Helpful Tips!

[doodstormer]

I would disagree. Histories are I think unnessary to stories, and take up a little too much time. The actually story itself should have a history, or an outline, but I (Personally) think they are un-needed. This is just my opinion.

P.I

I'm not saying it needs to be written down, just an idea in your head. It's helpful for old kings babbling about some hero or evil wizard's cursing in an evil god's name.

[The Yeti]

An easy way to do this whole history thing is to simply plan out your story. Make a chapter/topical outline, and that way you can plan out how your "history" will be incorperated. Often it's better to hear the history from a charactor's lips, or it comes across better that way. Of course, it's all taste, but planning your yet-to-be-written material will certainly help you get your history incorperated in a fashonable, tasteful, and non-contradictory way...

Man, i never should use so many big words in one sentance--that's another DON'T DO...

[Quickblade22]

Although I tend to disagree with nearly everything that Sir Korhan has said at CC, (no need to take offense Matt), I can't agree more with what he said on the previous page.

Don't worry if you're not that good at writing. No-one expects you to be the next Edgar Allan Poe/Frank Herbert/Tolkien ec. Just write what you want and enjoy it. You will improve over time.

Another thing - don't feel you have to write loads; in fact I sort of dislike too much writing as it simply becomes too much of a task to read it all. Not every mountain, every piece of armour and every movement needs a paragraph of extensive detail. This is easy to avoid if you're doing illustrations as you generally won't have to do much description (pictures speak a thousand words).

You all seem to be focusing on personal preference than helpful tips, but if discussion is the founder of progress, then you guys are off to a good start. Some helpful things that I use are in Microsoft Word. Spelling is automatically checked so that even when you write a word that is of your own making, it gives you a chance to see if you spelled it correctly. I sometimes find myself looking for a word that fits the mood better than one that I've used previously or even a word to keep myself from being too repetitive. The Thesaurus feature is a gift. Don't get carried away with it though, bigger words (or should I say more complex) are not always better. Sentence structure is also critiqued in Microsoft Word. What looks good might not be proper if you are trying to be professional. I sometimes have to override this feature, as it can interfere with dialogue or the feeling I'm trying to convey. One more thing, don't be like me and go comma crazy. Hope these help.

[The Yeti]

Thing is, all writing is based of preferance. You simply, as a writer, pick and choose which preferances you like, and use them. That's how you develop style...you look through others' opinions and writings, and choose what you like.
Also, although some are preferances, if you are well-read, you can see patterns and particulars that a great many fine authors use. From that, you can usually determine what is "good writing"

[venvorskar]

I really like adding "rare" words to my writing, instead of using the same word over and over. The only thing to worry about is making sure the word that is listed as a synonym means what you want it to mean. It could be a synonym for a slightly different meaning of the original word, a meaning that doesn't describe what you want.

Another thing I like doing is twisting an over-used phrase into something new. An example: changing "once upon a time..." to "twice upon a time..."

[Prince Imdol]

I love using the word honed. Words that were made in medieval periods of time are always great to add. They give the story a more.... "professional" feel to it, whether the writing is actually professional or not.


P.I

[The Yeti]

One thing is for sure: Never use a BIG word when a diminuative one will do...

Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.

One thing that helps with writing (I've conversed with several good writers on this and they've confirmed) is songwriting. It helps you to choose and place your words carefully.

Another: Try patterning your characters after people you know. That way, you can more easily and accurately convey your character's reactions and actions.

[venvorskar]

One thing is for sure: Never use a BIG word when a diminutive one will do...

Why do you say that? Adding quality adjectives and verbs can make a story much better. Why should you say small when you can say diminutive, minuscule, or parsimonious?

[The Yeti]

Two reasons:
One, it's a joke.
Two, some people believe that using a bigger word makes it better. That is undoubtedly a mistaken viewpoint. Simply put, there is not best kind of word: there is, however, a right word. That right word does not need to be long or short, simply, "right". It's easy to use a big word, and it occasionally takes discipline to use a smaller but better word in its place.

Example in place, occasionally diminuative will be better than small--however, I would never put diminuative in a place where small fits fine, on the one reason that it's because it's bigger.

[venvorskar]

One, it's a joke.

Oh, sorry. It was kind of hard to tell...

I can understand why most fantasy writers would rather not use words that seem to stand out from the sentence. But if, like me, you are writing a story that is intended to be more of a comedy than a fantasy, using exiguous (here meaning atypical) words in your writing can add a comic feel to your story.

A Series of Unfortunate Events uses this sort of thing, if you've ever read it.

[The Yeti]

Ah, yes, I forgot to mention that one golden place where big words are so lovely: Dialogue. That is the place, the place, where I indulge.

[Prince Imdol]

Why use metropolis when I get paid the same amount for city.
They both have pro's and con's.


P.I

[venvorskar]

Well, sometimes people (like me) get tired of seeing the same word over and over again, and like to use variety. I think it really depends on how you look at it. If you don't like reading it, then you probably shouldn't use it in your writing.

[Prince Imdol]

I think, you need to use big words and small words in a story, however, using bigger words can either spice up your story, or make it a dull, impossible to understand story.


P.I