Tips For Beginners: Storywriting

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bondagefreak
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Tips For Beginners: Storywriting

Post by bondagefreak »

It would be great if we could get a collection of general tips from our writing community.
This is a topic that comes to play fairly regularly in private messaging, but one that I believe would be better addressed out here, where male and female authors of all ages and literary styles could contribute.


Do you have any tips or special advice that might be of use to new story writers?


For example, is there any special time of the day when you feel your mind is more focused and productive?
Does music help you focus or does it distract? What about white noise? Do you already have an elaborate synopsis in mind before writing a story? Do you write for long periods of time, or do you usually prefer writing in short bursts?


Don't be afraid to share your thoughts.
Please share with us your methods of success, no matter how irrelevant or unimportant they might seem.
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Post by cj2125 »

Good idea about posting tips. Let me be the first to contribute. Of course this is a really personal experience, the fact that it works for me doesn't mean that it might work for others but I hope some of my more practical tips my come useful

So, how do you start a story?

Before you even start thinking of an idea, I think you need to set some boundaries (specially if you don't have a lot of experience writting): How is the universe going to work? What kind of characters do you like? What kind of stories do you like? For example: When I decided to write for this forum, my first desicions were that my stories would happen in a realistic everyday setting, involving m/m young charcters in a format of short stories. Unlike what many believe, limitless creativity will probably end overwhelming you so it's always better to set yourself some rules; of course these rules aren't set in stone, as time goes by and you feel more comfortable, you might want to bend or break the boundaries and step out of your comfort zone but for now, stick to the safe horse


Now that you have clear what you want in general, you'll need an idea. It can come from different sources: Other stories, pictures, videos, your own imagination, anything can serve as an inspiration. An idea of course it's not necessarily a fully fledged story, it can be just a simple situation. For example: "Two boys are gagged and tied up back to back to a pair of chairs and are working together to escape"

I advise beginners to start simple. A multi-part story of two teams of 10 people each playing capture the flag for a full weekend might be interesting but I doubt you could pull it off as your first story.

With a premise in mind, you can start filling in the blanks, this is the brainstroming phase: Why are they tied? Who tied them up? Why are they trying to escape? Are the boys brothers? friends? rivals? How will they get out? At this point you can also add any details that you'd like: You like tickles? Have them be tickled, you like socks? Have them gagged with their own socks, etc. Once again try to keep it simple, as someone once said "Less is More" and don't try to fit every idea in, there will be plenty of other opportunities to write in something you left out this time. In the end you should have the plot decided. Of course if there are some details you haven't figured out yet, don't worry, you might fill them in as you write the story down.


With that in mind, let's go for the next part: How do you write a story?

First of all, DON'T WRITE IT IN THE FORUM! START ON A WORD DOCUMENT!

Every person has their own work method. In my case, I write during the afternoon/evening for a couple hours, until I finish the story or I get stuck somewhere, in the latter case, I do another thing and returne later or another day. I tend to work on two stories at the time and usually alternate between writting them in order to keep it fresh (after all, working on the same project for a period of time can make you get tired of it) unless I have a big burst of inspiration.

If you hit a big or suddenly realize that the story doesn't look as good as you imagined it, don't worry. Just toss the draft aside and work on something else. You might find a way to continue it later or even deconstruct it and rebuild it again.

Let's give you an example: I started writting certain adult story on April, based around a particular scene and managed to write four chapters before I decided I didn't like how it was turning out, so I abbandoned the draft and went on with my life. Then, about a month ago I got another idea and decided to use the characters of the Beta Story, building it from zero and eventually posting it under the name "Justin's Diary". The final product it's completely different from how it's started except for the main characters and the original scene I envisioned (and even that one had to be tweaked in order to fit the new narrative) and it seems to have worked pretty well. As you can see, don't be afraid to discard what you've been writting if it's not working, you may be able to salvage what did work for a future better story.

Don't post a story you aren't fully happy with and don't try to rush anything


And finally, you hopefully finish your story so I'm sure you want to post it as soon as possible right? NO!

Have someone proofread it! After working for so long you might have overlooked some important details, not onl grammar and spelling but plot wise too! If, like me, you don't have anyone to read it, try leaving it to "cool down" for a few days. Then come back, re-read it and I'm sure you'll find plenty of improvements to make, only once you have done them you'll be ready to post it here!

