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I recently solicited my watchers to ask me writing questions that I would then attempt to answer in a writing guide such as this. This article is my first response, and there will be many more to come. I've been asked to give advice on ways a writer can begin to put words on a page. The bottom line is as simple as this: sit your butt down and write. Duh, right? It's the only way I know to actually write. Sure, sitting your butt in a chair is easy, but getting your fingers to move and stay moving is a challenge. Here are three things that have helped me. 1) Have a goal. Your goal can be as simple as "describe the person in this picture" o

Writing Style - The Bottom Line “Words are like sunbeams.  The more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.”       - Robert Southey “Prose is architecture, not interior decorating.”       - Ernest Hemingway Writing style is made up of two things: cadence and variation. Good style is clear, readable, and invisible.  Its purpose is not to attract attention to itself but to transport readers into the world of your story.  If your readers notice your style without purposefully intending to study it, your style needs to be impro

Everyone's heard that characters should have goals, something they want and must strive for, overcoming obstacles and antagonists in order to obtain. Because, well, a story is the record of your character's journey toward achieving a goal. While all of this is true, I think a lot of writers lose sight of an even more important aspect of character. That is, motivation. Sure, you know what your character wants. Why? That's the gist of motivation. What is the psychology and reasoning behind your character's goal? If your character is driven to make money, is his motivation greed? To pay off a debt? To support his family? Motivation is your c

In every writing community, terms like "plot" and "development" and "arc" are constantly thrown around, and everyone expects everyone else to know what they mean without ever clearly defining them. Sure, vague advice about the importance of character development and story structure are great and all, but how do you actually do it? Aside from style and grammar, what are the mechanics behind a well-told story? What does a good story look like? The answer is surprisingly simple. Not easy, but simple. Every good story does one thing well: it asks a question, deliberates it, then answers it. This provides a framework of three acts that create w

Motivating myself to write and keeping that motivation throughout a writing project is one of the biggest challenges I face as a writer. I get the impression a lot of other people struggle with it as well. There are a lot of tools out there such as the Write or Die program and National Novel Writing Month designed to keep you motivated, but they're just gimmicks in my opinion. Writing takes a lot of time and effort, and we as humans need a very compelling reason to exert ourselves in such an extreme manner. A timer or deadline typically isn't good enough. The only effective long-term motivator is a real, tangible reward. Finishing a novel i

A Writer's Guide to Style vs. Voice Here on dA, there seems to be a lot of confusion and general mass hysteria when it comes to the subjects of writing style and voice.  What are they?  What's the difference?  Can you write one without the other?  How important are they, anyhow?  Do you really need either of them?  Wait, what are they again? Style is the form and structure with which you write. Voice is the attitude and perspective with which you write. In other words, voice is the emotion and feeling of a piece of literature, and style is the technical way of communicating that emotion. Clearly, there is a tangible difference between th

While I’ve written articles about writing style in the past, they were designed mostly to define what style is and didn’t provide much help for improvement. This article contains some practical tips I’ve discovered that will actually help you improve your style and hopefully provide a foundation for why good style matters. I believe good style is important for many reasons, but mostly because I want my readers to feel like the time they spent with my story was worthwhile, pleasant, and maybe even a little enlightening. “All readers come to fiction as willing accomplices to your lies. Such is the basic goodwill contrac

Let's think about this logically. Writing fiction is about telling a story. Every story revolves around a plot. Every plot is carried out by characters, and characters carry out the plot through action and dialogue. Dialogue comes from characters for the purpose of advancing plot to tell a story. Therefore, dialogue should only exist to serve the purpose of advancing plot and revealing character motivation or history that in turn advances the plot. That's why dialogue exists. This brings me to my main point. If you take away nothing else from this article, take away this: Only write dialogue that serves the purpose of advancing your plot. I