Sneaky Writing Tricks

So you want to be a writer!

You may have already heard the usual advice: read a lot and write every day without worrying about it being perfect. And it's good advice!

But it's also the advice that just about everyone gives, which means it's a little tired.

So here is a different batch of advice. These are sneaky tricks, the kind that actually help you finish the kind of stories you want to read. Try one this week and see what cracks open.

1. Finish something ugly on purpose

Here's a secret real writers know: the hard part isn't writing something good, the hard part is finishing at all. Most people get a few pages in, decide it's not good enough, or discover it's hard work, and either start over or abandon the project completely. Eventually, they quit. Sometimes, they find that they've written dozens of beginnings and never reached the end of anything. So flip your goal. Don't try to write a good story. Try to write a finished one. Even if it's awful. Even if it's ugly. Just try to finish a story, no matter how awful you think it might be.

Try this: When you get stuck on a boring part, type [something cool happens here, fix later] in brackets and skip straight to the fun scene (or the easier to write scene). You can fix the boring or hard parts after the whole story exists.

2. Steal feelings, not plots

Everyone says "write what you know." But you don't have to know what fighting a dragon might actually be like in order to write about a dragon fight. You just have to know what fear feels like: the shaking-hands, can't breathe kind. You already have an entire museum of feelings in your memory and lived experience! The way your stomach bottomed out when you got caught doing something bad or sneaky, the spike of adrenaline when you were chased by a big dog, the slow burn of sadness and jealousy when you get left out. All those feelings are real! Lend them to your made-up characters and watch pretend situations suddenly feel true.

Try this: Write down one strong feeling you've actually had this month. Now give that exact feeling to a character who isn't anything like you, in a situation that has never happened to you.

3. Read like a detective, not a fan

Reading a lot is great! Wonderful, in fact. But here's the upgrade when you want to hone your writing skills: when a book makes you feel something (scared, thrilled, excited, heartbroken) - stop! Go back a few paragraphs. What did the writer do to help you feel that way?

Did they use short sentences to make the scene feel fast? Did they hide a clue three pages (or three chapters, or even three books) earlier? Did they make you love a character right before something bad happened?

You're not just enjoying the magic trick anymore, you're learning the trick!

Try this: Find one sentence in a book that gave you chills and copy it out by hand. Write it slowly and think about how it was built.

4. Tell it to your dog

Stuck on what happens next? Stop writing or typing and start talking. Say the story out loud, tell your dog what's going on, tell your favorite stuffed animal, talk to a poster on your wall, or even your reflection in the mirror. Sometimes I go for a walk and talk about my character or chapter or story arc into the voice-memo app on my phone.

Something weird happens when you speak a story instead of writing it. Your brain stops worrying about spelling and grammar and sentence structure, and just tells the tale. Talking out loud (even to nobody) lets you tell the story the way you'd tell a friend about something crazy that happened at school.

Try this: Record yourself telling your story's next scene out loud. Keep talking when you think up ideas for how to solve a problem or ways a fight might play out. Play it back and start writing when you hear all the good ideas!

5. Make your character's day worse

This one is a story engine. Whenever you don't know what should happen next, ask yourself one cheerfully evil question: What's the worst thing that could happen right now?

Then do that to your character. Stories aren't about people having a nice time. They're about people in trouble, trying to get out. The more trouble, the better the story.

Try this: Take your character's nicest, calmest moment, and ruin it. Lose their phone. Bring back the person they were hiding from. Make it rain.

6. Eavesdrop (politely)

Want dialogue that sounds real? Listen to how people actually talk. Spoiler: it's a mess. People interrupt. They don't answer the question. They say "um" and trail off and change the subject.

Most beginner dialogue sounds like robots reading a script. Real talk sounds like, well, listen at the dinner table tonight. Listen during lunch at school. Listen when your family gets together and they all start talking about the latest soccer game. Catch the rhythm and steal it!

Try this: Write down one real sentence you overhear this week, try to write it down exactly how it was said. Then start a scene with it!

