Common New Writer Mistakes: 13 Writing Mistakes to Avoid! | iWriterly

New writers often make the same mistakes. In this video, we will talk about 13 mistakes newbie writers make-and how you can avoid them.
Topics discussed in this video (in no particular order):
• Tropes vs. cliches
• Showing vs. telling
• Flowery writing
• Wordy writing
• POVs
• Stakes & conflict in stories
• Mimicking a writing style from a different time
• Hook
• Plot
~~~
SOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS VIDEO:
Filler Words to Remove From Your Novel
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~~~
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~~~
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[@KEP1983]

Is it still a trope if it's a poor man falling in love with a female billionaire vampire who owns a boarding school?

[@ethangas9116]

Keith P nah, I’d read that.

[@moonyplays5926]

I'd definitely read that.

[@NonameWriter]

I’m intrigued, go on...😂

[@dnatsrednUouYoD]

Gimmie moar.

[@FantasyApprentice]

I would so red that book =D That idea sounds really cool

[@lanadelrey1617]

If not writing for yourself do not write at all. Worrying about the audience is going to tell a vastly different story from the one you *want* to tell.

[@reb3liouss0ul61]

Lana Del Rey the fear of not appealing to an audience has kept me from continuing with my writing.. I think I need to write for myself from now on and people will just critic and like what they will

[@lanadelrey1617]

​@@reb3liouss0ul61 I think that is an excellent choice. I catch myself all to often thinking about how something isn't going to please a reader when im writing something, but then i'm reminded the only reader i need to impress is myself.

[@wintergamer0346]

My teacher told me reader always first

[@goodyeoman4534]

I never believed that. It's a craft, essentially, and need not be entirely fuelled by personal inspiration.

[@lanadelrey1617]

@@goodyeoman4534 Fair. And when we plant seeds in our garden we grow crops. What is grown is entirely dependant on the seed. When we put pen to paper words do not merely create their own story, what is written is fuelled by inspiration. If the intent is to sell a craft of highly personal preference where commercial value is uncertain, growing crops and selling them is a much more reliable way for such a purpose. To write in the intent of commercial success is to appeal to the masses, and that group is and will never be united. It is in other words an absolute waste of time, doing something one does not enjoy to it's potential where the outcome of either is such a' same. cheers, friend! ,"such social status is one step down from the Landed gentry, but above, say, a husbandman"

[@mslightbulb]

My intention in the future is to make the reader go “What am I even reading, was the writer on drugs?”

[@akgwriting9481]

Lol

[@jammycammy7557]

Stephen King was high when he wrote IT 😂😂😂

[@toddkes5890]

To get yourself in the right mind, watch Cyriak videos. Here's a start - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYKyXpSFma9_n9k

[@jaydowning600]

Just read The Tommyknockers

[@kimberlysalmon5693]

So u want them to feel like they're watching Riverdale?

[@ignatiusj.reilly2124]

I feel like I've been personally attacked for the last 14 minutes

[@ValGalorian]

But at least those first 29 seconds were safe

[@benjamingrezik373]

lol when she spoke about characters needing different voices, I felt that lol

[@tulip5210]

You got this

[@breadordecide]

Keep writing.

[@queenoftrades7254]

Fr

[@ripper82]

Clichés: Descriptions that “have been done to death.” Irony. lol

[@roblove9976]

James Watson so important to avoid clichés like the plague!

[@MohseenLala]

I figured out how to avoid all the above mistakes....don't write at all.

[@peterfallon4018]

While my first book was a collaborative autobiographical/self-help from 2 POV’s-& currently working on a solo project they’re both nonfiction. I enjoy the process, value so can provide others-even just one-tho a finance guy by day job, incredibly hard to earn a living as a writer

[@peterfallon4018]

HOWEVER, akin to an out-of-field job interview, I DEFINITELY appreciate your advice, surely some can cross-over 🙏

[@AdilParray]

@Captain Opinion I also great write. I are righting awe some now.

[@moonled]

Robert A Heinlein's Rules of Writing. He didn't guarantee you'd be successful if you used them, but he did guarantee failure if you didn't. You must write. You must finish what you write. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order. You must put the work on the market. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.

[@TxnBBQ75]

Thank you for doing us a favor

[@danielsarn3823]

"I don't want to ruin my stories by introducing a plot" - Stephen King

[@JackFlashP]

👌

[@seonuo7084]

Yes

[@neopagan1976]

That's right. Stephen King is the most well-known pantser who doesn't even bother with plot. He only concentrates on character and situation. Here's another important quote from this master of horror, "Put interesting characters into difficult situations and then write to find out what happens." This's the process I use when I write my TimeScape Science fiction novels. I don't worry about plot development. The way I go about writing my novels allows the story plot to become self-explanatory. I’m just as much of a pantser as Stephen King is.

