Discussion → Beginner's Mistakes

• Arun

  Oct 29, 08:26am

  
  

  I'm a beginner and have written very few flash fiction stories.

  I find a lot of difficulty in practically every area, but these in particular:

  -> While describing a scene as I would paint it, I use a lot of 'she', 'her', 'it' etc. Can I avoid this?

  -> I can't go beyond simple sentence constructions without making a fool of myself

  -> My plots are stupid :(

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• Arun

  Oct 29, 08:35am

  
  

  [continuation of the above]

  So, did you stick with your 'kind' of writing if you hated it or did you imitate someone else?

  Is a story mine if I am 'inspired'? How much of it is mine?

  Can I wrap my story in another author's words?

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• 
  Edward Mullany

  Oct 29, 10:03pm

  
  

  Writing is difficult, Arun, as you suggest. It's often said that writing requires discipline and talent, among other 'virtues,' but anyone who wants to be a writer also needs to realize that patience is indispensable.

  It doesn't hurt to imitate, as long as you know that you are imitating, and that imitation is more or less like practice.

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• 
  Roxane Gay

  Oct 30, 01:23am

  
  

  I think the first thing is to not demean your writing. Maybe it needs improvement (as most writing does) but it's not stupid.

  To avoid she/he/it I try to name things specifically though you always want to keep things varied so sometimes, there is a place for he/she/it.

  Imitation is a great way to start out but you really want to work toward finding your own voice.

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• 
  Ben White

  Nov 03, 05:14pm

  
  

  A few additions:

  As Roxane says, a good mix of proper nouns and pronouns helps very things up. It also sometimes helps if not every sentence starts with the noun (you could use an introductory clause, for example).

  There is plenty to good writing out there that doesn't use long or complicated sentences. If it's not working, see how other people do it. But in the end, if it's not you, don't feel you have to do it.

  Plots don't have to be complicated. Notice that especially in very short stories, very little actually "happens." Start with trying to capture a moment or a scene. The mechanics of good writing are different from the storytelling. In many ways, the mechanics are easier to practice/improve.

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• 
  Robert Swartwood

  Nov 04, 02:51am

  
  

  When I always feel down about my writing I try to read a favorite author, someone whose work I know is great, and by reading their work it usually inspires and helps me raise my game ... or at least I like to think it does :-)

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• 
  Jarrett Haley

  Nov 18, 11:59am

  
  

  Here's my two cents.

  I think personal pronouns and names get most tiresome when they take the same position in every sentence, ie. the beginning, so you might try adjusting your syntax.

  Complicating your sentence structure takes practiced finesse and keen ear for rhythm, most often I think learned through osmosis, so read good people with this in mind, out loud if you're up for it.

  Most good flashes, I've found, have tiny or no plot in the traditional sense, working exactly like a flash--of emotion, consciousness, cognition, etc...

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