Dear writers, aspiring writers, and CRPs,
Welcome to my blog on tips for writing. I previously wrote one : A Whole New World, but I really want to take a deeper dive into some tips and functional skills that have helped me. I mentioned previously that nonspeakers are smart but we don’t know everything so a chance to dive into the foundations of writing can be very helpful. There are so many free resources and articles available on the internet to help you get started. I am going to link some on the various topics that we are discussing.
- Point of View (POV): This can be a little tough to be consistent on when you are trying to make sure that you are covering the entire atmosphere of a scene. However, it is extremely important to be consistent on the voice of your story. It keeps it easier for the reader to stay engaged in your character’s story. This article gives some great points to its importance: The Importance of Maintaining a Consistent Point of View in Fiction.
- The simplest way to differentiate the various POVs is this:
- First person POV – “I”. This is the character’s experiences, emotions, and thoughts.
- Second person POV – “you”. This is rare to see as it reads like the author is telling you, as the reader, a story about you. Of course, it isn’t about you at all.
- Third person POV – “he, she, they”. Think about this as a camera follow the character around while also being privy to the character’s thoughts. This POV is a little more complex with its subcategories. Read more about that here: What Is Third Person Point of View in Writing? How to Write in Third Person Narrative Voice With Examples
- You can switch POVs throughout a story but be careful not to jumble it up too much. One story that I wrote involved some scenes in first and some in third person POV. The first person POV in my story was a nonspeaker. I wanted to really make his experience intimate and highlight his thoughts. The other main character’s scenes were in third person to expand the lens of the story and not take away from the intimacy of the nonspeaker’s experience. Of course your characters do not need to be nonspeaking to use this format.
- The simplest way to differentiate the various POVs is this:
- Punctuation: The way you utilize punctuation can greatly impact the way your reader interprets your story and characters. It can impact the flow and therefore, the engagement of your readers. Utilizing quotation marks, for example, clearly shows your dialogue between your characters rather than it accidentally being perceived as personal thoughts. It clearly shows how your character interacts in their world. It also exposes more of their personality so you want it to be read as intended. We all have a basic understanding of punctuation but there may be more nuance than you’ve been taught. This resource gives an incredible amount of information on punctuation and even has a punctuation checker. Your Guide to Proper Punctuation. It’s always good to gain as much knowledge as we can. We want readers and editors to be immersed in our characters’ lives not focused on figuring out what our intent was because we are missing a comma. It also lets us be intentional with it instead of our CRPs (Communication and Regulation Partner) guessing or interpreting. I have collaborated with my practitioner to create a letterboard with the punctuation options that I find most useful in writing. Click here to shop the Editing Board
- Character development: Each character you write should be as unique as the people you encounter every day. You want the reader to understand their personality, see their quirks, their likes and dislikes, and style. Your characters should be complex and the idea of them should be all encompassing. One thing that helped me understand this is an exercise that included answering fifty questions about a character that I was developing.
Check it out here: Writing Character Development: 45 Questions to Ask Your Characters - Character arc: So you’ve created this complex character, now what? They need an arc. You don’t want your characters, especially the main ones, to be one note throughout the entire story. Life is a journey and things change us so it should be no different for your characters. See the image below for a basic understanding of how to do this. It is also accompanied by a link that goes into more detail.
- Show don’t tell: Think about your favorite stories and the imagery that they evoke in your mind. This wouldn’t be possible if the writer just listed facts about the scene. Instead, they paint a picture that engulfs you in a sensory experience. They show you what’s happening instead of telling. You can accomplish this by utilizing dialogue, figurative language, and the senses. Visit this link for some exercises to practice: Show Don’t Tell Writing: 6 Tips For How To Get It
- Figurative language: There are a variety of strategies within figurative language and they all enhance your writing. Some make comparisons that expand your reader’s understanding of what is happening in the story. Others can be used to make your writing pleasing to the ear. Here are a few.
- Simile: A comparison using like or as. For example, instead of just saying his heart was beating fast, try this. The muscle in his chest pounded like the steps of a racing horse.
- Metaphor: Simply put, it is a comparison without the use of like or as. His heart was a race horse.
- Personification: Giving an object human qualities. For example, the fountain threw water. Fountains can’t throw but humans can.
- Alliteration: This is where pleasing sounds come into play. It can also provide a level of emphasis. Alliterations are when repeating sounds occur in multiple words in a sentence, specifically the first letter in the words. For example, the fretful frog fell from the fern.
- Consonance and Assonane: These are similar to each other and to alliteration. Consonance is repeating consonant sounds and assonance is repeating vowel sounds. Unlike alliteration, these don’t need to be at the beginning of the word. My cleat beat the ball greatly or I ask about the task with the basket weaving.
- There are also idioms and irony and more. Check out more info here: Figurative Language: A Definitive Guide
- Let’s talk genres: Getting familiar with the genre options is important. There are certain expectations from the readers for each genre. Though each story is unique, there are expected themes and structures. A good way to familiarize yourself with your desired genre is to simply read books of that genre. The world is yours but the genre is your readers’.
One important thing to note is that the story isn’t over when you poke done. Now it’s time for feedback and editing. You must be open to constructive criticism, though I don’t like the implications of the word criticism, I prefer feedback. Feedback is what makes you a better writer. Then it’s time to edit. Remember, the story is still yours so while you should consider all feedback, you do not have to implement it. I won’t lie, editing can be slow and arduous. I want to give you some tips.
- Get the creative writing and editing board. It gives you more power over your structure and edits.
- Go line by line. If no changes are needed for that line poke STET to leave as is. If changes are needed then you can use some of the available shortcuts.
- Read and reread.
Most importantly, have fun and enjoy the process. Be creative. Be yourself. Pour your heart into what brings you joy.
About the author
Ben McDonald is a 25 year old unreliable speaker that has been spelling to communicate since 2020. He finds so much joy in writing and letting his creative thoughts out. Communication is for so much more than basic needs.
One Response
This is wonderful! Incredibly well written, easy to absorb, practical, and extremely helpful. I was thrilled with the additional site examples to help with character development etc. I don’t know you personally Ben, but I’m really proud of you! And appreciative of this article!