[@gem9535]

"Show, don't tell," seems to be the ultimate rule

[@whosaidthat84]

Funny enough, many people who claim to "get it" don't really "get it." For example, if a wizard uses a magic spell like fire, the writer may say "Grandalph the Orange shot a fireball from his staff. The magic in his staff was fueled by the souls of dead orcs and goblins" We learned the source of his magic but we still haven't seen exactly how that works or where it came from.

[@gem9535]

@@whosaidthat84 Really good and informative example. Well done!

[@whosaidthat84]

@@gem9535 thanks!😁

[@kaytamurray]

Tell sparingly. Sometimes writers show far too much for something that you don’t care about

[@oddvoid]

You need a mix of show and tell. You need to also know when your showing, and when your telling, and why. All this writing advice needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

[@SarifaXionic]

I don't worry about tropes. I think of everything that will make the character’s life hell and throw it in the book.

[@igoroliveira3774]

best comment ever

[@tulip5210]

Exactly

[@kanatosakamaki8456]

Lol, the first rule of writing drama is “anything that can go wrong, goes wrong”

[@meganmacias7403]

True

[@delicateblood1944]

I throw the book at the character- That's definitely hell right there.

[@lordofentropy]

The last point is really me. I have a bunch of scenes in my head that I've "written" for my protagonist. Problem is, that's all they are, I have no actual story to put them in. Makes me feel like I can only conceive of skits, and that something like a novel or even a short story are beyond my reach.

[@honeydew5963]

lordofentropy then just write the skits! That’s perfectly fine for now and gives you writing practice! And maybe one day you’ll fall for one so hard that it’ll turn into a novel. But you’ll never know until you write

[@ameena6485]

@@honeydew5963 I agree with you. If you can write good skits, you can write good stories, and if you can write good stories, you can write good novels. And you can also make a book of your skits. It's similar to poem books etc...

[@HikariKobayashi]

If you want to write a novel eventually, then what you should try is to write your skits and see how you can connect them. As an example, I'm recently doing this with a gift for my girlfriend. I told her a bedtime story a while back with a lot of disconnected scenes, but they all tied together somehow into a larger narrative. I'm working on a full novel version of it now, using what I already told her and connecting them with other moments. It's turning out to be very good practice.

[@lordofentropy]

Thanks for the input and the comments! I really should write all these scenes down and perhaps the story will come from that. Now that I think about it, George RR Martin said A Song of Ice and Fire basically came from him just thinking of a scene where the kids find the dire wolf pups - he wrote that scene and it eventually became something like 9000 pages and counting.

[@honeydew5963]

Cathildis yes!!! And even if you have like an idea for a conversation between 2 people. No it’s not a whole story but fuck it, you can just write the dialogue lol it’s all for your own eyes to look at anyway

[@krishnaveti]

Terrible Writing Advice is screaming with joy at the mention of the love triangle.

[@HarpalSingh-eq4lz]

True...

[@henuemphuse]

I don’t want to be “the next” anything. I wanna be the first me. I want to change the reading experience in such a way my book inspires a new genre in fiction or rebuilds what people expect from literary fiction. I want my book to be something people read and can’t stop talking about because of the emotional experience they go through. Or because a scene hit them too close to home and made them bond with a character.

[@davismacdonald984]

right on, Davis Macdonald

[@breadordecide]

There are no new genres. And that reading experience better be readable. From this statement I can make a guess at what newbie writer mistakes you’re making. Unfocused genre and audience. Flowery writing. Confusing plot or characters. This also reeks of 100k words, needs an editor.

[@zulemaoregel2423]

breadordecide “No new genres” dont limit human capabilities. We might think there are new genres, but you will be surprised when new ones arise. I mean. New Age Adult wasnt a thing before but now its popularity is spiking, same thing with the Epic music genre that TSFH propelled.

[@henuemphuse]

Wow, ok this comment got a lot more traction than i thought it would. And as nieve as the comment sounds it was mostly sincere and more hopeful than anything. Plus my grammar sucks even with as careful as i am in my writing, its pretty terrible. So yes i will need more than one editor, im a lot of things when it comes to writing. Im an underwriter and have usually what i plan out to be long books i accidentally end up with 20k words near the end of the project. But thats the rough draft. At that point i would go back to the story board try to go though the usual development process and take care of things like world building ect. And try to build on ideas from there and if a character doesnt feel fleshed out enough or feels like its out of place i chose to build on thier story or cut them from it depending on thier role in the book as a whole. Then i sit down and take months going over it and usually by this point nothing happens with the book and o forget about it. Mostly cause of the stuff i write comming from a very dark point in my life and i was emotional writing it, but also some of the topics my books go into i feel like might hit a little too close to home for some. As well as being either emotionally frustrating to read for others or just offensive. By no means is the project done its just never finished from there. I dont send it off for a developmental editor tp review i dont work on a second draft for another look from a different developmental editor, and it never sees copy editing or anything more than a rough draft. I dont care who you are in the writing world at some point everyone needs an edditor. For those saying there are no new genres im sorry but that statement has been proven over and over again to be demonstrably false in the past from things like cinema, music, television, comedy, and yes even books. The main point of my original comment was if your just looking to be the next whoever then your doing it for the wrong reasons. Shadowing an idol in any practice as a mentor is fine but having that being a reason to write just seems sad to me.

