Hey there guys, well done! You made it to the middle of the week, there's only two days until Friday! -claps-
Let's speak about stories.
Everyone writes them or reads them at some point in their lives, stories are very important, they can change people, when you're feeling stresses you can just curl up under a blanket either a good old book and escape to a whole new world.
So, let's say that you are at the library looking for a book about something but the book isn't there, and no matter what you do, you can't find the particular book that you wanted, even if you searched it online. If you have a rough idea of the book, you should write it.
Here are some handy tips for writing stories.
Come up with most of the plot first, the rest usually flows as you write, sometimes you get ideas for chapters when you're out, so always take a notepad with you. It doesn't need to be huge, just big enough to write vague ideas inside.
Don't spend a long time choosing names for the characters, or titles for the stories and chapters.
Don't listen to criticism, only constructive criticism. Criticism alone will bring you down and make you feel like not continuing the story. If you do get criticism that isn't constructive just ignore it and read all the good reviews to get it out of your head.
Let's face it, people do judge a book by the cover, if you can make one then do that, if you can't then you should find someone else to make them. I suggest using Tumblr and WeHeartIt to find pictures then using picmonkey.com to make the cover, it's a great website to get started on. I don't suggest using very simple programs like paint.
Try not to make the main character perfect every way so that everyone falls in love with them, this is a Mary Sue, or Gary Stu. AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS.
Also try not to base the main character on yourself because you don't really want to point out flaws in yourself, you probably want to be perfect, so that will what your character will end up as, perfect.
Also don't give the character stupid names like Sapphire Rosemary Robin Crystal King, Ruby Raven Drew Hen, Zhariandjdlfjsb Princess Diana Kate Katniss Middleton.
Finish the story! Don't write like ten chapters and give up on it, if you start giving up then either finish the story off quickly in a few chapters instead of going for twenty odd chapters or more, or you could take a short hiatus, maybe a week long or a bit longer until you find the inspiration to carry on, just don't forget the story! Never give up on it.
If you liked this then I might add a part two, please tell me what you thought in the reviews and take the poll down below on what my next article will be.