Writing Your Way [Writing Tutorial]

Now let's talk about actually writing and the things you will mostly want to avoid. Again, this is just for a basic understanding to improve your writing ability. Use as a guide not as a cheat sheet.

Now, when it comes to writing a scene the number one thing I see new writers do is use epithets. What is that?

Epithets are a vague action sentence referring to another character with a different description. If you want a formal definition: an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.

Ex: The other man sat down. The taller woman got up. The blond walked away.

I would avoid using this unless it's a special case or if the reader hasn't been introduced to the character yet. Use their names and rework the sentence now it's okay to refer to a character with an epithet. But I would choose a more unique characteristic to further separate them from the rest.

*Improvement

The scar-faced woman got up. The freckled boy ran away. The purple-eyed bandit sat down.

Next, sometimes starting off as simple as possible is the best way to start and then with some skill, you can properly turn simple into fun and interesting.

Ex.

I walked into the bar and I was supposed to meet with someone named...Amanda Seawright but it didn't look like she was here. I had the picture of her in my pocket after my boss practically forced me into this assignment, but why did it have to be my old town?

I take a seat and a blonde bartender comes over to offer me a drink. I shake my hand no to her and turn around to see a familiar face. The brunette woman looked just like the woman in the picture. As soon as I see her, I rush over but a man with red hair stands in front of me. I try to get out of his way but he blocks me even more. The blonde lady bartender motions for me to sit down and...

Blah blah blah! It's too confusing without names and defining features. To further expand your characters, give them quirks and features that make them more indistinguishable than just hair colour.

How about we make the blonde bartender have a nose ring and freckles?

What if the brunette woman, Amanda, had fishnet leggings on and she had vitiligo?

What if the red-haired man was actually bald and had a red beard and a scar over his eye with many tattoos?

Making your character have more defining features while also hinting at this feature will make things a lot easier for the readers to follow. And also give them names even if they're not that important. Maybe the guy who is the narrator knows the bartender because he grew up around them? Or even if he doesn't know her at all, she has a nametag or something? Make the side characters just as important as the main characters. (Well also get into that later as well)

For now, just keep a look out for these epithets and happy writing!!