How to Basically: Write

Story elements

There are basics of a book we all know. These basics are pretty universal and are something we sometimes overlook when we get distracted.

1. Grammar
- do you have a lot of typos? I get it we're all human and yeah I type my novel on my iPhone sometimes too, but a lot of typos can deter readers from gaining interest in your story. So, just double check. Or put your update through google.

2. Opening
- we all get stuck here sometimes. What should my first line say? What will hook my readers? What will make mine stand out from the rest. I would say, stop panicking because you have a whole paragraph to play with, but on the contrary if you're stuck at the beginning, start somewhere else. This should help you get inspired to create your first few sentences one you get the creative juices flowing.

3. Content
- one of the biggest things I want to stress to you is, don't obsess over creating an out of this world, one of a kind book. Your idea is probably already out there, and I'm sure there's thousands of different versions of it. So? Write it anyway. You'll still have an audience even if there's something similar to what you're wanting to write.

4. Voice
- I think I see this a lot and voice is very important in our books. I read a story recently that had been re-written and it is so absolutely boring now because of the passive voice and lack of description.

Ex. She walked passed the shelves and saw no one. She sat down and opened her book. It was quiet and cold in the library. She felt tired so she fell asleep.

Okay so sure this is direct, and we understand what's going on, but this also sounds detached to me and yeah it's boring too. It is straight to the point, but imagine a whole chapter with voice like this. It would be short and very bland. Now, let's inject some of my voice into the example.

Ex 2. Languidly she stepped through the silent room. Her gaze lingered, flickering between the tall wooden shelves and the book in her hands. Her footsteps sounded in the room, the absence audible with every clack of her heels. A yawn escaped her as she sat down on the sun bathed windowsill. Wiping a tear from her eye, she leaned her head against the chilled glass, sending shivers down her spine. The book she lay in her lap remained open and untouched. Soon her vision started to fade with one blink, then two and her soft snores filled the room.

Well, this is a lazy example but I am much more interested in the second example. Granted overly descriptive books aren't the only style to go for, but sometimes that a good exercise to try when trying to find your voice. (Also if you think you write short chapters, just look at the difference between the two examples. Sure we are basically saying the same thing, but we are seeing more with the second version!)

5. Genre
- okay so I've read many different genres and I'm sure you know that they are written quite differently depending on the genre and your audience. 
If you need clarification please try reading a few different books that are the genre you wish to write. Look at the style the author has, look at their sentence structure. I've read something recently about the horror genre and I completely agree with it. You should almost over describe. Don't just say he was scared. Make me feel what he's feeling. Tell me his heart is pounding and his lungs are burning. That he's covered with slick sweat and he can taste blood in his mouth from running so much. What's he running from? I don't know yet, but I've built up some intensity and you can keep building on that.

I would recommend trying to write a paragraph that could mean literally anything, then changing it up to see what genre it is. This is a good exercise to see how you can make anything into..well anything.