[@abidemiadenle267]

I've only gotten this feeling from Elena Ferrante's work

[@kelsyval]

Here’s the best writing advice: ignore all the other writing advice. Know the writing advice but then throw it out the window and do whatever the heck you want.

[@slendertale7358]

For those who want to write for themselves yes. But there are some of us who actually want to write professionally and please the critica

[@otherevan296]

"You gotta know the rules before you break them, son"

[@Pacman1330]

You can throw any advice out of the window, but you have to understand why that advice existed first. Then you can work on how to still plea the critica despite throwing the advices out of the window. For instance, it is not recommanded to swap PoVs mid-chapter, but why? Because it's hard for the reader to understand. But can you still do it? Yes. But you will have to pay extra extra attention to the understanding of the readers and not overdo the head-hopping. Personally, I don't think that GoT has mastered that. I think watching the show helped me 10x more at reading the book, because I am fairly certain I would have thrown that book in the garbage if I hadn't watched the show. Characters are not even presented in an intelligent way.

[@megalopath]

"Words that end with 'ly' aren't often necessary..." Okay *iWriterly*. Joking aside, great video!

[@jeanr.rivera4583]

0:39 1. writing a story that has been done many times before 1:48 2. writing a trope... but not in a unique way 2:08 3. too many line level cliches 2:45 4. too much telling (vs. showing) 3:37 5. flowery writing 4:39 6. wordy writing 5:59 7. assuming your book is the next bestseller 7:03 8. POVs aren't handled well 8:30 9. a story that lacks stakes or conflict 9:05 10. too little or too much description 10:01 11. mimicking a writing style from a different time 10:58 12. no hook 11:49 13. no plot

[@jimbosdragrace6943]

Ah yes,this comment has told me I make none of these mistakes.

[@DravenWolfe]

This comment summarizes why don't care about the advice in this video

[@rileythewolf8960]

You’re a gift

[@patrickobrien5311]

She forgot one: Most of these "rules" are not absolute and almost anything can be done if done right (some exclusions). Writing is art not science.

[@thesoup6530]

I definitely used to do number 5. When I read my old books I’m like “damn... did a dictionary throw up on this word document?” It almost makes me nauseous 😂😂

[@ryleeanonymous8234]

I just realized how many times I included "that" in a 10000 word thing. Oh my gosh

[@oddvoid]

That is crazy!

[@jeffsykes4589]

Alternative title: 13 Reasons Why authors look like new witers

[@johanflock_art]

Jeff Sykes right? Everytime I pick up a book written today I get dissapointed because they make all these mistakes lol

[@andrewprofitt6898]

I don't read new authors. Don't even always like Stephen Kings pros.

[@dustinmccollum7196]

@@johanflock_art not all today Authors are bad. My all time favorite Author is Brandon Sanderson. He is a fantastic writer.

[@kamuelalee]

My books will sell better

[@davidlafleche1142]

@@kamuelalee Really? What are you writing? (See my answers.)

[@medievalmaster]

Sometimes tropes can be interesting if the circumstances are interesting and the characters are interesting. It is based on presentation, and the writing/ writers. Even if a writer does do a lot of tropes, it could still be very interesting and entertaining depending on how the writer writes.

[@bratwizard]

Tropes are tropes because that's what life is, and how human stories are put together. People don't (generally) read the book because of (or in spite of) the tropes-- but rather how *YOU* tell *YOUR* story. If you do a good job, and satisfy YOUR heart, the tropes won't matter.

[@myrkflinn4331]

Good example of a show is True Blood. Full of tropes but conveyed originally. Also parodies never hurt lol

[@kay_faraday]

Another example is Discworld. Which actually was the origin or codifier of a fair few tropes.

[@kalebishop5182]

There's a danger to giving this kind of advice without giving a warning, it can potentially promote one's inner critic. There should have been a caution for new authors and that these advices should only be followed after they have done their first drafts, because logic and correctness tends to antagonize one's creativity.

