My Top Tips for Writing a Good Story

Hello writing friends!!

I have a ton of tips on how to write a story that will get rave reviews if you do this correctly.

If you find that you are unable to get a lot of reads, likes, or Top Stories, then follow these tips for writing fiction. Without further ado, let's get into it!!

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My number one tip is: Go in depth.

I have seen a lot of stories on Vocal (not calling anyone out) that look like they were written by AI, because it is just a summary of the story and has no real detail, just skimming over the important information.

This is not a great way to get reads.

So please when you are writing, slow down, take your time, and enjoy the process. I don’t know if you are just doing this for reads or money, but please stop and ENJOY yourself! It is fun to describe things and go into depth as you weave your tale.

My second tip is; Take a break.

Sometimes, you find yourself blocked and unable to put anything down on paper. This is OK. If you just try to write through it, you are going to be drowning in crumpled paper.

Just take a mental health day. Go for a walk, smell some candles, eat chocolate (this is a MUST!), take a bath! Enjoy yourself. Writing is to be enjoyed and certainly not endured (bonus points if you guess who this modified quote came from).

My third tip is: Read a book!

We are who we read, and that’s a fact. We will emulate the writers that we read from, so read what you want to sound like, and you will begin to write the way that they do!

My fourth tip is: Follow proper grammar and spelling rules.

This one is soooo important. Nothing makes you look more unsophisticated and unprofessional than disregarding spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Please read up on basic grammar, spelling, and punctuation before you write so that you can seem as professional and polished as possible.

And my fifth tip is to make sure you know your characters, plot, and setting before you even write.

This is of utmost importance because if you don’t know them, you won’t be able to write them. The characters will fall flat, the plot will feel sloppy, and, especially if you are writing a story in a different world, your setting will be underdeveloped. So I recommend not writing a short story set in another world because that is a lot of effort to put into a world for just a short story. I'm doing this, but only because I’m writing a book set in the same world. So it is up to you to decide whether you want to spend that much effort on a world you will only use once.

And my sixth tip is please do not start with “Once upon a time.” This beginning is cliche and overused. Please don’t use it. If you start with “Once upon a time,” you’ve lost me already.

And here’s a bonus tip: Remember to add internal conflict.

I have been watching a lot of Abbie Emmons and she is BIG time obsessed with internal conflict.

Internal conflict is the character’s fear clashing with their desire. Both stem from their misbelief.

For example, if I am writing a type three enneagram character, her misbelief is that she is worthless without achieving something, and her desire is to achieve something, and her fear is being unable to accomplish it because she believes she is worthless.

As Abbie Emmons said, the story needs to matter. And it will not matter unless we can see why it matters to the characters. How do the events happening to them change their lives?

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That is it!! These are all of my tips for writing a story that is professional, polished, entertaining, and how not to get bored in the process. Happy writing!! 📚

-Cezanne