Oh! And when you post it here, make sure to properly tag your story and leave a space between paragraphs. I highly encourage you to press "Preview" before submitting it so you can see if your story looks readable or not
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Post by Solarbeast »

Well for me personally I have only recently gotten back into writing/ started writing fictionally. I originally only wrote to share some of my self-bondage experiences that I thought people would appreciate. I never had the urge to actually write fictional stories. But only recently I got the urge to start writing some of the ideas that I have had in my mind for a couple of years now.

The way I normally will write is I have to be in the mood to write and that starts the first problem of me having a few stories I have started but have not finished. But you have to remember that this is not your job so you should not feel any pressure to write if you are not feeling it at all. While I'm working on anything, I will have some sort of music playing in the background. For about 3-4 years now I have been more productive at night and that was only because of a roommate I had at college being a night person who turned me into one as well. I feel like I have more energy at night and the feeling of quietness that comes from most people being asleep and the darkness of the outside world really helps me think. And since I am not in college, my writing habits for this site are to write until I feel no more urge to write. This could be a couple sentences to a couple paragraphs.

So overall for me, I write my ideas that have accumulated in my head at night and with music in the background for as long or as little as I am in the mood to write. And the big thing for me is that if I'm not feeling like writing then I will not be writing until I get the urge again, this is not my job, it is just something I enjoy!
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Post by LK3869 »

Probably not the best suited to place tips here but I did write a 400 pages book in my native language ... Will just give this tip: visualize your scenes before you even start to write anything down. Play them in your head, try the dialogues and different action like you're rehearsing a scene on a movie set. And 'see' the settings, the characters and what position they're in. If you visualize it as a whole, the words to describe it come naturally. Like they would if you were describing something that's actually in front of you.

Works great for action scenes and TUG stories are rather 'still' by nature but that works well on bodies interactions too and we are all used to visualize that :mrgreen:

To sum it up: "describe what you see in your head and the words will come".
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Post by drawscore »

I guess the first bit of advice, would be "Write about what you know." When you write about what you don't know, it's painfully obvious.

Next, Spell Check is your friend. Use it. If you have Grammar Check, use that, too.

Beware of homonyms (there, their, etc.) Make sure you use the right word.

For Spell Check and homonyms, keep in mind that this little rhyme will sail right through Spell Check without an error being found:

"I have a spelling checker,
It came with my PC.
It plainly marques for my revue
Mistakes eye due not sea.

I've run this poem threw it,
And I'm sure your please to no
its letter perfect in it's weigh,
My checker tolled me sew.

Proofread your copy. Then, have a friend who is knowledgable in English, proofread it again.

And then, there are the somewhat humorous "Tips for Writers," which include:

Don't use no double negatives.

Make each pronoun agree with its antecedent.

Join clauses correctly, like a conjunction should.

About them sentence fragments.

When dangling, watch your participles.

Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

Just between you and I, case is important.

Don't write run on sentences they are hard to read.

Don't use commas, which aren't necessary.

Its important to use apostrophe's correctly.

Try not to ever split infinitives.

Correct spelling is essenshul.

Proofread your work to see if any words out.

A preposition is a poor word to end a sentence with.

Don't be redundundant.


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Post by bondagefreak »

Some great tips and comments so far! Well done, folks!
Looking forward to hearing from more writers over the coming days.
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Post by Xtc »

Personal technique:
I get an idea (Where from, who knows?)
I walk to the pub.
As I walk, I start to write the story in my head. After about 45 mins. I shall have worked a short passage or forwarded the plot in my head several times.
I go for a drink.
Next time, I rework the text (Not necessarily a long passage) in my head again. If I have forgotten what I did previously, it probably wasn't worth pursuing. As I walk, I shall have unconsciously hung various ideas on things I have passed; each thing or location can act as an aide memoir.
This sometimes takes several visits to the pub before I am ready to start typing. (Well, that's my excuse in any case!)
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Post by drawscore »

One thing I left out, was "Try to write the way people actually talk, when quoting them. People, especially young prople, are more likely to say "Wat'cha wanna do today?" rather that "What do you want to do today?"

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Post by Xtc »

Must agree with [mention]drawscore[/mention], the failure to use common contractions in reported speech is a dead give away of a non-native speaker.