[@WtJah]

Perfection is the enemy of creativity

[@RJLeigh]

Considering that the word 'mistakes' is in the title and most of the subjects spoken about are listed in the description, a warning or caution isn't necessary.

[@kalebishop5182]

@@RJLeigh It's for the people who have not finished the first drafts. It's a pitfall if you are too self-conscious with all the writing mistakes that a new author should avoid. It's however advisable to do so after finishing it.

[@nicholasbrimer4434]

Good call, I'll stop watching and start writing!

[@BenBarredo]

💯 percent agree. I'm finally making ground in my project because I stopped trying to edit while I write. It's hard at first but I remind myself "catch it in the editing, just keep going". The biggest challenge is even I read a few paragraphs where I left off to get some momentum and run into edit opportunities there.

[@bhangrafan4480]

'Filler' words may not change the crude meaning of a sentence but they may change the emphasis, nuance, mood and texture of the writing.

[@nateschultz8973]

If they *don't* add something, they shouldn't be there. Redundancy verily doth grate.

[@dr.j7542]

@@nateschultz8973 You had us in the first half...not gonna lie

[@invalid8212]

The best advice I ever got (I don't remember where I heard it) was "write a story you would want to read."

[@mathisforgret7583]

I'm working on a story right now, and I'm having fun with it. The only thing I hope is that someone likes it. No I don't want the next "new York times best seller" just a story that some one can look at and like.

[@supernatural7167]

same here, just had my first feed back from a friend it was 90% positive, I asked them to be honest and they promised that they would. they made it clear that there were parts that they did not understand , I told them that this was intended, due the nature of the story I was telling, you are not meant to get all the answers, life doesn't always make sense so I take it as a win, keep at it and enjoy.

[@mathisforgret7583]

Thank you, I will

[@bepisthescienceman4202]

I just hope people read mine

[@thebooknerd7914]

My parents are always like OMG it’s soooo good and I’m like hit me with it bro. HIT ME. Hit me with the truth. Luckily ,y moms boyfriend is a writer so he understands why I need that smack in the face.

[@slendertale7358]

We newbies always need that smack in the face, especially if I want to write professionally 😂

[@eleanordisney1906]

Who else is watching this when they should be working on their story?

[@mstheroff]

I'm so glad she mentioned flowery writing. When someone's excessively florid, it just sounds like someone pretending to be a writer.

[@davemiller401]

Writing a trope is not a mistake. Write what you enjoy. Write what you love. Write what you are passionate about. Tropes are popular, because people love them. Write well, and people will read it. Just because some short-sighted agent/author/pundit thinks something is a trope does not mean your novel can't be a best-seller. Write it, then let it age. When the time is right, it will be huge. Stay strong people! Don't let anyone discourage you! Especially writing "experts" who have a couple of years under their belt at a publishing house. lol

[@booklassygarrahan3929]

I need to listen to this again.

[@tazziiee1098]

how many POV's do you want in your story Me:Yes.

[@tazziiee1098]

@Isabella Woolfley I'm honestly kidding haha

[@jammydodger222Xxd]

I'm very much of the opinion that you need to write the book you want to write. Trying to write to the market is a quick and easy way to create formulaic uninspired ideas written because they sell, not because they're good. If you feel inspired to write a particular story and it's what you feel passionate about then write it. Is it really worth being successful financially if you've spent a career pandering to market trends? In the modern digital age where pandering to the whims of publishers is nowhere near as necessary as it used to be, write what you want to write and just write it well.

[@lori9885]

Flowery writer Me: *sobs*

[@dougarnold7955]

Thanks. Great video.

[@moonled]

One way to spot an info dump is a character saying "As you know ... "

[@lovetownsend]

Chuck P. says "Your first book is always an autobiography"

[@dearfauxpas]

@Corvidae YEAH SAME

[@iknowboring27]

oasis same

[@kaytamurray]

Adverbs aren’t necessarily too bad. Its whether you have a strong one: She smiled happily; redundant She smiled sadly; oxymoronic and creates an vivid image. It’s overused tho

[@kaytamurray]

Stormgem Thunder u r right thank u

[@paulljucovic6518]

Enjoy your videos.

[@evilgenius97]

I like the whole slowly build everything at once, about 100 pages in still scratching the surface

[@imitatefirst]

OK, I'm done writing. . . was my first reaction. How would I remember all of this?! Then I got a grip and realized how valuable this information is--and if writing were easy, everyone would do it - thank you.

[@starry77]

"It's so out of date to write about the fae" meanwhile she literally has a copy of The Cruel Prince right behind her.

