Writing Advice From FireRain (For You New, Aspiring Authors!) · 5:13pm Feb 23rd, 2021
I see a whole lot of new and aspiring fanfiction writers all the time, and they almost always start not knowing the basic rules of storytelling or how hard it is in reality to create a believable story. Well, as believable as you can get in fiction. From all I've seen in my time here, I can fairly say that the limits for that go way beyond the sane prospects of logic.
I've written a lot, so naturally I've been through many topics, subjects and genres. That, right there, is what is known as a triplet, a basic AFOREST technique in writing. Unless you know some AFOREST techniques and have practiced them, you're not going to do very well. I think it's also referred to 'the rule of thirds', but don't hold that against me. I hardly know a lot of the techniques myself. School broke my mind.
Even still, you can see for yourself how many genres I've tapped into. I know it's very hard, and the whole point of me writing this is because each time I find a new, aspiring author, they usually get way in over their heads by writing a story involving multiple characters they hardly know well enough to write them realistically, they use a tonne of tags and themes and they overall use so many clichés that it makes the stories incredibly predictable, enough to make them feel very forced. Like, I'm being serious. There is potential there, but most of the time, it'll make your brain melt. You've seen shitposts/shitfics? Yeah...exactly.
Look, I may not be the best person to consult for writing advice, but I at least make sure the stories I write are as simple and as plausible as possible, save for the stories written primarily 'just-for-giggles'. You'll naturally develop your skills over time, but my point and heavily insistent advice would be to start light. It takes time to be able to write fluently and work your way up to a professional level. But that is really up to you how you choose to write, i.e, your reasons, where you want to be. What's your end goal here? That's what you should ask yourself and then work towards it, not just because somebody else is doing it.
Other than AFOREST, ever heard of P.E.E? It stands for Point, Evidence, Explanation. You'll likely have had to refer to this technique of writing when it comes to literature at school. I've personally had to use it enough times that it cemented into my mind. It's used mainly when there's a point to be discussed. How it works is a character may make a reference or have an opinion on a certain subject, about another person or about the current setting and you, as the reader, will take the context from said scenario/situation in the form of a quote and expand upon it. It's very basic and very common. The whole point of this is to analyse information thoroughly to form a connection to a series of events or to elaborate on a singular event that may prove to be crucial to a certain aspect of the story being told.
If you've ever heard of An Inspector Calls, it's a bit of a roller coaster ride. A rich family of snobs in the first-class rankings who inadvertently caused the death of a woman whom worked for them, and they all played a part in it without even realising it. Mr Birling fired the woman from his factory. Mrs Birling refused to offer her charity, as a result of the woman pleading beginning by stating that her name was Mrs Birling. Mrs Birling felt insulted by this and turned her down, leaving the woman nowhere to go, and it was especially hard on her because she was pregnant and had no money or a home. Instead, she was living with the son of Mr and Mrs Birling as his secret mistress. Again, also inadvertently, that makes the woman's child Mrs Birling's grandson. And she caused his death also. This woman was named Eva Smith, also later known as Daisy Renton in the story.
Eva Smith had committed suicide as a result of drinking disinfectant, taking her unborn child with her. All of the events in which were formed through the greed, uncharitable and selfish actions caused by the Birling family resulted in the death of Eva Smith. The Inspector is named Inspector Goole, which has a wide speculation believing the last name to be hinting that Goole is actually a phantom, a ghost. A 'ghoul'. That, right there, is how P.E.E. is used.
I hope I didn't get any of those facts wrong, given it's been quite some time since I last looked at that play, but believe me, parts of it have stuck in my head after multiple screening in my English class. An Inspector Calls and Of Mice and Men will surely be forever implanted within my brain and it makes me want to drink bleach. Until science finds a way in which it can be selectively removed from my brain via probing device/lobotomy methods, I shall wait for that day with great, great anticipation. But, uh...maybe the rain is really to blame. So I'll remove the cause. But not the symptom. (Yes, that just happened. Somebody, get me a satanic mechanic!)
Next part: I shouldn't have to get too in-depth with this one if you've watched the show religiously since it began, but it always helps drastically if you know and understand the characters. If you have a true empathetic and sympathetic mind and view on things in general, then it should come naturally to you. These aren't characters you created, these are pre-existing characters that you're writing parts for that fit their personality, and that's literally all there is to it. If you can do that and add in some of your own quirks, humour and wit, then you've got yourself a decent story!
If you're making an OC, one thing I was told by my English teacher was during the research into a reading of Heroes by Robert Cormier for the protagonist, Francis Joseph Cassavant. He is an 18-year-old war veteran who had his face obliterated by a grenade explosion after he had jumped on it, for which we later learn was actually an attempt at a dignified death as a soldier after an event happened that made him want to kill himself. In the first part of the book, where Francis comes home to his apartment and tries to sleep, because he has no nose, he constantly gets interrupted breathing due to mucus building up in the holes where his nose used to be and running down the back of his throat, causing him to cough violently and partially suffocate. This is a sympathetic quality intentionally put there in order to make the reader feel sorry for him. This is typically how you build a rapport with a main protagonist or prime character. You build upon it over the duration of the story, gradually release more and more information to bring him or her to life, truly make them feel like a real and genuine being.
Personally, I think I suck at that as a general stand-alone rule with my writing, but it's not for me to cast judgement upon. Usually, when you don't see these flaws in yourself, it means you're trying too hard to the point that you're missing the point. How's that for a headache? Does your skull hurt yet? Do your temples throb with confusion? Good, so do mine. It can get very confusing very quickly if you don't know what you're doing. So if you don't know what you're doing because you're trying too hard, imagine the sheer amount of confusion that your reader is going to feel going through something you yourself are uncertain about. That's me in a nutshell, I think.
So...yes, I think that sums up to I just admitted I try too hard and therefore suck immensely when it comes to writing at times. I know how to write, but I constantly fall flat on my face when I'm in the process of producing some literature. It only looks good after a number of polishes. How many polishes that might take is entirely dependent on where you want the story to be in terms of overall quality. If you're happy with the outcome, then that's what should matter to you the most. If not, then keep polishing until you are happy.
So, to leave this off, take into account what I said above. If you want to make your writing more effective, I suggest perhaps having a dictionary and/or thesaurus handy, find some more expressive and higher-level words to add in. Remember to explain the why's instead of the how's. How and why are very different games all together, in the same sense that the plot is what happens and the story is how it happens. It's important to not rush anything and move at a pace you're comfortable with. Start writing with only one or two themes at a time that you're interested in trying out, use a character or two you like and understand enough to write for and let an idea in your head unravel the story for you.
That's all I have to say. Don't overwhelm yourself and remember that this isn't a race nor a competition. You'll never get any better if that's how you perceive it. You've got nothing to prove to yourself or anybody else. That was my problem for years and it caused massive problems on the way to getting better, so take my advice and avoid that path. Go make something of yourself.
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- FireRain/Ribe 
Now, if you don't mind, I need a stepladder to get off this incredibly high soap box I found myself on top of mid-rant. This is why I rarely give these talks anymore, it makes me feel like my head is twenty times its original size. 
This is actually really helpful.
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I sincerely hope that it is to those naive, new writers you see all the time here. It's not easy writing a decent story, even if it's for fun and not serious. The inner literature lover and grammar nerd within me won't allow for shoddy work or grammatically incorrect paragraphs, through and through.
I'm trying to help others fix that and be better. Let's hope it does some good eventually.