7. Write the fanfic of your own boring Tuesday

Fan fiction is a fantastic way to practice (writing about characters you already love means you can focus on how to tell the story). But here's a twist on it: write a fan fiction story of your own life.

Take the most boring day you've had (got up, went to school, came home) and rewrite it with one impossible thing added. A door that wasn't there yesterday, a mysterious note in your locker, a teacher who is clearly an alien.

Try this: Describe today, but add one secret that nobody else knows is happening.

8. Collect the weird (not just ideas)

Everyone says "keep a notebook of story ideas," and it's great advice. I do it! But waiting for inspiration to strike can be stressful.

So collect weird details instead: note down a strange sign, a word you like the sound of, a cloud shaped like a grumpy old man, an overheard line. Details are the raw fuel for stories, and if you collect enough of them, the ideas for longer stories start building themselves.

Try this: Start a "weird stuff" list (notes app, scrap of paper, back of your hand). Add one strange thing a day. Don't judge the weird things, just catch them and keep them for later.

Bonus trick: You're allowed to quit a book

Yes, really. If a book you're reading bores you, put it down, no guilt. Okay, so this doesn't always work, especially if you have to finish a boring book for school. But noticing what bores you can be a secretly useful skill; it teaches you what you never want to do to your own readers. Use the same skill when you read back your own chapters - what parts bore you? What parts make you want to put it down and do something more interesting?

Try this: The next time you're bored when reading a book, write down why. Make it more interesting than, "I hate it." Try being more descriptive: "All these people are doing is walking through the desert. Nothing is happening."

Find your people (online)

Writing alone is great, but sometimes it can be fun when other writers are cheering you on, swapping stories, and telling you which parts of your stories gave them chills. Here are some safe, friendly places built for young writers:

• Write the World - A global community for ages 13-19 with monthly writing contests (some with cash prizes!) You can get helpful feedback from peers and real writers and benefit from careful moderation.

• Young Writers Project - A free, friendly community where teens can share writing and art, respond to prompts, and get published.

• Teen Ink - A magazine and website made entirely of writing, art, and photos by teens. You can submit your own work to be published.

• Young Writers Society - A community (ages 13+) where you post your writing and trade honest, kind feedback with other young writers.

• Storybird - Turn your words into beautiful illustrated stories and picture books using their artwork. Great if you love writing and visuals.

• Blue Marble Review - An online literary journal that accepts stories, poems, essays, and art from writers ages 13-22.

Want a challenge or a contest?

• Scholastic Art & Writing Awards - The big one for U.S. students in grades 7-12. Win recognition (and sometimes scholarships) for your writing.

• Write the World's monthly competitions - A new prompt and a new chance every month!

* A quick safety note: Most of these sites ask you to be 13 or older (and some need a parent's email to sign up). Always check with a parent or guardian before joining anything, and NEVER share private stuff like your full name, address, school, or phone number with people online (even if they start to feel like friends). Always confirm the current age rules and contest deadlines on each site - they can change!

In person opportunities

• Check your local library! Many libraries have clubs for young writers and even hold contests from time to time.

• Most schools participate in the Reflections Arts Program every year through 12th grade, find out when it's running and enter the literature division. Even if you don't place, it's great practice!

• Ask your school librarian, English teacher, or school advisor/counselor if there are any writing programs or clubs at your school you can join. (If there isn't one, consider starting one!)

• Consider the advanced or honors classes, even if you're not a typical "honors kid." My 8th grade English teacher nudged me to try for 9th grade Honors English. I didn't pass the entry exam, but I went and talked to the teacher, and he let me in anyway (undiagnosed ADHD had made me a little rowdy, so he made me promise to behave!). Those classes read and wrote way more than the regular ones, and that's where I really began growing as a writer.

Your turn

Pick one trick from this list. Just one! Try it this week. Don't aim for perfection. Aim for finished, messy, and maybe even a little bit weird.

If you still need some ideas to get started, try my Story Spark Machine! Hit the button below and let the machine throw you a story!