[@Air_Serpent]

starry77 it happens to the best of us 😂

[@angell.7469]

Perhaps Holly Black is the exception to the rule? I remember her Modern Faerie Tales series being one of the first fae YA series, so she has been writing about the fae for two decades! The Cruel Prince gave some new spins on the trope too

[@Omar-pi8ht]

Awsome content on writing. Brilliant.👏

[@gkbeg]

Helpful, thanks

[@AdventuresofLaMari]

Oh yes - I remember hitting each one of those points when I was a newbie!!!

[@sorrowandsufferin924]

Important question: Why aren't you anymore?

[@lizaronni]

As someone diagnosed with ADHD, simply learning how to build a cohesive sentence would be a huge start for me.😂 Don’t worry- I have no aspirations to become a writer. I stumbled upon this channel and lingered here a while because it’s fun to hear snippets about how the craft is honed. So carry-on all you future novelists! Perhaps at least one of you will keep me wildly entertained into my golden years :-)

[@dewdropflame]

Your comment is full of perfectly cohesive sentences, and your personality and wit shine through in every single one of them! I also have ADHD. I love writing, but bounce between several different ongoing projects and make only very slow progress. Planning and editing my stories is far easier - it doesn't require the rare, elusive creature that is hyperfocus. While I may not feel cut out for a career as an author, I'll never give up writing for fun. Good luck on your ADHD journey, whatever your aspirations are.

[@lizaronni]

Aw thanks Dewdrop Flame! Finishing a tweet or KZbin comment is pretty much the extent of my planning & executing prowess when it comes to written language. Other than that, unfinished creative projects take up most of my hard drive and physical living space. All of life’s rabbit holes are just to much fun to ignore. It’s a blessing and a curse. Sigh.

[@abbeyelise7045]

fellow adhd friend here, and i love writing! i often think that my adhd is what gives me the ideas that i love to write, so don’t write off your adhd as something automatically bad! it’s a weapon in our arsenal, one that other people don’t have, so use it!

[@goodyeoman4534]

'ADHD' does not exist.

[@sorrowandsufferin924]

On the "no aspirations to become a writer"-bit: Why not? There's one thing, I feel, combining all of us writers, no matter whether we write professionally or for a hobby, whether we publish with big publishers or on websites, whether we have ten readers or 10 million: We all have stories to tell. And here's the thing: Everyone has a story to tell. So why not, just for the hell of it, write it down? Maybe, some of us were gifted with a gift for words, or stories. Maybe it's because we were born with an inborn desire to read. Maybe reality is too harsh sometimes and books offer solitude and escape when the world as it is becomes too heavy to carry. Whatever the reason to write, we all have our stories to tell. And one more thing, just to close this up: There is this one quote, I don't know which hell it climed out of, but this is what keeps me going, in writing as well as in difficult life situations: "Everything worth doing is worth doing poorly". Don't be perfect, never aspire to be perfect. Perfection is death. Always strive for improvement, always keep moving. Every journey starts somewhere. And every step worth taking is worth falling, so long as you never give up. Sorry for the monologue, got a bit carried away :D

[@blaustein_autor]

That was helpful!

[@businessofwritingpodcast3668]

This is inspiring! Thanks for this :))

[@AcesPrune]

When speaking about Antagonists you kept saying 'who' but I completely disagree with an Antagonist being a requirement, and I also the word 'who' implies that if you do have one, that it has to be a person, it does not imo, sometimes the world can be in the main characters short-coming, or an illness, or even themselves.

[@lilian5120]

When I first started writing I thought I had to describe every single thing the character does. Every single unimportant detail.

[@MadailinBurnhope]

@@nice3205 he coughed, and the spittle resembled a tiny dandelion

[@slendertale7358]

Haha ikr! He raised his right hand, dropping his left hand to relax by his side, and shaked the mayor's hand 😂

[@accountantintraining4752]

I am taking notes on her video. While pausing to jot down her informative to-not-do, well, I stopped the video at 9:19. After finishing the notes, I look up to see her mean mug face. It is epic and worth a meme. I bet no one can do it better! It taught me a few mistakes in my writing-too many filler words vs. filter words. I'm still trying to understand how to use filter words and when not to overuse or not use filler words when it's not needed. I got a lot to work on. Thank you for this video!

[@AnsuyaRathorBellydanceYoga]

Yes! More newbie tips please!

[@Dani-zs2ec]

As someone who graduated with a creative writing degree, I 100% agree with this! This is such a good video. I encountered the same problems when I was working on my manuscript last year.

[@MrWhangdoodles]

Terry Goodkind exclaimed, "Hook? Never heard of it!"

[@chadedwinsteinhauer6016]

Thank you beautiful!

[@iridescentlytey4933]

Your intro cartoon is so CUTE!!!

[@HectorMartinez-xv4re]

The part about the new writers that think they’re the next JK Rowling, there’s a term for it, the Dunning- Kruger effect: Basically the more ignorant someone is, the more confident lmao

[@blazingocean4206]

Brown Marvel Interesting. Please tell me more.

