how to write stories

I will explain writing stories the best I can

do you get stuck on writing on a story and abandon a project because you can't think of anything. well, I got some tips for you. one, only write when you feel like it, this means take breaks if you aren't feeling it.

another thing, always reread your writing or have something summarize it, this keeps the story fresh in your brain and helps you think of the next sentence or paragraph.

two, when you are bored try to think of where your story should go, this makes you more likely to write a better fleshed out story.

Reviews

[Emunah June.]

Jay makes a hobby out of discouraging anyone who isn’t himself. I think he’d do the same to Edgar Allen Poe if he were alive today.

Not to mention I haven’t resonated with a single piece he’s created. Not even because I find his behavior appalling, the work is just subpar at best, and soulless at worst.

Everyone’s journey into being the kind of writer they want to be is different. As long as you have the drive and desire to refine your craft into the very thing you envision, you’re doing great. Please don’t listen to him, he has rarely, if ever, been right about this.

[S€H@J]

Couldn't agree more

[bastiaanwheat64]

finally got rid of Jay, he won't bother me anymore

[Lighthouse]

The majority of us are not here to be professionals ready to go to a publisher tomorrow. Some here have, but they're still here aren't they. The best we can do is sell a book on amazon and make a meager sum.

[Yellow Submarine.]

This is good advice. I appreciate it. I sense wisdom here from you and that's awesome you share it!

[Green]

You’ll have to ignore Jay, bullying people and refusing to acknowledge his own faults is his specialty.
This is honestly good advice especially from someone who is only 12. You should have a good future of writing set out for yourself if you keep that mindset.

[Curly Grace]

Yes, listen to Green and ignore Jay, he's an old, grumpy man who picks on new writers and apparently children. Just use that little old block button... Keep writing. :)

[JayG]

You left out the most important point: Before you can write fiction that anyone but you can appreciate, you must learn HOW to write it. Never forget that Commercial Fiction Writing is a profession. And like every other profession, its skills and techniques must be acquired IN ADDITION to your school day skills.

There, all those reports you were assigned made you good at the nonfiction writing that employers need. But those skill are dry, dispassionate, and...boring. Use report writing skills for fiction, and it will read like a report. You can no more write readable fiction with the skills of school than practice medicine with what you learn in Health Class.

The problem is, your own writing will SEEM to work when you read it, because you cheat. You begin reading already knowing where we are, who we are, and what’s going on.

Look at the first line from one of your posted stories:

• “I was given my meal for the day and thrown back into my cell.”

So...someone of unknown gender, age, location, and background is given an unknown quantity of unspecified food, and placed into an unknown kind of cell, in an unknown year, location, and, for an unknown reason. That's data, not story.

In short, that first line lacks context that would make it meaningful as-it’s-read. And you cannot, cannot, cannot retroactively remove confusion.

But for you, who begins reading already knowing the situation, the people, the backstory, and more, it works. But most readers will stop right here.

My point? The profession has been under refinement for centuries. Take advantage of that. Don’t guess. Grab the skills that the pros depend on, and you’ll avoid the traps and open your stories in a way that will grab the reader and not let go.

That matters, because you need to make the reader care, quickly, or they’ll turn away. In fact, you need to make them feel that they ARE the protagonist, and are actively living the scene.

As writers, our first job is to calibrate the reader’s perception of the scene to that of the protagonist in EVERY way, to the point where, when something happens or is said, the reader, who learns of it first, will decide to do what the protagonist is about to decide.

That way, the protagonist will seem to be mirroring the reader’s decisions, and so, become the reader’s avatar. And when that happens, the story turns real.

Think of the times, when you were reading, you've had to stop to say, “Oh no...NOW what do we do?" That’s the level of involvement you want YOUR reader to have. But that can only happen if you own and use the writing skills of the profession.

So....try this: Debra Dixon’s, GMC: Goal Motivation & Conflict is a warm, easy, and enjoyable, read that will give you the basics of how to add wings to your words. You can read the excerpt to get the flavor of what she provides on any bookseller site, like Amazon. And you can download a copy here:

https://dokumen.pub/qdownload/gmc-goal-motivation-and-conflict-9781611943184.html

So give it a try. If you like writing now, with the skills Deb will give you, you’ll LOVE it. More to the point:

Every book you’ve chosen to read was created with those skills. And were you to open a book that wasn’t, you’ll turn away in a page. More to the point, your reader will—which is a damn good reason to add them to your toolbox.

