Throughout high school, you are expected to write various pieces of writing and complete multiple writing assignments. Some are long, some are short. While writing 5,000 word essays wasn’t always my favorite thing to do, I was pretty good at it. I picked up some tips from a writing contest book and they helped me immensely.
When writing fiction, consider the fact that it is very similar to a writing contest. You are in a sense ‘competing’ with your other high school peers, as well as ‘competing’ for the best grade you can get.
By raising your standards, going the extra mile when writing, and taking the time to do your best work you can received even better grades than expected. Here are some tips:
Have a strong beginning. Captivate the audience early on by writing about some action or excitement early on. Readers can get distracted or turned off to reading your work early on if you do not captivate their attention from the start.
Set the stage early on in your story by bringing excitement early on that makes your readers want to read more. This will help you stand out from the rest of the class to your teacher.
Always have a beginning, middle, and end. By not having a beginning, middle, and an end the reader maybe lost when reading. It’s important to have a flowing story so the reader continues to read, and most important, enjoys the story. Have a main theme that runs throughout your writing, it will help keep the flow of the story going.
Avoid predictable endings. You know those movies and books where the ending is so predictable; you saw it from a mile away? Avoid those as much as possible. Brainstorm different endings that will leave your readers satisfied.
Lastly, always double-check your work. In the writing world, poor grammar or spelling can make or break you. Being marked down in your writing classes due to spelling or grammar errors are the most common, but also the most avoidable mistake you can make as a writer. Purchase a grammar and spelling program to check your work, but check it manually as well.