To all creative writers here.

[Nabil Mishima]

What makes a good story? Because all my fan fics seem ridiculous.

[thezombiemessia]

I'd say knowledge is the first step.

That's always been my first step at least.

You can't write a good story without knowing at least the basics behind the Universe you're writing for.

After that, I'd say the next step is making it believeable. Within the constraints and confines of the already defined Universe, you have to make everything you're writing about seem as if it would actually happen.

Third step is backstory. You need to develop (in your head at first) the reasons and histories behind everything that is going on, and try and link it with canon (without getting too far fetched).

Without backstories, your characters don't have purpose, and your locations don't have life. You don't need to write every bit of this detail into the story that you're writing, but to have it locked away in your head, just incase you think you need it, is a good way to write.

Fourth step is to make sure it all feels natural. Take a few of your favourite books, and have a look at the writing styles. There's dialogue, descriptions, events...but it's never boring to you. Try and figure out why it isn't boring to you.

A story gets boring when it's written as "He said this, then did this. She said this, then did that. They did this."

Don't make it constant action, but don't make it constant talking. The great thing about books is that the characters don't always need to talk out loud to show what they're thinking and feeling.

That's about all I can suggest for now ^_^

Any other questions, feel free to ask.

[Nabil Mishima]

You know your stuff. I'm trying to write a story about MGS about some kid.

[Nocturnal Stillness]

I'd say knowledge is the first step.

That's always been my first step at least.

You can't write a good story without knowing at least the basics behind the Universe you're writing for.

After that, I'd say the next step is making it believeable. Within the constraints and confines of the already defined Universe, you have to make everything you're writing about seem as if it would actually happen.

Third step is backstory. You need to develop (in your head at first) the reasons and histories behind everything that is going on, and try and link it with canon (without getting too far fetched).

Without backstories, your characters don't have purpose, and your locations don't have life. You don't need to write every bit of this detail into the story that you're writing, but to have it locked away in your head, just incase you think you need it, is a good way to write.

Fourth step is to make sure it all feels natural. Take a few of your favourite books, and have a look at the writing styles. There's dialogue, descriptions, events...but it's never boring to you. Try and figure out why it isn't boring to you.

A story gets boring when it's written as "He said this, then did this. She said this, then did that. They did this."

Don't make it constant action, but don't make it constant talking. The great thing about books is that the characters don't always need to talk out loud to show what they're thinking and feeling.

That's about all I can suggest for now ^_^

Any other questions, feel free to ask.

You've said it all mate.

One thing I'd like to add though, while fan-fic is a good place to start. Writing your own stories is more rewarding in the long run as you're not tied into a universe's rules, and you can be more creative

[thezombiemessia]

You know your stuff. I'm trying to write a story about MGS about some kid.

Some kid? What connection do they have to the Universe? What's their name? Their background?

You've said it all mate.

One thing I'd like to add though, while fan-fic is a good place to start. Writing your own stories is more rewarding in the long run as you're not tied into a universe's rules, and you can be more creative

Fan-fics are the best way to start though, as you get to hone your writing skills.

After you've done that, you can move onto original stuff, generally with a higher writing standard than most.

[Nocturnal Stillness]

True.

I think a good start to writing can be accomplished in three steps.

Step one:

write a general fan-fiction using their characters and locations

step two:

write a fan-fiction based on a universe but using your own characters

step three:

write an original story with your own characters



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Personally I think that is good as you practice writing in the first step showing you the advantage of having a background to work with, step two takes you a bit further by creating characters that fit into said universe,while step three pushes you to take those characters and work with them in your own universe.