’ and the ‘Undiscovered Gems’ clubs. It’s also helpful to be very friendly to other users. Talk to them, make friends! They’ll help promote your story too!
7. Always be happy with your story.
It will really show if you're not really happy with it. You update less and less, the chapters are short. You know. I stopped writing my Harry Styles fan fic because I just wasn’t really feeling it anymore. Then I moved onto More Than This and I really liked writing that story so I stuck with it! Now don’t think I stopped writing my Harry one because I didn’t get that many reads, because honestly, between you and me, how many reads/votes/comments you have on a story, doesn’t define how well you write. Just remember that J.K. Rowling got rejected 12 times, before she got Harry Potter published. Now look at her. It takes people a while to notice true talent sometimes, so don’t ever, ever be discouraged!
I hope this helped. If you’d want me to, I could go more in to depth about planning and all that, but maybe this is just enough for you! I hope you start writing your stories soon! Best of luck! :) xx