[@franklacroix6471]

Psychology ... almost every new author has to learn ... Meyer was an English major ... she knew ... she did not know she could in the beginning. She was like the rest of us. I am a science major. Writing is TOUGH! I am sure Meyer's editor helped when they got involved and saw Meyer had a real NEAT twist to a trope. New Indies learning curve is much harder.

[@davidlafleche1142]

Nobody really wants to be "the next J.K. Rowling." They want to be RICH. They think, "If I write a wizard story, it'll be a big hit!" Writing doesn't work that way. A discerning reader can smell the stench of a copycat from a mile away, and will not respect writers who do that.

[@blazingocean4206]

@@davidlafleche1142 Not necessarily. Harry Potter wasn't the first story to invent magical schools and no one is saying that J.K. Rowling is a copycat, well, that one is a lie since she was accuse of been a copycat many times but that didn't stop the success of her books. The point is not making a "wizarding school" story but a "unique story" with a wizarding school in it. Nothing is unique these days.

[@davidlafleche1142]

@@blazingocean4206 I didn't say Harry Potter was the first. But, because it got a lot of free publicity in the Internet Age, it became very famous. Regardless of who the writer is, or what genre, if a book sells millions, hack writers will try to copy it. I hate "trendiness." It's kind of like TV back in the 50s and 60s. There were a zillion westerns! Almost as bad were sitcoms with a widow(er), two or three cute kids, and a sheepdog. UGH !!! If any show even tried to be original, it might win an Emmy, but wouldn't last long (He & She, My World and Welcome To It, etc.)

[@rowan7929]

My editor was a big help pointing out the problems with my book. While I have some cliche moments in it, I tried not to use them as much. At least several readers didn't see the outcome of one of the protagonists.

[@jettison_m]

Love the Nevernight series!

[@mizukiakiyama289]

I have two POVS first person for main character/“present” third person-flashbacks/dreams. The povs will change when chapters begin.

[@corneliakoch6454]

"What is your story's hook" The setting is an asylum but the main character actually belongs there. I don't write books why am I here

[@losingmygrip]

me: *has been writing for somewhere over five years* also me: *clicks video* “lmao, sure why?”

[@AI-gd7lz]

5 yrs is still a newbie writer in the grand scheme

[@losingmygrip]

Jenny Lang technically six years now. but it all depends on what skills and experience and techniques you have for writing, I guess. an English teacher of mine has told me that i write on levels higher than what’s normally expected of a said newbie writer.

[@AI-gd7lz]

offixal.maria sorry, I think you might have missed my point! I meant five years (or even six years) really means you’re only just getting started on your career. You’ll continue to learn and improve all your life. even if you write professionally you can still be a beginner. It’s not constructive to think of oneself as the best one can get this early on. good luck moving forwards with your writing!

[@frealish6622]

Tropes are tropes for a reason, their writing blueprints to tell a story thats entertaining. If tropes are done well dont shy away from them because it can make your writing better

[@pokelynke8232]

I got these cool books off the internet that give you other proper words for commonly used ones. Not like the thesaurus you get on your computer. You know, you click on it and throw a dart hoping it'll be used right. I mean common words like walking, kneeling, stooping. It's really come in handy for me.

[@addisonwhetzel6648]

Beautiful video! This is EXACTLY what I needed to see. Your points were all valid and relevant, and you were able to explain them with actual examples. I've found so many content creators that seem like they just want to make content, but don't actually have anything worthwhile to say. This video was wonderful. I'm so glad I stumbled on this so I can go back and see everything else you've posted and stay tuned for future posts. Keep them coming!

[@pavelslama5543]

As a noobie writer, I like to learn how to improve my book. However, as a reader, I dont think that every chapter needs to necessarily lead directly to the final conclusion. If the chapter is about character development, it has a point of its own. If the book lacks any chapter related more to the character development than to the conclusion, the story feels rushed to me. Like when you ignore all challenges and side quests in PC game and rush your character straight to the final chapter...

[@jaleemasangma2820]

Wow nice advice.

[@atinybookabout]

There is something deliciously ironic about a KZbin video that admonishes it's audience about using tropes and cliche - using a copywriting trope and cliche in the title :)

[@tryintoreason9738]

"Older fantasy books, like from the 2000s..." Sigh... That gave me arthritis. Seriously, though, the advice about adverbs was on point. Most newbies could delete all their adverbs and not lose anything.

[@MiriCosette]

You hit all the most important ones, in my opinion! Oh man, the flowery words... Definitely a newbie mistake that I've made!

