Hi friends, I get asked a lot for tips and tricks to be a better, more efficient writer, so I decided to just make a quick blog post for people so that way they can use it if they choose.

First things first: I am not an expert, nor are these tips geared towards any other writing except fanfics. Keep that in mind.

Anyway.

1. Have a foundation/idea to go off of. Starting a story is easy, but finishing one is a whole different story (pun intended). When you think of a cool concept/idea and think "Oh my god, I should write a fic about that!" it's good, but when you go to write, you should already have the ending in mind. It's not enough to have one or two cool ideas, then try to base a whole story off of that. When you go to write a story, you usually have to introduce a lot of characters and ideas, but how are you going to do that if you don't even know how it's going to end? 
2. Write on Microsoft Word, or some sort of notepad on your computer, not the AFF built in writer. I find that it is very very helpful to write everything out on Word, then transfer it later. That way you have more room to view everything, and way, way more tools to help you write. Do not trust the Spell Check on AFF, it's garbage. Also, once you've written a lot, I noticed that it gets sort of choppy and laggy when you're trying to add/edit something on a 5k+ word document. 
3. Have thesaurus/dictionary tabs open at all times. Chances are you are going to be wondering, "Hm... what should I use instead of 'said'." or "What other word could I use to get that across..." - for this reason it is always important to be searching things and looking for synonyms, antonyms, and words that are a lot more descriptive and juicy instead of the typical words you usually use. Switch it up, learn more words, challenge yourself to use better adjectives, verbs. (But make sure you're not just tossing a bunch of words in for the sake of making it sound more intelligent.)
4. If you are describing something that is happening to the character, but don't know the best way to make it feel real, just imagine that thing happening to you. Take a moment, close your eyes, play it out in your mind, take notice of all the tiny things that are happening. Example: the main character is just about to find out whether they were accepted to university or not. Close your eyes, imagine it was you finding the letter in the mail. How would you open the envelope? Tear it? Use scissors? Would your palms be sweating? Your heart rate rise? Would you be scared because you already know the answer, or would you be excited because you are confident you got in? Where would you be in your house? Who would be around you that you could share the news with? - Write down every little tiny change of setting, you'll be surprised at how much more realistic it is.
5. Boyxboy : you don't need to always write . There's a time and place. And if you are going to do it, please please please do it right. I mean, there's no "right" way to write a scene, but for the love of god there is a wrong way. Coming from someone who is gay, a boy, and has had with another boy before, I can tell you right now the way it's portrayed in 75% of the fics on here is totally NOT realistic. Time, preparation, a level of comfort, etc is all necessary before you do it. Unless you're writing about a or something, then sure do whatever, but if your character is a and having for the first time as the bottom, make it believable. He isn't going to just bend over and take the D with ease. Be smart about it. (I'd suggest watching a scene or two if you're curious about what actually happens. If the idea of watching a gay scene for research makes you uncomfortable or grossed out, what the are you doing writing about it then? And if you can't handle the reality of (it can be messy, scary, awkward, dirty (poop) and there can be blood involved) then you aren't mature enough to even be writing about it
6. Mary-Sue characters. Do not do this. I will not read it and I guarantee nobody else will.
7. Do your best, I know it's hard, to research the culture/heritage/language/country you are trying to write about. I'll use Korea as an example because that's what people are usually writing about. The societal norms, language, customs are all very different from North America. Something considered normal in your hometown might be completely different in Korea. If you are going to write about a character who is Native to Korea, then make sure you aren't just blissfully ignoring the complexity of their ethnicity. 
8. Utilize beta readers, reviewers, friends, anything. Write something, then give it a second look later on with a new lens if you have the time. Chances are you'll hate half of what you wrote and will catch many mistakes. If you don't love it, don't publish it, be proud of your work. 
9. Don't blatantly rip off someone else's story and then switch the names of the characters and try to pass it off as your own. Plagarism is bad. I understand that we can't be 100% original sometimes, because there's millions of fics out there but you will know when you're not being honest about your ideas. Try to be honest.
10. Don't start too many projects, it is easy to get overwhelmed. Try to focus your time/attention into a couple main stories and then when you're comfortable do more. Pace yourself and prioritize.
11. Use music as a tool to help stir up some emotions or influence your style of writing. I often times find myself writing stories based on the feelings I get from listening to some of my favorite music.
12. Have fun! My goodness this is the most important. If you are dreading writing something, DON'T WRITE IT. You're wasting your time and you will not be happy. Writing for fun should be just that: fun. The minute you make it a chore or start something you don't like, you might as well be writing a research paper for school. Nothing creative or good will come from hating what you're doing.

I hope these tips helped you! :)

xoxo

ohhhkenneth

EDIT: Here is a good post for descriptive words!! :)))