I reread my fics to the point where I noticed that I could have done better.

I tend to struggle in, charicterization,spelling,grammer,plot,the story flow,keeping the characters close to the origionals,and setting.

I need some tips on how I can improve on these things so that I can grow strong as a writer.

Sorry, I can't help you I'm a retired author.

307918

I have nothing posted on here yet, but I can help if you like! Just throw me questions. I have about 100K under my belt so far. So I must have learnt something!

Onwards!
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Characterisation: Mindset, trust me, you'll need this.

Visualise what would happen in that situation, try and play characters out to their personalities.

But don't run on cliches too much, for example, too many people put emphasis on Fluttershy being shy, and yes, she is, but not to the extent where every word she says has a stutter.
Whereas; Rainbow IS always brash and arrogent. There are only a number of times I can think of, in which she is under stress, and the implications of this are based on the type of fic you are writing. For example:

Grim/dark - you can probably write her differently, slice of life - keep her canon.

You see, it's about writing characters around a 'base', a point of comfot zone. The more you take a character out of their comfort zone, the more you can play with external emotions and paradigms. (Sorry, for some reason I'm wiritng this in a highly complex way...)

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Spelling: Simple! Word has F7, spellcheck! This should pick up most things.
Secondly, proofread. Thirdly, friends! Get an editor or proofreader. People are generous, it shouldn't be too hard to find someone to help you.

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Grammar: Ok, this is a tricky one. There are rules to follow. Let me list a few.
- Commas. Where you take a breath during the sentence; a pause. An alternate use of brackets if you want to add additonal information.
- Full stops. No explanation neccessary.
- Elipses. In conversation/dialogue, it's used to pause in a continued section of speech. They also allow a certain 'tone' to be applied, depending on how you use it and add characterisation.
- Colons. Before a list. You usually paragraph after doing this.
- Semi Colons. You can use these like commas, but also as a conjunction. This is because they allow the direction of topic to change while still in the same sentence.
- Aphostrophes. These can be used in a veriety of ways. You can use them for substitution of letters e.g. 'don't'. As quotes, as just shown, or to possibly show thought processes.
- Speech Marks. Enough said...
- Asterisks. These can denote actions without narration.

That's the simple shit I suppose! There are more complex areas of grammer, but that's highly specialised.

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Plot: OK! So, plot, that's down to your imagination. Of course, real life inspiration helps, try incorporating things into it from your actual life. Otherwise, the thing I find helps the most is this: Talking. Discuss with someone and run through ideas. It helps A LOT. I'm sure any of us here will be willing to chat for a while and flesh out ideas.

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Story Flow: NEVER rush. Seriously. I am one of the slowest writers I know. And the more detail, the more depth and in turn; the more realism and flow. Add intricate details, add expression, add senses. This stuff both pads, adds depth and makes the flow work better. As for dialogue flow; write things as you'd say them. The not to make people/ponies robotic in their approach. there are so many times when I read somehitng that goes as such:

Human: "So Twilight, when are we going to Canterlot?"

Twilight: "In the morning. Does 11 sound OK?"

Human: "Yes.I am going to go to bed now."

Twilight: "Ok. Good night."

Human: "Good night."

Ok! What you need in situatinos like this is realism. People DON'T talk like that! We just don't!

Human: "Hey, Twi. It's Canterlot tomorrow, right?"

Twilight: "Yep! We we're going to head out in the morning, is that alright with you?"

Human: "Mmhmmm, sounds good! Anyway, I'm beat... I think I'll go and hit the hay... I'm dead on my feet."

Twilight: "Well, alright. I hope you sleep well. See you in the morning, Anon."

Human: "Haha, yeah, thanks. Night Twi."

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Keeping the characters close to the origionals: I kinda brushed this above. Depending on the type of fic you're writing, you can throw characters out of canon if you like. This is because we don't know how these characters actually will react in such a situation.

If Twilight is in a library, we know she'll be all over the books. If she's in a theme park, then there is no saying how she'll react. You are free to take creative licence over the actions, as there is no canon portrayal of how such a situation would unfold.

It really depends on how far you are willing to take scenarios and improvise/flesh them out based upon original creation ideals.

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Setting. Right, as I said above. Description. Use LOTS of it. Smells, sight, feelings, memories, and good old fashioned narration. Colour, vibrancy, temprature... Use it all!

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Sorry if this is too long or comes across as me being a know it all or somehting. Feel free to tell me to shut up! But here, this is me trying to help, bro! Hope it does in some way.

307940 Thanks. I also did some searching around on the net and found out I've been lacking a story goal. Which is one of the 8 esential plotlines to a great novel.

1.Story Goal
2.Consequence
3.Requirments
4.Forewarnings
5.Costs
6.Dividens
7.Prerequisites
8.Preconditions

Once I make a detailed list of all the possible ways, I can then make a small paragraph of the plot that has all eight elements of plot in it. Then and only then could I even consider trying to figure out how the story would end.

I never really relised that writing would be so complicated, but I guess it's a cost I have to live with.

307944

Well, you don't need all of those. They help, as they give you something to aim for, but arent neccessary.

If you need any help with this shit, then I can help out with ideas.

And yeah, it's complex, but you don't have to deal with all these things at once. It's a slow progression, and if you have flow, these things come along alright.

Hope I helped!