No one ever asked, but I wanted to share some writing advice that I've gathered over the years that I've been writing fanfic.
Find a way to love your story. This may sound redundant but there is a bit of a time in each story that you will grow tired of it. You look at it and think: nah, let me do smth else. If that's your thought, you have two options: Stop the story, or stop your dislike. And you do the latter by fucking everything up on purpose. Stop thinking 'what would this character do'. Think 'what would be absolutely hilarious/sad/annoying' Make yourself emotional.
Don't do sad. Now this is irritating, as I just told you to make yourself emotional. And sadness IS a part of that. The problem is that the majority of what you feel during writing becomes the norm whenever you open your document and we tend to emphasize with the stories we write. If you settle on sadness, you might develop depression or start hating your craft. Be moderately sad. Use your sadness wisely and allow yourself some happiness when you write. (On that note, always end when you most enjoy it, or you condition yourself to feel exhausted while writing)
An advice I never use: Write first, correct yourself later. It's easier to improve from rock bottom than nothing. It's more efficient to ice the cake when the cake is already made. I personally skip the whole perfection part and just post the draft lol.
Use 'say'. But use it on purpose. Allow your characters to move while they talk. To hesitate, to frown. You notice people's emotions by mimic and gestures, by their eyes, not the movement of their mouth. It makes a difference if your PoV sees the conversation or doesn't. You must think of where your POV is in the room and how they feel. If they notice expressions and details, you're engaged in the conversation. If your PoV is 'they speak', you create distance. Utilize that. This counts for alternatives to 'say' as well. The problem isn't the word 'say', it's the whole idea of having to point that out. Which brings me to:
Avoid filter verbs/use them wisely. Filter verbs are verbs of observation. He says, she feels, they run, they seem, etc. (Especially the word feel) They put you at a distance, as if you're painting the scene instead of living it. A scene depends on movement and feeling. It's a choice to create that distance, and it's a slippery slope as you want to reel readers in, not lead them through a quiet museum.
Choose your PoV and commit. Your PoV decides what is interesting, what you can know about other characters or the plot. It gives you insight but it limits your knowledge as well. As a writer, you a want to tell your readers everything. You start writing about A thinks this and that, B feels the opposite. Don't do that. Choose one. If you know what A thinks, you cannot know what B feels. But, and that's the interesting bit: you can assume. You can give B obvious tells that only A can read and mis/interpret. You can change the PoV, but doing it too often creates a pingpong effect that leaves the reader wondering who they are in this scene.
There is no plot. You have an idea and it's vague. Some of you might be perfectionists who insist on planning out everything. Well, to you: I cannot teach you anything. It's a good plan. I can't do it ignore me, lol. My way of doing it: I try to get to know the characters, so their interaction drives the story instead of me. If I knew their destiny, I would lose interest and would have to adjust their characters to fit the plot. I want them to live, not be devices that do exactly what I tell them to. That said, my stories run away from me too often, so this is shitty advice.
Allow conflict but make it make sense. Your characters can fight about anything. But it has to fit their character and it needs to have consequences.
Consequences: all actions have consequences. Even the lack of consequence is noteworthy. Even the lack of action can lead to conflict.
Don't use writing advice in absolutes. If someone makes you notice a 'mistake', for example repitition of certain words, don't avoid it, learn to use it on purpose. Repeat? Don't avoid, break the repition. Used too many filter verbs? Create distance and closeness on purpose. Your character didn't express themselves? Let the PoV notice that B is acting closed off.
Original ideas don't exist. Everything has been said before, every word is old and used. Every idea is a trope. Use stereotypes and alter them. Mix them with others. Use tropes but make it a challenge, use four in one.
Make a storyboard with basic information. Don't write your story on it, but things you want to remember. List relevant objects you want to go back to later. Outline the main scenery. Write time tables or make a list of all the characters involved. Roll the dice on who lives or who dies. Make character descriptions and family trees. (Once bakes good airs in like 5 years and is finished updating, I'll post the picture of the prework my wife and I did, lmao).
Brainstorm with someone else. It helps to be questioned and gather insight. Bounce your idea off of someone. It creates confusion that you want to work through.
And last one: Don't listen to me. I'm still learning how to write. This is my interim stage of knowledge and I keep learning from observing other writers. What works for me, what I find interesting and good, isn't necessarily what people enjoy. Things that I dislike might be what you enjoy. Please view this advice as such. They are suggestions and I hope I phrased them as such.