And for what it may be worth. My own WordPress articles, and YouTube videos are meant as a kind of overview of the traps and gotchas that lie in wait for the hopeful writer.

Jay Greenstein
Articles: https://jaygreenstein.wordpress.com/category/the-craft-of-writing/the-grumpy-old-writing-coach/
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/@jaygreenstein3334

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“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader. Not the fact that it’s raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.”
~ E. L. Doctorow

“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.”
~ Alfred Hitchcock

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
~ Mark Twain

[bastiaanwheat64]

If you read what I put "This is my second story ever", then you would know that this isn't my best craft, you should read one of my more recent stories like HIBAH and phobia, also, I'm twelve, you addressed me like I was an adult that had no idea what I was doing

[JayG]

Had you taken the time to even look at my bio here, you'd know that I have 30 books on sale at most booksellers. So just maybe, I have information that can help you skip lots of hours wasted on guessing.

The current rejection rate with agents and publishers is WORSE than 99%. But of that, fully 75% are rejected before the end of page 1 because they’re trying to use the nonfiction skills we learn in school, as you are. I assumed that you might want to leave that group. Was I wrong?

I suggested Debra Dixon’s book because it’s written at a level that will make sense to you. But easy or not, it’s one of the best I’ve found. And because people paid me to help them fix their manuscripts, I have 50 books on writing in my personal library. So, I know what works and what doesn’t.

I included the link to a download site because I assumed you don’t have an Amazon account and spare cash.

• you should read one of my more recent stories like HIBAH and phobia

Which are written with the same report-writing skills, and so, read like a report. For example:

• I slumped in my bed.

So, someone unknown, of unknown age and gender. in an unknown place, slumped for an unknown reason?

One of the first things a writer learns is that context is everything, so when entering any story, it must be done in a way that the reader knows where we are, who we are, and, what’s going on. But not knowing that, you’re making the beginner’s mistake of transcribing yourself storytelling, which can’t be made to work for lots of reasons.

• I stared out my window as leaves fell.

Who cares? Would the story change in the smallest way if you’d said, “I stared out my window at the falling rain?” No, because the story takes place indoors. So this line does nothing but delay the actual beginning of the story.

You’re thinking cinematically, and telling the reader what’s happening on the screen. Your first three paragraphs, 116 words, or about 30 seconds worth of reading can be replaced by:
- - - - - - -

Abruptly, the living room TVs screen went dark, though the room lights didn’t. puzzled, I turned to my friend, Will, in question, but he just shrugged, as if to say, “Don’t blame me.”
- - - - - - -

So, 33 words and we know who’s in the scene, what they’re doing, the character names, and the situation. And, we learn it over three times faster than the original version, with a focus on what matters to the people living the story, in the moment they call “now,” for greater impact and realism.

That I could do that is no reflection on you, or your talent, just the result of knowing what to present and how to do it, which you would know if you read that book, or, another as good.

So...if you continue guessing, and using the report-writing skills of school for fiction you can write forever, and all you’ll be doing is getting better at writing in a way that will drive the reader away.

Knowledge pays. And because Fiction Writing is a profession, you’ll learn none of it’s skills in your school days. So, it’s up to you. You can keep on guessing and never get any better, or, take the time to acquire the skills needed.

And now, since my goal was to help, not argue, the ball, as they say, is in your court. Going for the skills, or not, is your decision, so, I’ll just bow out.

[bastiaanwheat64]

that may be how you write but that is not how I write, if you read more than you would know what is going on, but you don't, you just read the first line, label it as bad, and move on with your day, so just shut up

[JayG]

• if you read more than you would know what is going on, but you don't, you just read the first line,

Of course I read more. But...if the reader turns away on line 1 because it makes no sense to them, who cares what else there is? They'll-never-see-it. You have noticed, I hope, that no one is commenting on how much they like your writing.

You're a beginner, and so, making all the usual beginner's mistakes. And with your current attitude, you will always be a beginner.

Some people get 10 years worth of experience. And some, one year's, repeated ten times. But damn few fight as hard to be in the second group as you.