Small story:
Remi was a very bright 15-year-old French lad. His parents thought he would get more out of spending a year in an English school than just marking time in France.

One day he was answering a question in his maths class, "Weuw, oi fink vee answer's a me'a(r)." (Well, I think the answer is a meter)

Teacher: Wow! Spoken like a true Hampshire Hog.

Remi: Oh I am sorry, was that not right? (His French accent returned noticably with the over formal question)

I had to reassure him that, on the contrary, it was exactly right!
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Post by bondagefreak »

Some more great advice! Keep it coming folks!

Looking forward to hearing from more of our popular/talented authors.

[mention]Boocola[/mention] [mention]volatiledesire[/mention] [mention]sockgagged[/mention] [mention]squirrel[/mention] [mention]TamatoaShiny123[/mention] [mention]MisterMistoffelees[/mention] [mention]Tsuhaya[/mention] [mention]Fordman[/mention] [mention]OldTUGger[/mention] [mention]BoundJana[/mention] [mention]MaxRoper[/mention] [mention]LordNelson[/mention] [mention]Stef[/mention] [mention]GMen[/mention] [mention]there is no sam[/mention] [mention]heybro[/mention] [mention]Fantasybondage[/mention] [mention]Vector[/mention] [mention]Jason Toddman[/mention] [mention]herdfaninrva[/mention] [mention]Bandit666[/mention] [mention]Blakenome1999[/mention] [mention]Outta.this.place[/mention] [mention]Phoenix[/mention] [mention]Scottstud94[/mention] [mention]Michael-Colin[/mention] [mention]FelixSH[/mention] [mention]Stiletto Amore[/mention] [mention]iliketights[/mention] [mention]skdj[/mention] [mention]slider40337[/mention]
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Post by Deleted User 769 »

Writing is, of course by it's very nature, deeply subjective, but since someone was kind enough to ask my opinion,..

I'd try to avoid laborious/ overly forensic desrciptions of a characters physical appearance - some colour is fine, but too much and I lose interest, likewise don't waste too much time on places and things (these are the parts that readers traditionally skip)

Be brutal, kill your darlings, if it doesn't service the plot, remove it.

But if i was to give one piece of advice, (and again I fully appreciste i am in no position to lecture anyone) it would be to focus on writing authentic sounding dialogue.
Say the words out loud. If they are hard to speak, they are almost certainly just as cumbersome to read on the page.
As Elmore leonard would put it, if it sounds like writing, remove it.
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Post by volatiledesire »

My only advice and it may have already been said is to read your story more than once and to read it aloud. You can do it under your breath if you're in public.

Not only does it catch grammatical errors but will help make the dialogue and description sound more natural and fluid.

The more your write the better you get.
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Post by Xtc »

Generally speaking, I would agree with [mention]volatiledesire[/mention] but there is a problem with proof-reading one's own writing: one sees what one thinks one has written and not necessarily what is on the page.

If someone else proof reads a writer's work, they can easily notice an unclear passage or an awkward expression, which the writer would probably miss because it is quite clear to them.
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Post by volatiledesire »

Xtc wrote: 5 years ago Generally speaking, I would agree with @volatiledesire but there is a problem with proof-reading one's own writing: one sees what one thinks one has written and not necessarily what is on the page.

If someone else proof reads a writer's work, they can easily notice an unclear passage or an awkward expression, which the writer would probably miss because it is quite clear to them.
True enough, but if you have no one to edit your writing, and I often don't, then I suggest you let the story rest for several days. You could switch to a different story, or the next chapter, etc, then come back to it.

Though as mentioned, a fresh set of eyes is preferred.

All the best...

Edit: And I see this too has already been suggested, so at least there is consensus :)
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Post by Solarbeast »

I use grammarly on my computer to help me with anything I write. It helps both in fixing spelling issues and also in grammar issues and was highly suggested by one of my business teachers in college who also uses it.
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Post by heybro »

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Post by Xtc »

Good post, [mention]heybro[/mention].

I agree with most of it but strongly disagree with the last part.

It has been noticeable that going away from a piece and revisiting it later is, quite rightly, a commonly given piece of advice.

