Easiest way to finish your story.
#1
the more amateur stories I read, the more I realize that there are a lot of writers that don't know where their story is going, or, if they do, how to get it there. so I figured that I would share three ways to finish an amateur story, without shirking creativity. that being said, I am not saying 'amateur story' to degrade the artistry, work, or imaginative ideas that are in every story, I am using it simply saying, the story either has not been published, or the author hasn't been published in a way that makes money.
the first way may sound easy, however its not always the easiest thing to do, and even I struggle with it, or sometimes completely ignore it, and thus my stories suffer because of this, then I have to go back and write, and rewrite, and rewrite again just to make something cohesive. other times I just drop the story completely; adding to the plethora of unfinished works under my name. the First thing to remember about the story is that your protagonist must be challenged in every chapter. period.
The whole reason you are telling the story is to ask 'What if' over and over again. if the protagonist isn't struggling, then the story loses its flair, it loses its ability to keep the reader engaged, and begins to seem bland even to the author, and writer's block ensues. the easiest way to fix this, is also the way that most authors shy away from; myself included. Write the last scene of your story. the entirety of it. this scene should be written about half the length of a normal chapter. once the scene is written; then try to get the protagonist to that scene. what challenges will they face to get there, who dies along the way (if any), and then, begin writing using the last scene as your goal.
the second way may sound restricting, but sometimes restrictions are a way to make the creative mind blossom. the second method is a literary technique simply called 'Snowflake' a snowflake story is one that has clear markers, as to where the story will go. and is another way to create an outline for the story.
to use the method, first determine how many chapters you wish to have. this, in part, has to do with how many words per chapter you wish to write. and although this isn't a strict adherence, it is pretty simple to understand. the term Novel refers to a fiction work of a certain minimum length. this length is different for different publishers, but in general a story isn't considered a novel unless it has at least 80,000 words. so an author writing a 40 chapter story will have at least 2,000 words per chapter. Stephen King's 'Under the Dome' was 180,000+ words, and of course the Lord of the Rings saga was originally intended as a single book by Tolken, publishers at the time didnt think a book of that size would sell, and broke it into the series we know today.
once you determine how many chapters you want. write the basis of the story using that many sentences, and using no quotes. this is just to get your outline. where the story will go, and how to get there, the main idea of each sentence may even become the chapter name later, but not always. from there, write five paragraphs, totalling at least 500 words(100 words per paragraph, if you prefer), under each sentence. this is your synopsis of each chapter, and will help you expound on each section of your story. once that is done, start adding in your descriptions of what the reader should see, hear, smell, feel. as well as how the current character feels in that situation.
the third technique is a bit hard hearted, and is very hard on the heart the first time you do it. its editing. find someone who will be brutally honest (so not parents for most people) and hand them your first draft, with a red ink pen, and tell them to not be nice to it. to utterly destroy your work. mark any mistakes they see, write questions in the margins, mark an X over chapters/pages/paragraphs/sentances that don't work for them, and write next to the mark as to why.... in a complete sentence (hold them to this, it helps. single words don't help you improve.)
the person who does this should be someone you trust their opinion, but also someone who knows and understands the language you are writing in. the manuscript that they are handed should also have each line double spaced, (can change in formatting of most text editors) it should also have a line number in the right margin... because the next step is the hardest of all; that person is to use the line numbers so that they can write what is wrong with the story, and using the line number of their draft, can tell you, the author, exactly where the issue occurs, making editing your work much easier.
everything in this stage is meant to challenge you as an author. the hardest part about this phase, especially the first time you do it, is to not take this person's opinion as a personal attack. you asked them to read your work, and completely obliterate it, and if you chose the correct person, your first draft will be handed back to you covered in red, starting with the very first page. there are also times when they recommend removal of whole sections, because they felt that it didn't work, or work well. you are the author. you asked for their opinion, and this happens a lot, especially with first drafts. but it doesn't mean you should immediately scrap that whole section. it just means that it should be seriously considered, as well as if you do strike that part, what will take its place.
editing can sometimes be the hardest phase, but its no less important than any other part. and editing should not occur until after the entire (every chapter) story has been written the first time. rereading your past work, and not liking it, change it; but keep in mind: that's not considered editing, that's simply improving the base. the editing phase begins when you hand your first completed draft to someone else, for them to nit-pick your entire work. and the first draft is almost always covered in marks.
Ideally, a story should go through at least four editing phases before being considered completed. three phases that take place just as mentioned above, with the fourth one called 'content editing' where this fourth run of the editing process does things like making sure the story is consistent. so if your protagonist has blue eyes at the beginning, and brown eyes at the end, and somewhere in the middle they have green, a content editor's job is to point that out, so you can determine if you wish to keep it, or fix it. this is the stage in which those line numbers help the most.
writing is hard, writing well is even harder, but then again, nothing worth doing is ever easy. we pour our heart and soul into our work. we fall in love with our characters (or hate them with every fiber of our being) we write what we know, and as a result our characters take on the personas of those around us, or a single character may be an amalgamation of multiple people we respect, admire, or loathe. it is easy to forget that those who judge our work are not judging us. and if they are honest, they are trying to help us improve.