[@user-zw5yf2cy2v]

The hook of my book is; Twelve year old demigod, Asher, is exploring the world so he can find the demigod who saved his life when he was nine, but with three nations on the brink of war, the world leaders all want Asher to join their side, but when Asher refuses he finds all of the world leaders trying to kill him so the other nations can’t get him to help them.

[@avalorraine7783]

That sounds pretty good, actually. Try not to make your character drunk on his own importance. If that's an intentional character flaw, then fine, but don't let it escape your control. Then they could be in danger of becoming a Gary Stu or an author's favorite child.

[@avalorraine7783]

I do like how you're able to summarize the plot so effectively in such few amount of words. A vital takeaway to writing stories is to not waste the reader's time, and from what I've noticed, you've seemed to take that to heart.

[@bdup159]

That was one of the easiest examples to understand on how to show and not tell. That's always been so hard for me to understand. My brain just says. Either way I am telling. Because it is words. But thank you for this it makes sense now!

[@gearmachine8454]

1:30 haha, yeah... *looks at the H P Lovecraft book next to me*

[@TheSpiralComet]

4:00 - I love The Eye of Argon!

[@victorgrauer5834]

What you are teaching ME is that you are exactly the wrong type of agent for any book I might want to write. I have no interest in writing for a particular "genre" or for a particular audience. Let's remember that the novel, the short story, the poem, etc. are art forms, NOT commodities to be inserted into some predetermined slot on a book store shelf. I would much rather self-publish than write something tailor made to fit the requirements of readers like yourself, whose literary horizon is limited, essentially, to what we used to call "trash."

[@sh4rkb4it79]

Good video and great eyebrows!

[@Dragonsphinx]

I’d personally like to add, on the topic of not writing scenes just for funsies, that it’s perfectly fine if you enjoy a scene AND it has a purpose. I made the mistake of tripping up on this advice a little some years ago and got it into my head that if I really loved a scene then it must be something I should cut out (even though they also drove important character or plot related developments forward). These are all really good points to keep in mind. I’m glad there’s a video for this: much quicker than deriving them individually through trial-and-error as I did. 😅

[@SAHogan-ih3bo]

D: Strange reasoning about a scene you love that also makes sense (!). And the problem is... ?

[@holly4554]

I hope to be a bestseller. I want it. It would be cool. But I write for the love of writing

[@no-jt9nz]

This perfectly describes why I have never liked fantasy books

[@notbubblystarters05]

*I need to digest this video. Gobble it up and make my brain remember it. 😂*

[@reagame8700]

Say what you want about Twilight, but the fact that Stephanie Meyer created an entire TROPE that lasted for YEARS and was very widespread is rather impressive.

[@lynnfendlason4277]

True, but even Twilight is a string of repeated ideas: love triangle, warring clans/tribes, insecure girl struggling to find where she shines/belongs, vamps and werewolves, etc.

[@audreychin9261]

I want to write stories like Hayao Miyazaki makes his Studio Ghibli movies; magic, nostalgia and a dream

[@firenze6478]

The thing about trends is that just because something is popular doesn’t mean that something else isn’t It’s like someone catches a fish in one spot and everyone moves to that area only for the next fish to be caught in an entirely new area

[@scottolson8838]

Good tips as I am newbie. I am so close to finishing a draft and it is an exciting feeling. I am interested to see what some of these mistakes are prevalent in my work when I give it a full overview. Keep the tips coming! I would like some suggestions on how to stay on task vs including new ideas that come to you mid writing. Also maybe some things to do and others to avoid while self editing and looking to improve upon a draft.

[@Pokefreak951]

I'm loving this video, I'm loving the tips, and I'm loving that bookshelf behind her. And yet... all I can see is that her Eragon series is out of order. XD I am soooo sorry. I don't mean to notice but I was scanning the whole visible shelf while she spoke and I couldn't get that out of my head.

[@gandalfgrey91]

I regularly write 5000 word chapters where the character is just standing in one spot thinking.

[@jameslasota3653]

Sameeee. Then I remember, oh right, The story Is supposed to be developing , not my verbose description of why my character is a certain way.

[@CrazyOwlDude]

I used the trope of: "It was all a dream" but instead of it being a dream it was actually real but it made you think it was a dream

[@HivisoftheScale]

Yeesh... I feel like if I sent you my 1st chapter you'd say: "No! You're doing it all wrong!! All of it!!"

