my little writing guide

Formatting is something I consider primarily as a personal preference - at the same time, I think it is something that sets fics apart:

Having read my fair share of fanfiction over the years, there’s a bit of a raft between those who use overly short paragraphs or overly long ones. Regarding this, personally, I try to guide myself with published literature and the length of paragraphs I am most familiar with, surmassing to 2-3 sentences for longer sentence structures, and 5-6 for for shorter.

Similarly, I assume no one wants to read those torturous scientific texts consisting of blockquotes of sentences without break-ups, or stories that are phrased like children’s books.

For writing, I highly believe everyone develops a unique style if they try to!

To achieve just that, try to find something you're good at in terms of writing and make it your focal point. For example, I started out with very long sentences, sometimes up to 8 lines long. It seems a bit complicated to read later on but it made my writing unique AND allows a different kind of reader immersion. For reassurance, they are no longer this long, however, taking advantage of main and side sentence structure makes for great progress!

As another tip: read different authors! And by that I do not mean a lot of books, I mean you ought to read from different countries, at different times. Most of my writing style is influenced by Latin & Greek classics but I'm side-eyeing 1700-1900's philosophic literature because they hit my tastes just right. So try to find an era/epoch/influence you envy and accustom yourself to it! It will sure make for some great change.

Furthermore, make certain of your statements always being clear, forward, and comprehensible!

• Who is "he" when you write? Usually the noun refers to the character in question, therefore when you write "Johnny sighs and he shrugs his shoulder", "he" refers to Johnny. So in case you mean someone else, it can be confusing if you don't state so. For example, "Johnny stared at Jeno and when Jeno sighed, he shrugged his shoulders" CAN indicate both of them as he, and then you ought to be careful how you go on. It's a minor detail but very important!

• Look for variation in your sentence starters! Always starting your sentences with "he/she/they", "the", "but" or whatever you use as your go-to starter - drop it! Because there's the...

• Rule of repetition! Your paragraph is your parameter, and within your paragraph you do not usually want a repetition of words and/or phrases (direct speech excluded). WHY? It can drag on. And you likely don't want your story to drag on. Make sure the reader gets some excitement and exhilaration out of their time spent and keep them on their toes! Using too many alike words will blur sentences, and the opposite is what you strive for.
  Should your paragraph be too long and/or the word be at the very beginning/end, you may refer to a 2-3 lines break to make sure they do not read too close!

Details, oftentimes, make the difference between an average and an outstanding fic.

Key to that is relying on the details YOU notice - don't rely on what others write and add to "stereotypical" descriptions. While there are character traits which aid in identifying who you're writing about, case might be readers have read it so often they look for change. If you want to describe a character, a setting, etc., first take a look at it and then write about what stood out to you. Your fic will seem more personal, and you might set yourself apart from other fics.

There is an easy method to train exactly for that: If you have some minutes to spare, when you wait for a friend in the coffeehouse or got no music on your commute home, then look around and pay attention to what you notice on that day. Will it be the flowers in the corner of the store or the cake display? Will it be the smell of the train wagon or the blurred views outside the window? Not every time you notice the same things, sometimes you only spot something on your second round. Emphasizing these differences will positively affect your story too.

Another great method to train yourself is to make up mind associations. If you think of monsters, do you think of those under your bed, in the closet, or out in the woods? What makes up their traits? What do these traits remind you of? ...

Every part of a story deserves some detail and those details may add one distinctive flavor to your story in turn. They can saturate the ideas you already have, now you only need to balance giving enough color without over saturating. For that, always keep in mind: Your characters won't notice more than you do.

More than details, what makes a story accessible is the ease with which everything can be imagined. When writing, don't just brush off those moments of focus but detail them. For example, don't just mention the scent of an orange but compare it to something, an orange can have different underlying scent notes so comparing it to the slight tang of aperol, the freshness of cest, sweetness of sugared jam, and the likes makes it more accessible. By comparing your idea to an ideal many would know about, your story becomes more tangible and makes it easier to relate to situations.

Mind associations, again, come into play here! Why is wrath so often related to heat and fire? What phrases can you use to avoid repeating those same words again? Is the color green associated with jealousy, with spring freshness, or Christian hope? Why? Choose connections that are pre-existent before making up your own but if yours is unique, why not change it up and focus on that, then?