2406307 not a problem

Thank you for the follow

2404762 Holy cow!!! That Is a lot of great advice. This will definitely serve me well with my stories that I plan on creating for.

2404419
Find a friend who can give you feedback on your ideas
One of the most useful things I ever did for my writing was ask my little sister for help. I sent her an outline for a story idea via Google Docs and she commented on it, making observations that I would never have thought of. Her advice on my story “The Measure of a Dragon” made me understand that the show is all about friendship and forgiveness and made me completely rewrite the character of Dr. Saffron, who I originally intended to be a complete antagonist who wanted to experiment on Spike. With my sister’s advice, Dr. Saffron became a scientist who wanted to understand dragons in order to prevent a dragon/pony conflict. She had to raise her best friends’ daughter whose parents were killed by an enraged dragon. She came to respect Spike and understand that he deserved to stay with his family. In the end, she and he agree to work together for the betterment of dragons and ponies alike. I never would have made her like this if I hadn’t asked my sister for her opinion. The point is to find someone who can offer you valuable advice on your story and a second perspective. You’ll be surprised how much we learn when we listen to others.

Take screenshots of all the nice or encouraging comments people leave you
This is extremely helpful. Whenever someone leaves you a kind, or encouraging comment, take a screenshot of it and put it in a folder. Whenever you feel unhappy or unmotivated, open that folder and look at the nice things people have said. It makes it easier not only to keep writing but to keep improving. I use Jing to take snapshots of uplifting comments.

On writing:
Develop your style
Read it out loud; see if you can tell when certain dialogue sounds natural or not
Dead metaphors are alright when you start out, but try to find a unique way to say things. Dead metaphors are metaphors that have been used so often they lost all impact. Examples: a fork in the road, elephant in the room, you are my sunshine and so on. If you really want to engage readers, try using your own unique ways to express emotions. This is difficult because people have found many ways to express the same thing. For example, to say I’m said people use a dead metaphor like I’m blue. Instead you could hint at his emotional state through subtle body cues like “He bowed his head as his frame quivered.”

When I want to check if my sentences are too confusing, I use Hemmingway App. It’s a website that can mark any times you use excessive adverbs, passive voice, phrases that are confusing or have better alternatives. Of course, even with this some mistakes can slip through the cracks.

Sooner or later, you just have to publish it. If we kept working on something because we were never satisfied with it, we’d never get anything done. Sometimes, you just have to put it out there when you don’t think you can do anything else for it.

Love the experience
Remember how you felt when you were writing your piece. That experience, be it happy or sad, is your own. Nobody can take or sully that with any criticism. If it felt real to you, I guarantee it will leave you content and happy and bring you deeper insights.

On Comedy:
Comedy is a bit subjective as different people find different things funny, but I think there are a few good rules to keep in mind.
1. Be unpredictable. Make sure the audience can’t see the joke coming. Surprise is a key element to comedy so try to subvert their expectations. If you have a running gag, try to change the context in which it is used.
2. Know thine audience. Different people will find different things funny. A child probably won’t get a political joke but could get a joke about Spongebob or baseball.
3. Never assume it’s funny. Somethings are inherently funny, but nothing is automatically funny. Try looking around the internet for what makes you laugh.
4. Karma. Never torture the innocent for the sake of comedy. Nobody likes to see an innocent, sympathetic person getting frequently abused for a laugh. Make sure they do something to deserve their torment, by either being a jerk or being obnoxious. Or make them win in the end somehow.
5. Have a straight man. For every goofy, whacky, or zany character or situation, you need someone who can serve as the voice of reason. This gives the humor some context in reality. Pinkie Pie’s jokes wouldn’t be as funny if Twilight and the others weren’t constantly reacting to her.
Humor is like a muscle, the more you use it the better it gets.

Set aside time for writing each day
This may sound hard, but it makes writing so much easier. When you force yourself to sit in front of a computer at least an hour or two a day to write, you’ll make it a habit to write at that specific time. This will make the task of writing easier.

Read other people’s works
See what works or doesn’t work in other people’s story telling skills. What do you like about their writing styles or their imagery? The more you read, the more ideas you’ll have for writing.

About Fimfiction:
Join a few groups and put your stories in folders that are relevant to their content. These folders can be based around characters, shippings, or writing groups. Groups allow people to find stories meeting their desires. You can also post threads in a group and ask for everyone’s thoughts on a story or theme idea.

I hope that helps. If you ever need help, feel free to contact me.

2404296 You are very welcome. Would you happen to have any tips for someone like myself who is wanting to start writing FIMFics, but doesn't know what to do?