Hullo mama panda, papa panda and baby panda 😍
Wait, what? xD
Blame those cute little pandas I've been watching all day!! 😝 Oh no, don't blame them they are too cute to be blamed.

Okay, let's start again *clears throat*

Hello ladies and gentle boys!

I welcome you all to the writing tips section, especially those who have been struggling to put down their thoughts in the paper. Yes, you guessed it right... this chaper is specially dedicated to my beginner writer friends!

For the beginners, taking the first step is really hard. I have faced that too. It's like a two versions of you-- an angel and a devil sitting on your shoulder.

Angel: You can do it.
Devil: No you cannot.
Angel: Shut up! Don't listen to him/her. Trust me, your plot is good. The world deserves to know it.
Devil: I didn't expect this from you. Your plot is like Spongebob Square pants!
Angel: shuuuuuut upppppp!

What do you do then? What I did was I screamed at the top of my lungs and scared a few crows!!

Shoo! Get away from here! Wait, where are you guys going? I was shooing  them, not you! Wait up!

Let me tell you this first-- Why are we afraid to take the first step?

1) What if my friends start hating me?
2) What the people will think?
3) What if they don't like it?

Are these your fears? Then you, my dear friend need not to worry because I'm here to help you out from your dilemma.😊

I feel like a psychologist right now xD

So, first of all let us get down to the basics. Keep a pen and a paper ready. Your lesson starts now!

I'll start by quoting some of the quotes that inspired me.

"If you wish to be a writer, write."
-- Epictetus

"No one can tell your story better than yourself. No one can write your story so write it yourself."

"If I waited till I felt like writing, I'd never write at all."
-- Anne Tyler.

How to create the layout of a story? Keep reading to know more!

1) First and foremost to write a story, you need to read lots and lots of books by authors. Pay attention to their word usage, their vocabulary, their sentence construction, their character descriptions, their way of writing and the way they are shifting the scenes, the dialogue formations. Read it inside out.

2) How many characters are going to be there in your story? Fix a number. Say, suppose I have 7 characters in my story. Setting up a number helps to stop the appearance of unwanted characters. Such characters can make your story too lengthy and confusing for readers.

3) Now this is the main point. To describe a character is often hard and we tend to skip this part almost completely. Think of a person who does not have any shape, form, looks, length, voice but yet he/she is conversing with another person. I could not come up with a better word than a ghost to describe such a character!
(Even ghosts have some sort of shape 🙊)

It is very important that you form a mental image of your characters, only then you will be able to describe a character. How does he/she look? How does he/she sound? Voice and appearance are two very important things to build a strong captivating character. Finished thinking about the character? Now note them down. You have achieved one more step in forming your first ever story *claps*.

4) Next comes the period or say the time where your story is set. Is it the pre-historic age or the post historic age? Is it before colonisation or after colonisation? Is it in a pre-war or post war time? You should think of a specific period for your story. This not only helps in character building but also ensures to give your story depth and helps the readers to connect.

5) Then comes the location. What is the place? Where are your characters going to meet? Is it in Asia, America, Africa, Europe or Australia? Set the continent first. Now, delve a little deeper and set an exact place. As to where in America? Say suppose your story takes place in London. Where in London? Is it the Sherlock Holmes address-- 221B baker street or some place elsewhere? Think it through and then note it down.

 See, your story is taking a form. Don't you just love it already?

6) Now comes another main part. What does your characters do? What is the relations between them? How did they meet? Question yourself first and then again note them down. Don't ever give up if you cannot think of all these at once. Forming a story takes time. Have patience. You will get through it. I believe in you.

Choose the plot wisely and choose something that you believe you can pull through to the end.

7) In which person do you want to write? The first person, second person or the third person? You can write in any person you want. It's your choice. There's no easy or hard way in writing in a specific person. The second person doesn't quite play out nicely so often but if you want to experiment with second person who am I to stop you? Who knows, you can come up with something new and different.

8) Try to experiment with new ideas and concepts. Something that has never been explored, something different from other stories. Or choose a plot that has been used quite a few times but try to incorporate something new into it so that it stands out in some way.

9) If you are planning to write a novel then let me tell you that it must within 40,000-50,000 words. Can't write these many words? Fret not, you can opt for writing a novella or a short story which must contain 10,000-20,000 words.

10) Done with all the planing? Now, note down all of them and there you go--the layout of your story is ready!! 👏

You are all set to start your first story. Yayy! What are you waiting for? Go pick up that pen and start writing!

I wish you all the very best. You will do great.👍

Writing tip of the day:-

While you are forming a story, try not to make the paragraphs too long. On wattpad, I have found out that readers don't like to read long paragraphs. Write a paragraph of 4-5 lines, not more than that.

To get you all started, I thought of helping you all. Here's a writing prompt to inspire you--

She was walking down the deserted alley in the middle of the night. Out of nowhere, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She stiffened but didn't turn around instead, she increased her pace but the tap grew consistent. Eyes scrunched up, fingers balled into a fist, she turned around slowly...

To complete it write a story in not more than 300 words and comment down in the comment section. Everyone is a winner.

Okay folks, that's all for now. We will meet up in the next chapter. Hope to hear good things from you all!

Until then Adieu and happy writing!

SINCERELY,
Loversgonewild