[@krabbykat9918]

it's probably how all these agents are which is why writers barely get published now

[@shootthemoon6072]

Dost thou mock my styling of the movable print!?🤣😂🤣

[@xaureliex8293]

a tip for the "show dont tell" pricip. Every time you read and you find a beautiful description of for example feelings, landscapes, or these things, then just write it down so that you can use it while writing

[@triskoto]

thank you

[@Redchocobo]

Edit: I'ts the Dunning-Kruger effect! Google image searching it gives you the graph! I don't remember what it's called, but there's this graph that shows something like "how much you know Vs how much you think you know" and it gives a really good visualization on newbies thinking they're the best

[@dinaatjuh]

my hook; a fantasy adventure of self discovery or- finding peace within oneself and with the world around you or- how to accept being autistic and fragmented or- how to find strength within community yeah, those are the most accurate prob not hook-y enough for most, but it's a passion project so whatever

[@derpi94]

I would probably read that, or at the very least look into it. Sounds interesting.

[@dinaatjuh]

@@derpi94 Thank you, your comment and the 19 (!) thumbs up are very encouraging.

[@derpi94]

I would certainly like to know more about it, such as if this is something that you're going to release.

[@dinaatjuh]

@@derpi94 About the only thing I can tell you is that it's going to be in dutch, because that's my native language. So.. sorry..

[@spacecat7715]

I'm Autistic as well and a writer. :-) But the above video is giving me anxiety about my writing. Advice like this is why I haven't written in years. I start to think about the "audience" and what is "marketable," and writing stops being fun.

[@raina1848]

Great channel you have here. It is helpful even if you are just writing for fun.

[@Chris.Davies]

How about a video on American writers seeming to be incapable of using adverbs? "He did it quick". Or, my personal American favourite; "I'm doing good."

[@tylarsyddall286]

"Mimicking a writing style from a different time" modern day styles are absolute shit though and are less complex that older ones. All my favourite novels are from the 19th century and no writer form this century has come anywhere near the profundity nor depth of those classics. There is a reason why the novel industry is failing, and that is due to genuine creativity being curtailed in favour of standardisation.

[@samhayes-astrion]

I'm glad my book series premise is relatively... _unseen_ in the writing landscape. I can properly say I'm not being the next of anyone else. No one should see themselves as the next of a big name. Can you imagine if your career as a writer, or you yourself as a writer, is just known as 'the next Martin' or 'the next Rowling'? That's like being related to a famous person, and your entire life, you're just known as 'famous person's sister'! Who wants to live like that? People should never strive to have their career forever in the name shadow of a major writer. They should instead cast their own shadow.

[@marlonappleton777]

Could not say it better myself.

[@SAHogan-ih3bo]

A: While I agree, it sure beats the hell out of being an unknown. I frankly wouldn't mind being called The Next Stephen King. It would, in fact, be an honor to be mentioned in the same breath (!).

[@samhayes-astrion]

@@SAHogan-ih3bo I hope you outshine him. I think you can do it. (:

[@SAHogan-ih3bo]

@@samhayes-astrion Thx for the kind words. Check out my entry in The Best Horror Novel Ever Written Sweepstakes (my personal fave being King's "Pet Sematary")--THE DEATH TAX--at amazon.com books to see if you think I have a chance. Before you commit to an investment of $2.99 for the Kindle version, you can read the 1st 30 pages for free.

[@queerlibtardhippie9357]

I actually am related to a famous person and people bring it up all the time. I don't care.

[@gabriel1281]

I guess you took all the newby questions of the past 2 months written in the comments and made this video. Either way I got my answer to the question I asked and thank you so much. Very good job, both entertaining and educational

[@muhammadfawwazmuhammadafif75]

My main protag is a Sentry copycat in a world of original superheroes. He's technically the strongest supe in that world but he has his own problems so he doesn't go out in costume a lot. This leads to many of the newer supes to underestimate and belittle him.

[@WCtheComedian]

One example of fantastically written multiple POVs-“The Westing Game”

[@NCC1371]

Our school made us read that in sixth grade.

[@bhangrafan4480]

The classic advice on adverbs is that rather than using an adverb to qualify a verb, choose a different verb which creates more of an image in the reader's mind.

[@danjohnson887]

Long live Stephen King

[@EldridgeXavier]

Good tips!

[@YountFilm]

Verb phrases, vs. actual verbs: I haven't seen anyone mention this one. It's a mistake of using multiple words to convey a verb, when you could use a single verb that fits the best. Note the difference: "He took apart the machine..." Vs. "He dismantled the machine..." or "He disassembled the machine." Not a hard and fast rule, but we do this on normal parlance, so being aware of it while writing can help with improvement.

[@ivaylogalinov7598]

Is it still trope story about a young man who is learning to be an angel, mastering the energy of creation /chi and training to stop the devil to destroy human race?

[@anelamiskovic4660]

Noo

[@SleepParty30]

I don't think so. Sounds pretty cool, to be honest. I'd read it.

[@TheZenBullet]

Trope is misused in this, trope covers all plot elements and there's a term for everything Someone saying tropes are bad is like saying screwdrivers are bad Hit up tvtropes some time and you'll see what I mean