Fiction Writing Don’ts

Fiction writing is a lot of fun – unlike academic writing, it is more about your imagination and creative juice. It is also a great exercise that might help you beat writer’s block and become better at general writing which is good for your essays, papers, and reports. Some people really enjoy fiction writing and devote their lives to it. But others might feel too intimidated by the process. That’s why we have prepared fiction writing tips and tricks for you to boost your writing skills. Let’s get started.

What Is Fiction Writing?

Various books, novels, tales, and short stories are an example of fiction writing as they are not based on a true story but rather imply using your imagination to create worlds, characters, and plots. Some pieces might be based on true events but if they have something added from the author, they may not be called completely historically accurate. 

Fiction writing is sometimes a type of college assignment. Not everyone goes through such a task as a student but if they do, they might feel like they are out of their comfort zone. There is no need to look through various sources or analyze information, facts, and data – all you need is to sit and come up with a story. And sometimes this is pretty hard. The following tips will help you create a great piece of fiction writing yourself. But remember that you can always send your request if you don’t have time or ideas.

Don’t Overcomplicate

Sometimes you just try so hard that is almost impossible to come up with something decent. Try to stay simple. Simple sentences, simple story, no too complicated psychology behind the characters. Surely, an experienced writer can handle challenging plot twists and lines, and they do it great. But they still generally use simple sentences because they are much easier to follow. 

So, when you are writing a piece stick to one main idea and leave the rest rather simple and clean.

Don’t Edit Right Away

You might need to have a break to look at your piece from a different angle. The ideas that you were considering great yesterday evening might not be that brilliant this afternoon. And that’s absolutely okay. All you need is to put your piece aside for a while, then come back and edit it. Add something new or cut some sentences out. You might even change the ending drastically. The more time you give yourself, the better your final result will be.

Don’t Give It All Until It’s Time

Building tension and hiding something from your reader until you think is a good time for revealing is one of the most important techniques that the best writers use. It’s much more interesting to read a story that further unraveling is unknown to you, right? So give your reader an opportunity to have the same experience. All you need to come up with some snap that will happen at some point and use it as the boiling point for the tension you build throughout the story. That is what might make your reader surprised and intrigued.

Don’t Be That Serious

Having fun is an element of the process. Writing should be fun. And it should give you an opportunity to show yourself and what is inside your head. It might be difficult to expose yourself at first, but that is the beauty and power of fiction writing.

Sometimes you just need to relax and not worry about the result or what to write next. Just follow your creativity and enjoy the process. You can make your characters do whatever you want. You can make the world whatever you want it to be like. You can make any law or rule absolutely omitted. So, why be that serious?

Don’t Abandon Your Piece

Surely, there are times when you feel like it’s better to start over fresh than try to improve what you already have written. But we advise you not to throw away or delete your sketches, prompts, or unfinished pieces. Moreover, we think that it’s better to finish what you have started. Even if you don’t like your piece much, try not to give up. Maybe you need some time or some inspiration to come up with something really good. 

Don’t Haste and Don’t Cram

If you have the assignment to write a fiction piece, it’s tempting to think of the task as something very easy and not deserving much time. But actually, it might be not true. If you tend to put everything aside until the very last moment, make sure you still give yourself at least a few hours to work on your writing. Otherwise, you might be in a hurry that won’t allow you to make the most out of the plot. 

Taking breaks is crucial when you are writing. They give you an opportunity to rest, get distracted, reboot your creativity and find new inspiration. So, let yourself have these breaks while you are working.