I must take isssue with the advocation of "free-form" writing or "badly written, lazy and totally confusing rubbish" as I prefer to call it. Having put the cat among the pigeons, please let me explain. Grammar exists so that people can make their intentions clear in either speech or writing. Ignoring basic rules (which, admittedy, change over time as in the case of double negatives) leads to cofusion in the reader. When left with confusing narrative, (wich includes vast, monolithic blocks of text with no paragraphing) ther reader gets frustrated and tends to just pass over it and abandon the story whilst thinking much less of the author. It also leads to very ill-mannered responses!

Having said which, different contributors to the site are native users of languages which do not conform to the same rules as English, which is noticable especially in the way direct speech is written. I see nothing worng with thier sticking to their own conventions as long as the intention is clear. Let's face it: several of our non-native speakers write more transparently In English than do we native speakers.

Finally, I suppose that I ultimately believe that, if you are to break the rules, you must firstly be profficient working within them - otherwise you will produce rubbish. For example: e.e. cummings was not a poor user of English, he was a masterly subverter of the language.
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Post by MaxRoper »

Since I don't have a proofreader available, my basic rule is that I must read it through, all the way, THREE times (used to be twice) without making ANY corrections. No added commas, nothing. Only then do I consider a story complete. I still find cringeworthy errors in some things I post, but not so many.

Since I'm a compulsive editor I often have trouble reaching that goal. This may explain why I'm not very prolific in posting stories.
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Post by volatiledesire »

Of course we did not ask the most important question.

Oxford Comma, for or against? :lol:
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Post by Solarbeast »

It probably wasn’t asked because I don’t know what that means so most likely other people don’t as well.
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Post by volatiledesire »

Solarbeast wrote: 5 years ago It probably wasn’t asked because I don’t know what that means so most likely other people don’t as well.
Ah well it's a common point of contention I see in other places. I treat it is a joke because I don't really understand the controversy.

Take this sentence:

"Jack ran, jumped, and splashed across the wet street."

The oxford comma is the second one before the 'and'.

It can be written as "Jack ran, jumped and splashed across the wet street." However this can create confusion. Example Link

All the best.
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Post by Xtc »

I apprciate that [mention]volatiledesire[/mention] ws making a joke but . . .

Simple rule for the Oxford comma: if the sentence is confusing without it, put one in.

Personally, I don't use one in simple lists of items because that is the way I was taught. Therefore it looks wrong to me but, if what I have written could be ambiguous without one, I just grit my teeth and put it in. As I said: the object of having rules of grammar is to make the meaning clear.
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Post by LordNelson »

My tip for beginners...avoid a "too" story.

Too many characters, too much action, too much detail, too complicated plot lines...keep it simple.
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Post by Xtc »

Must agree with [mention]LordNelson[/mention] as far as the too may characters is concerned. Unless the characterisation of each character can be made distinct, an entire catalogue of bit-players is very confusing.
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Post by FelixSH »

People already mentioned it, but it bears repeating: Don't take on too much, especially as a beginner. It's perfectly fine to write a short story with only one part, especially if you are a beginner. And, speaking only for myself, there is a way greater chance for me to read something short than some long, sprawling epic.

Have an outline for your story before you start. The more specific the better, but even a rough outline will be very helpful. Maybe you have only an idea for a single situation. Don't leave the story open for continuation if you feel like that is all you have to tell. Chances are good that you will not continue, because your story is already told. You can always add a sequel later on.

Put your characters front and center. I'm not sure how much of this one is personal opinion, but I think that the included bondage should not be the center of the story (even if it is the main idea that you want to present). Instead, focus on the characters and use bondage as a means to an end. Your story should tell about one or more people who changed in some way over the course of the story.

I agree that you shouldn't include too many details that don't bring the story forward, but, personally, I prefer stories that create an atmosphere. You can do that by adding little details. You don't need to describe every piece of furniture in a room, but you can add a sentence about how it is a mess, and give an example (maybe dirty socks are lying on the floor ;) ). Not every single sentence needs to drive the plot forward.

Similarly, while it is good advise to start in the middle of the action, I also like stories that start out slow and escalate. Might be a personal thing again, but I like when a story starts by giving me a paragraph that just sets the tone. Like, the protagonist leans against a tree and just enjoys the calm summer day, with some description about how he loves the mild wind. Not a great example, but something like this. This should tie into the story such that it gives you a feel for the personality of the protagonist, or just so you can change the atmosphere later to add some contrast.
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