Techniques and Tricks to Write Better?

General
11

Writing good fiction in general:
On Writing, by Stephen King. Check this out from a local library, or buy it, and read it. May be the single most productive thing you can do to improve your writing.

I second @Taylor_Enean’s advice to read bad books too. But don’t go looking for them. They will find you.

Writing good characters:
Try Eliezer Yudowsky’s Intelligent Character series on his tumblr. Really short. Good common sense stuff that a lot of writers don’t do. I wish I had more on writing good characters.

Writing good Choicescript games:
Check out the game design archive on the COG blog, including how to write good choices and Ben Serviss’s six-step method for writing interactive fiction. I can’t personally speak for the efficacy of the six-step method, but I will probably try it.

There is also Extra Credits, a fun little video series about the gaming industry in general, which occasionally has a video that can apply to choice games. A few examples:

Some tips that have worked for me:

  • When fleshing out a character, try changing that character’s gender or age. Sometimes that makes a character more compelling, and it can help avoid clichés or stereotypes. Boys can be empaths too. And wouldn’t an old computer genius know more than a young computer genius?

  • Write sentences in this order: subject, verb, direct object, indirect object. Don’t write every sentence that way, but it should be your default structure. Your writing will be clearer and easier to read.

  • Short sentences pack the most punch.

  • Longer sentences soften things up a bit, often taking more energy to follow while at the same time diluting the action with extra details, modifiers, commas, and occasionally some parenthetical asides (gotta love those parenthetical asides), all of which have their place but too much can try the reader’s patience as you risk losing focus on the point you were trying to make in the first place: longer sentences are weaker.

  • Don’t use adverbs unless you absolutely have to.

  • When writing dialogue, resist the urge to replace the word “says” with another word that means “says” (unless that word is “asks”). Do not follow says with an adverb. Break this rule as little as possible.

  • Work on your project every day, even if it is only for ten minutes, even if it is just to scribble a few notes. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day.

  • Write your rough draft, then correct your spelling and grammar. Don’t waste your time.

  • Do not talk about your project unless you have to. When you talk about it, don’t say more than you need to. I’ve noticed that the more time people spend talking about something, the less time they spend working on it.

Tips I’m trying out myself:

  • Show, don’t tell. Do, don’t show. Let the player drive the story.

  • Being clear and consistent is more important than being clever or impressive. A game may require more description or explanation than a regular story. Players need a solid understanding of the situation so they can feel confident in their choices.

  • Plot is overrated. Instead of asking yourself what happens next, ask yourself, “What are the characters doing?”

Sorry about the length. Hope some of this helps.

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