Techniques to write well?

[xeon123]

Hi,

I'm an amateur writer, and now I'm writing a story. Now, I'm surrounded by 80 pages. After I read my story, I found that I use plenty the word "Hence" and "So". For me, this happens due to the way I describe a story. I tend to describe story as a sequence in time. For example:

"I was doing a morning stroll when I found that I was being followed. Maybe it was because of my job. I decided to speed up my pace, so I could lost the guy who was following me. I decided to enter a store, so that I could have a hope to lost. When I was in the store, I bump to a beautiful girl. This girl looked like my late girlfriend. In this moment, my immediately thought was "Is this a flash back? Am I about to be killed? Will I found my beloved girlfriend?".

Maybe this is not a good example, but I can't find another right now. In this example, you can see that I try to write a story as sequence of time and of thoughts.

A sequence of time, because I describe a sequence of actions during a story.
A sequence of thoughts, because I try use juxtaposition a lot.

I'm trying to find good techniques that can turn a story written by an amateur, as close as possible to a professional story. For me, the problem is not in the ideas, is in on writing well, describing actions and distribute the story through chapters.

Where can I find a place (books or sites) that helps me to write well?

Thanks

[hillwalker]

One of the books I found most helpful was 'On Writing' by Stephen King. You'll find books on the craft written by established writers are much more useful than dry text books by self-proclaimed teachers of writing.

My other advice would be to read as much as possible - there's no short-cut to becoming a good writer.

H

[TheChilly]

Even though I'm trying to get better at prose in general (which, for me, is more challenging to write in short stories than longer works), my advice for getting better at dialogue is in two places: Through conversation and watching a lot of movies. The reason I mention films (and GOOD films) is to listen closely to the mannerisms and emotions that characters convey through speaking, along with rhythm (which is easy to pick up on in real life and the conversations you have with your peers in real life).

For me, the best way to craft a great story in prose is to write cinematically, being as vivid as possible with prose (Minimalism is a good example) and with dialogue as well to breathe life into your story.

In case of descriptions, try not to write too little or too much, but at the right amount for the reader to get a clear picture of what is going on in the story.

A classmate of mine once mentioned to me, "You must learn to paint with prose." It's easier said than done, though.

[Mariner]

Practice.


When you're not doing that, "A Writer's Coach" by Jack Hart will tell you everything.

[Panglossian]

Edit, re-write, edit, re-write, edit, re-write ~ until you're practically insane.

It works for me!!