Asked by: Erica Berntson

How do I make sure my story makes sense?

The 5 Elements of a Good Story

1. Compelling plot. A good story delivers a promise of the premise and works to deliver on it. …
2. Believable characters. Believable characters have human flaws, just like people in real life. …
3. Natural dialogue. …
4. Strong imagery. …
5. Good pacing.

What should you not do when writing a story?

Avoid making common mistakes by following these writing tips:

1. Don’t write sporadically. …
2. Don’t ignore story structure. …
3. Don’t second guess yourself. …
4. Don’t abandon your first novel. …
5. Don’t pigeon-hole your process. …
6. Don’t start off slow. …
7. Don’t switch POV. …
8. Don’t create flat characters.

How do you know if your writing is any good?

• 6 Signs That You’re a Better Writer Than You Think. …
• You read — you value a good piece of work. …
• You look for stories within every experience you have. …
• You have something to say. …
• You feel confident and insecure at the same time. …
• You always strive for improvement.

How do you know if a plot is good?

The conflict should get more and more tense or exciting. The tension should reach a high point or “climax” near the end of the story, then ease off. The basic steps of a plot are: conflict begins, things go right, things go WRONG, final victory (or defeat), and wrap‑up. The right–wrong steps can repeat.

How do you make a story not cringe?

6 Tips to Avoid and Fix Bad Writing

1. Read Out Loud. This is the first step to checking your piece for awkward writing: read it out loud. …
2. Shorten Your Sentences. One of the best ways to avoid awkward writing is to take out every unnecessary word, phrase, and sentence. …
3. Be Specific. …
4. Re-Word. …
5. Tighten. …
6. Delete.

What makes a good story concept?

The concept is the foundation idea that runs throughout the entire story. Two things must always be true about a story concept: it has to be original, and it has to get the writer excited. The downside of most story concept is that only a few of them take any real shape and become novels.

What makes a book Bad?

There are many reasons for what makes a book bad, such as a predictable, unoriginal, or cliche feeling story. Often the characters are flat and uninteresting, the world-building bad or nonexistent, or the dialog is not even vaguely realistic.

Why do writers avoid writing?

They’re excuses, comfort blankets, lies we tell ourselves for any number of reasons to avoid the work of writing. Because writing is hard and scary and risky and exhausting and a million other things that make us not want to do it.

What should one avoid in good writing?

Here are the top five worst writing mistakes and how to avoid and correct them.

1. 1 Incorrect verb forms — 51% …
2. 2 Subject-verb disagreement — 20% …
3. 3 Run-on sentences — 10% …
4. 4 Comma splices — 6% …
5. 5 Pronoun-antecedent disagreement — 5%




How do you find mistakes in writing?

Here are six easy ways to get started:

1. Reread it. Read your story one last time, all the way through — just like a reader would. …
2. Change the format. …
3. Step away. …
4. Spellcheck and grammar check are your friends. …
5. Use a checklist. …
6. Recheck the most important stuff.

What are the most common errors in writing?

THE TOP TWENTY

• Wrong Word. Wrong word errors take a number of forms. …
• Missing Comma after an Introductory Element. …
• Incomplete or Missing Documentation. …
• Vague Pronoun Reference. …
• Spelling. …
• Mechanical Error with a Quotation. …
• Unnecessary Comma. …
• Unnecessary or Missing Capitalization.

What is the hardest point of view to write in?

Second-Person Point of View

The story unfolds from the perspective of an onlooker who speaks directly to the reader. For example, “You went to school the other morning.” Second-person point of view is rarely used because it’s easy for this writing style to sound gimmicky—making it the hardest point of view to use.





What POV is Harry Potter written in?

third person limited

Harry Potter is written in third person limited, with almost all of the action from Harry’s perspective (except for the first chapter in the first book, which is third person omniscient).

What tense is Harry Potter written in?

Harry Potter isn’t only written in third-person limited; it slips into moments that feel more like third-person omniscient. With omniscient, the audience is watching the events unfold from an aerial view. “Omniscient” comes from a word that means “all-knowing” in Latin.

Is it better to write a story in first or third-person?

While first-person writing offers intimacy and immediacy between narrator and reader, third-person narration offers the potential for both objectivity and omniscience. This effectively makes both forms of narration appealing to both first-time and seasoned writers.

How does POV affect a story?

Point of view is important in a story because it helps the reader understand characters’ feelings and actions. Each character will have his or her own perspective, so whoever is telling the story will impact the reader’s opinion of other characters and events.





Why does it matter who is telling the story?

Deciding on the narrator is just as important, if not more important in some cases, as to deciding what point of view the story will be told in. Before deciding if it’ll be told in first, second, or third person, it’s beneficial to know who is telling the story.

What is the best tense to write in?

Past tense is by far the most common tense, whether you’re writing a fictional novel or a nonfiction newspaper article. If you can’t decide which tense you should use in your novel, you should probably write it in past tense. There are many reasons past tense is the standard for novels.

Is it OK to switch tenses in a novel?

You can switch tenses between sections or chapters

Readers aren’t confused by this, they don’t resent you for it and they don’t issue you a rules-of-writing demerit. Writers often change tenses as part of a predictable pattern, for example, alternating one section at a time between present and past tense narration.





Is it better to write a novel in past or present tense?

Present tense has more “immediacy” than past tense.

Past-tense narration is of course “immediate” in a way, since the events of the characters’ past are happening in the reader’s present. But the immediacy of the present tense also allows us to convey a character’s change as it happens, not after the fact.

Should a novel be written in first person?

First-time writers often choose third-person for their short story or novel, but first-person POV can be a great choice to activate your story and bring your readers inside your character’s mind.

What is the best POV to write?

If you want to write the entire story in individual, quirky language, choose first person. If you want your POV character to indulge in lengthy ruminations, choose first person. If you want your reader to feel high identification with your POV character, choose first person or close third.

What is distant third person?

Distant Limited Third-Person POV





That’s limited POV. What’s found in the narrative is only what the narrating character himself experiences: only what he sees, hears, tastes, touches, smells, or thinks.