• so just shut up

Not how it works, kid. You posted really, really, bad advice on HOW to write, ignoring hundreds of years of refining the profession, based entirely on "This is what I think."

That, you get to do. But you left the comments window open. So, if you want better comments take the time to actually learn what you're doing.

Or...the training-wheels writing site is down the hall on your left.

Your choice;

[Emunah June.]

Jay, sincerely…even if you have the talent, you lack the soul. Discouraging new writers before they even begin is not only cruel, but inherently selfish. Just focus on yourself, your work, and continue to be God’s gift to humanity while everyone else works on their own journey. It’s free to be kind.

[JayG]

• Discouraging new writers before they even begin is not only cruel, but inherently selfish.

Hmm... So pointing out that we learn none of the skills of poetry or fiction in school, and both suggesting a good book on the skills of fiction, is discouragement?

You have precisely one bit of fiction posted, and that was written with the same school-kid approach as the OP is using, so of course, it reads like a report.

And while you may complain that my telling to OP they need to look at a good book on the basics of writing fiction is discouraging, your ENCOURAGING them to keep writing with those skills WILL place them on a path of guaranteed failure. The current rejection rate is worse then 99%.

Universities offer degree programs in Commercial Fiction Writing. So your telling the OP that even reading a book on the basics is pandering. And doing that to a chold is disgusting.

And as for my discouraging the OP, Sinclair Lewis put it well with: “It is impossible to discourage the real writers — they don’t give a damn what you say, they’re going to write.”

Perhaps, were you to dig into the skills of poetry, with a book like Mary Oliver's, you'd better understandhow education can turn the "ladder of success" into an escallator.

[Emunah June.]

I’m good, Jay. I’m simply pleased creating. I don’t care if it’s how you want me to. Your way is not the end all be all.

[JayG]

• I’m good, Jay. I’m simply pleased creating.

You call advising someone only 12 years old not to read a book on writing "creating?" You call hijacking their thread to attack someone who suggested they dig into the skills of the profession, "creating?"

Naaa.

[Emunah June.]

It’s weird how the majority of the site tells everyone to stay away from you and yet you fail to see the issue. Go back to your soulless work and leave everyone else who’s not trying to be famous alone. We’re happy with what we make — whether or not you see it as “good” is inconsequential, because (and I’m gonna hold your hand when I say this) your opinion is not the end all be all. Your advice is unwanted, unwarranted, and unnecessary. No one wants it. No one cares. Go create your slop and leave new writers alone. Sorry you’re so miserable in life you need to nitpick others — could never be me.

[JayG]

The majority of the site? You mean, Davidgeo, his sock puppet account, Green, and no one else? You mean the people, none of whom write fiction, who invaded a thread belonging to a 12 year old fiction-writer, to attack me, the only one who actually commented on his work and suggested noteworthy professional resources that could be downloaded?

And what do you post as your work? Mostly Dismal Damsel poems based on the state of your marriage.

Before climbing on that high horse and attacking the ONLY person who did try to help the OP, perhaps you should be of service to them and do a critique that will tell him/her how to more effectively write fiction.

Ad-hominem attacks are easy, because they're unrelated to any advice I gave the OP.

But...you ONLY attacked. You disagreed with not one single comment I made, just threw mud at the one person who respected the OP enough to do that.

Do you think the OPs work is exemplary? Say so. Did you even look at the plot progression? It's THEIR thread, and the focus should be on THEIR writing.

In the past week, Dave and his puppet attacked me 11 times. And you did the same 3 times. And not one post had to do with the writing I commented on, only your idiotic obsession with me. And that's a waste of time, because I sleep better knowing that there are fools gnashing their teeth because of me.

“It’s none of their business that you have to learn how to write. Let them think you were born that way.”
~Ernest Hemingway

[Emunah June.]

Trust me, I am far from obsessed. You are hardly a flicker of a thought in my mind. I disagree with everything you tell every writer you discourage, and I refuse to waste a single ounce of effort on you a second longer. If you truly believe it is just “Davidgeo and his puppets”, then you need to take a good long look in the mirror. You probably won’t, but you ought to.

Don’t even bother replying to me. I have no use for you, for this conversation, or whatever abysmal “advice” you have to offer.