Hey guys! (:
Obviously, if your checking this out, your curious as to what I believe makes a great story and plot, and how to attract readers to receive the reviews you crave. One day I was flicking through Fanfic and I found this story where the author addressed the problems that she thought a few people had when it came to expanding and broadening your writing skills, and just like she did on her first and only chapter, I'm going to address three vital things when it comes to writing—Your title, your summary and your plot.
I don't sugar-coat the words I say, so I apologize if anyone who reads this is upset, offended or antagonized by the things I say (:
(As I favour writing in the Vampire Academy universe, I'll use fanfics based on VA as my examples)
One. Titles-
Flicking through the site, I have found an infinite amount of boring and dull titles. If you're going to write a story, and try to persuade people to read said story, you aren't doing yourself any favours by having a title that is so painfully dull that it hurts to look at. Titles like … 'What I thought happened after Last Sacrifice' does not captivate my attention or anyone else's for that matter. Because your title is drab and mundane, it creates the illusion that your story will be exactly the same way and that you honestly could not care whether your work is uninteresting and a pain to look at. You are quite literally 'selling' your story through this title, and giving it a name that bores the life clean out of your readers, gives the impression that the work inside will be exactly the same, even though it may not be.
I myself, have trouble branding my stories with a name. It is a difficult thing to do, no doubt, but I try. I try to make the title fit with my story, and although they may not be the most interesting of titles, I have given my story a personality, where as 'Blood Promise in Dimitri POV' would not. Having a story with that kind of title makes me want to die. Seriously. Have some originality people, K?
Two. Summaries-
AAAHHHHHHH! One thing that bugs the life right out of me, is when I see a story that has a lousy summary and then a little 'sorry, I suck at these, but the story is good' or 'Summary is crap, but read' No. I will not read. I don't know about you people, but there is no way I would read a story that says 'I SUCK' written all over the front of it. If any of you have read my profile and have read what I dislike, one of the things you'll find there, is the fact that people put their own stories down and insult them, be it in a chapter or summary. If you don't like it, why the hell would we? Better yet, if you aren't willing to put time into your work, to make it as best as it could possibly be, then why should we waste time reading the crappy story? Sorry, but it's true. Most times, if the summary is crap, so is the story—it just proves to all your readers that you honestly couldn't care.
If the summary has no punctuation, lacks correct grammar and looks like the author just typed up the first thing that came to their head, I will not read it. Simple. A summary, just like the title, literally 'sells' your story and if you have 'I SUCK' branded on the front, it is totally unappealing! It's one of the most important parts of your story, and if it's crap, that's probably the reason to why you aren't getting the reviews you're looking for. You'd be surprised, actually taking a minute to stop, think and plan about what you're going to write can go a long way. So, if you're thinking 'Yeah … this is me, my summary sucks and I think I could do better' then take a step back and evaluate the situation, pin-point the things you think that do not justify your story, and start to get rid of them!
Putting time into your work can go a looooooooooong way, guys, and if you love writing, this shouldn't be a problem.
Three. Plot-
If your plot sucks and lacks originality, it will definitely not get as much reviews/readers that a descriptive, unique piece of work would. I don't know about all of you, but is anyone else fed up reading stories where Dimitri gets Rose knocked up? Or Dimitri leaves Rose for Tasha? Because I sure as heck am. Why is so hard to just sit down, and think for a while? Think of something that happens in everyday life and build it up, or come off with something completely different and unique that would actually interest people! I've even got so annoyed with the prospect of Tasha being such a huge bitch who steals Dimitri, that I've made my version of her lesbian in one story, and an amazing friend to Rose in both! I don't want to get into great detail about my stories, because this isn't why I'm writing this, but seriously people … I hate browsing through this site to see so many 'Dimitri gets Rose pregnant, three years later he comes back' stories! I mean, there are a few out of a couple hundred that are actually worth reading, and the only reason I decided to give them a go was because their titles and summaries were interesting! I know I can't ask people to take their stories down, because that isn't right, but if you honestly cannot think of a better plot? Maybe you should, I don't know, back down for a while and actually think before you write.
How could you improve these things?
I love writing. It's a great passion of mine, and I love being able to share them on this site. Obviously, enthusiasm towards your story could enable you to give your story an amazing name, but what I do if I'm feeling a little insecure over the title is -I would look at the genre that I have placed on my work, for example, Romance/Hurt/Comfort … I would pick a vital point in a chapter that had something to do with either Romance, Hurt or comfort and twist it into a title, by using a sentence I had written, a thought my character had or a piece of dialog (if you've already planned a few chapters ahead this could prove to be very simple) You could even use a small segment from a quote that closely relates to your story!
As for summaries, the same basically applies. You can't think of a way to describe your story in 200 characters, copy and paste a heated moment of your story and use it as a summary, and if it's well written, I guarantee you'll achieve more reviews (:
The plot's a little more difficult, because I believe if you truly want a captivating story, you have to sit and thoroughly think and plan what you want to achieve. For my two stories 'A Night Rose' and 'Who Knew', I used two completely different strategies. For ANR, I did no planning at all … I had a rough idea of the events I wanted to take place, and how I wanted it to end, but no planning otherwise. ANR is currently on hiatus, and I believe it's because I didn't put enough planning into it, so I'm stuck and have no idea where to go.
As for WK, I planned like hell to achieve what I wanted, and I even have a small notebook where I have a written what needs done in each chapter, what needs to be portrayed through each conversation and the characters backgrounds—just important information. So far, I believe it has been a great success and I thank it all on the small white notebook I have sitting on my bedside table. For others, planning isn't a big thing but I believe that if you plan what you want to happen, you'll enjoy writing more, you're story will have amazing twists and an intriguing plotline. I've come to realize that although I still have major writer's block at times; having chapters already planned seriously helps me through it
Oh, and in case there is any confusion, I don't mean like … just planning like this
-Chapter one- Rose meets Dimitri.
- Chapter two- they have a fight.
- Chapter three- Rose gets annoyed and throws a bag at Dimitri's head…
I mean detailed planning, actually venturing into the characters mind until you truly understand the emotions they will be feeling, and being able to jot down every single detail and event that will take place, be it Rose going to the store to buy milk, or Dimitri getting shot… or whatever …
Buh-bye ;}
There are quiet a few things I want to touch on, things like plagiarism, character development, so review and let me know what you thought (:
If you have any questions or worries, I'd be glad to help :D
