How To Season Your Story

So you're done with grammar and it's about as good as it's gonna get. Yet your story seems to lack something, a certain pizazz.

But for the life of you, you can't figure out what more it needs. It's like a squalling child and you the anxious parent.

You've done everything, you cry at the child (the story, we do not support yelling at crying children). What more can you possibly DO?

Now, before you tear out all the hair you've got, give the following a once-over. Perhaps it'll help you identify which bit to further modify, and calm the niggling self-doubt.

Perhaps this will quiet the child down.

#1: Paragraphs and why you should indulge in them

A large body of text is pretty intimidating to start off with; often, the reader gets tired with the lack of variation in tone and plot as the paragraph extends in a seemingly endless manner. This is where the "enter" key comes to the rescue.

Starting a new paragraph is the easiest way to indicate the beginning of a of a new thought, or a shift in the previous concept. Additionally, by breaking the text into bite-sized chunks you make it a lot easier for the reader to ingest a large amount of information in a quick and efficient manner.

Of course, one must also take care not to overdo it. One way to make sure that you aren't divvying your text into paragraphs simply for the sake of paragraphs is to decide precisely what each paragraph tells the reader about the story; in doing so, it might be easier to impart certain outlandish ideas while integrating them with the rest of the plot.

Sorta like what was done in the last three paragraphs.

#2: Text lingo and stories rarely mix

We're all habitual to texting shorthands; they're efficient and save time, true. But while you're writing a story, a cherished product of your imagination, why bother saving time when you can lavish it with love and attention? Attention to detail goes a long way, so set aside the "lol" and "u" for another time; right now, your story needs the best you can give.

A similar vein of discussion are typos, a flaw we're all guilty of occasionally. Really, the only way to get rid of them is through brutal proofreading; if you feel that you're too soft on your own story, rein in a friend to help you out. A typo-free story is challenging, but definitely not impossible.

Sometimes, however, there's abnormalities that aren't typos but seem like they are all the same. This villain is called "Random Capitalization" and it often catches even the most seasoned of readers unawares. Once again, its roots can be traced back to popular texting lingo, where random capitalization often denotes changes in volume, mood, manner or a cat on the keyboard. However, storytelling affords you with a chance to describe what is happening instead of relying on random capitalization to get the message across.

One exception to the "no texting lingo" rule is when your characters are actually texting. In that situation, remaining true to your character trumps the grammatical demands of the day.

#3: Adjectives - make it or break it

The juiciest bit of the story often lies in the adjectives used to describe things and get the author's vision across to the reader; to make them feel what we feel is the ultimate goal, after all. Is your character sorrowful? Or wistful? Perhaps he is simply sad, and everything the tiny word encompasses. It's up to you to decide, so choose what you feel is most effective.

Try not to use the same adjective for the same object multiple times since it gets a lil' worn out. Mix things up and try to keep them as fresh as possible; use a dictionary or a thesaurus should the need arise.

On the flip side, don't go overboard with the adjectives. Take a breath and reconsider: do you absolutely need three adjectives in a seven word sentence? Is "cerulean orbs" really how your character would describe blue eyes, were they a real person? If you can't make up your mind, here's a handy trick. Ask yourself what you would do if placed in a similar situation and then make the character speak and think similarly. #lifehack

Of course, repetition is an integral part of numerous poems, so poetry is one place where you shouldn't shy away from repeating adjectives or using extremely exaggerated descriptions. If done right, it adds greatly to the charm of the poem.

#4: Personal anecdotes

Try to add some lil' instances to flesh out otherwise vague statements. You say your character learned not to trust, but why? A simple heartbreak is kinda vague, give the readers something to really sink their teeth into. Don't be afraid to be specific simply because it'd stop a vast majority from identifying themselves in your story. Our narcissism will find a way to do that even if you were to simply describe different rocks; hell, there's even memes about it.

If it's an otherwise fantastical story, real life incidents help to add that factor of relatability to it; a certain earthiness, as Gordon Ramsay would say. They can be from your own life, or "borrowed" from other people or even completely fictitious; remember to alter it so that it belongs to the character and serves the purpose you put it in the game for.

There we have it folks. Four handy tips you could list on the fingers of one hand alone (the thumb isn't a finger anyway). Individually, they're things often overlooked when hunting for comma splices and whatnot. However, the devil's in the details and a little goes a long way, so try to keep these tips in mind while writing. Let's see what shore the winds of imagination moor us on this time.

Tap on 'start writing now' to put these newfound insights to the test.