I hope this helps someone out there finish a story, who knows the next Tolken, King, Rowling, or even Wells; may be the person reading this now.
good luck with your projects!
~Tink
the first way may sound easy, however its not always the easiest thing to do, and even I struggle with it, or sometimes completely ignore it, and thus my stories suffer because of this, then I have to go back and write, and rewrite, and rewrite again just to make something cohesive. other times I just drop the story completely; adding to the plethora of unfinished works under my name. the First thing to remember about the story is that your protagonist must be challenged in every chapter. period.
The whole reason you are telling the story is to ask 'What if' over and over again. if the protagonist isn't struggling, then the story loses its flair, it loses its ability to keep the reader engaged, and begins to seem bland even to the author, and writer's block ensues. the easiest way to fix this, is also the way that most authors shy away from; myself included. Write the last scene of your story. the entirety of it. this scene should be written about half the length of a normal chapter. once the scene is written; then try to get the protagonist to that scene. what challenges will they face to get there, who dies along the way (if any), and then, begin writing using the last scene as your goal.
the second way may sound restricting, but sometimes restrictions are a way to make the creative mind blossom. the second method is a literary technique simply called 'Snowflake' a snowflake story is one that has clear markers, as to where the story will go. and is another way to create an outline for the story.
to use the method, first determine how many chapters you wish to have. this, in part, has to do with how many words per chapter you wish to write. and although this isn't a strict adherence, it is pretty simple to understand. the term Novel refers to a fiction work of a certain minimum length. this length is different for different publishers, but in general a story isn't considered a novel unless it has at least 80,000 words. so an author writing a 40 chapter story will have at least 2,000 words per chapter. Stephen King's 'Under the Dome' was 180,000+ words, and of course the Lord of the Rings saga was originally intended as a single book by Tolken, publishers at the time didnt think a book of that size would sell, and broke it into the series we know today.
once you determine how many chapters you want. write the basis of the story using that many sentences, and using no quotes. this is just to get your outline. where the story will go, and how to get there, the main idea of each sentence may even become the chapter name later, but not always. from there, write five paragraphs, totalling at least 500 words(100 words per paragraph, if you prefer), under each sentence. this is your synopsis of each chapter, and will help you expound on each section of your story. once that is done, start adding in your descriptions of what the reader should see, hear, smell, feel. as well as how the current character feels in that situation.
the third technique is a bit hard hearted, and is very hard on the heart the first time you do it. its editing. find someone who will be brutally honest (so not parents for most people) and hand them your first draft, with a red ink pen, and tell them to not be nice to it. to utterly destroy your work. mark any mistakes they see, write questions in the margins, mark an X over chapters/pages/paragraphs/sentances that don't work for them, and write next to the mark as to why.... in a complete sentence (hold them to this, it helps. single words don't help you improve.)
the person who does this should be someone you trust their opinion, but also someone who knows and understands the language you are writing in. the manuscript that they are handed should also have each line double spaced, (can change in formatting of most text editors) it should also have a line number in the right margin... because the next step is the hardest of all; that person is to use the line numbers so that they can write what is wrong with the story, and using the line number of their draft, can tell you, the author, exactly where the issue occurs, making editing your work much easier.
everything in this stage is meant to challenge you as an author. the hardest part about this phase, especially the first time you do it, is to not take this person's opinion as a personal attack. you asked them to read your work, and completely obliterate it, and if you chose the correct person, your first draft will be handed back to you covered in red, starting with the very first page. there are also times when they recommend removal of whole sections, because they felt that it didn't work, or work well. you are the author. you asked for their opinion, and this happens a lot, especially with first drafts. but it doesn't mean you should immediately scrap that whole section. it just means that it should be seriously considered, as well as if you do strike that part, what will take its place.
editing can sometimes be the hardest phase, but its no less important than any other part. and editing should not occur until after the entire (every chapter) story has been written the first time. rereading your past work, and not liking it, change it; but keep in mind: that's not considered editing, that's simply improving the base. the editing phase begins when you hand your first completed draft to someone else, for them to nit-pick your entire work. and the first draft is almost always covered in marks.
Ideally, a story should go through at least four editing phases before being considered completed. three phases that take place just as mentioned above, with the fourth one called 'content editing' where this fourth run of the editing process does things like making sure the story is consistent. so if your protagonist has blue eyes at the beginning, and brown eyes at the end, and somewhere in the middle they have green, a content editor's job is to point that out, so you can determine if you wish to keep it, or fix it. this is the stage in which those line numbers help the most.
writing is hard, writing well is even harder, but then again, nothing worth doing is ever easy. we pour our heart and soul into our work. we fall in love with our characters (or hate them with every fiber of our being) we write what we know, and as a result our characters take on the personas of those around us, or a single character may be an amalgamation of multiple people we respect, admire, or loathe. it is easy to forget that those who judge our work are not judging us. and if they are honest, they are trying to help us improve.
I hope this helps someone out there finish a story, who knows the next Tolken, King, Rowling, or even Wells; may be the person reading this now.
good luck with your projects!
~Tink
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RE: Easiest way to finish your story.
#2'Tanaka Tomoyuki' pid='831257' dateline='1514153981' Wrote: I think you mean amateur, not amature.
thanks for catching that. :)