While there is no straight road to writing a unique story and it’s more about a writer’s style of writing and personality, which determine how the story will turn out. There are rules and tips from the most talented writers of the fiction genre that can help a writer get there. Experimenting with your writing, finding flow, and focusing on character development can always improve the quality of your writing and thicken the plot. Fantasy author, R. B. Michaels focused on these points as he wrote his latest novel, Knights of The Wind 978-1-95-163054-6. The story is set in a vivid world, where elves, orcs, dragons, and other magical creatures hide among humans. Knights of The Wind follows a powerful mage and a gifted knight, whose destinies are sealed together as they fight to protect the kingdom from evil. And according to MasterClass, here are some rules of writing fiction:
· Protect your writing process.
Every single writer will tell you how important it is to stay organized and devoted to your daily work—this will help you get through the rough patches you’re likely to encounter. It can be extremely difficult to get published, and rejection is the norm for most writers. Coping with it will require a balance. You’ll need humility to accept that your work can improve, but you’ll also need blazing confidence that will allow your creative inspiration to continue flowing.
· Find your space.
Some authors like to carve out intensely personal space. Authors need to write, no matter the distractions: Jane Austen wrote in a busy family parlor, E.B. White wrote in his crowded living room. Ernest Hemingway and Kurt Vonnegut all worked in the early mornings to limit distractions. Maya Angelou famously rented hotel rooms to get away from daily nuisances. Try to find a space that works for you. It should be free of distractions (a definition that will depend upon your tolerance level) and provide a source of inspiration to you.
· Make your writing flow.
Some authors are sticklers for the placement of apostrophes, others swear by modern, free-form structure. Regardless of which you align with, your writing should still flow well and be easy to understand. Cut out any superfluous adjectives and adverbs (a likely result of an overly enthusiastic dive into the thesaurus in search of just the right word) and try to eliminate passive voice in favor of active voice. Make your writing more active by looking carefully at your word choices, getting rid of generic words and clichés, and choosing concise phrasing.
· Experiment with narrative point of view.
Point of view is the “eye” through which you’re telling a story. Most novels are written in one of two styles: First-person, which involves a narrator who tells their story. (“I ran toward the gate.”) Or a third person, which is the author telling a story about a character. (“He woke up that morning.”) While first-person narration can provide intimacy, it is also limited by the perceptive abilities of the character. This can be useful when creating an unreliable narrator or when creating red herrings. Third-person narration is a more flexible choice. It allows you to switch between characters’ points of view. You can even zoom in and out from complete omniscience (a narrative voice that has access to all information in the novel) to what’s called a limited or “close” third point of view (a narrative that adheres to a single character).
· Believe there’s no such thing as writer’s block.
Writer’s block is often an overwhelming feeling of being stuck. You’ve written part of a novel, maybe you’ve even finished an outline, but you just can’t move forward. Every time you sit down at your desk, your mind goes blank, or you can’t decide what to do next. This experience is common among writers, and there are ample tools for working through it. Take a break from the work, do something else for a while, and return a few days (or week, or months) later to view your draft with a fresh eye. The most important rule is to keep moving, whatever that means for you.
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