Zeragii: How I Write

Hello there! I've been doing a lot of thinking, about writing and such. A lot of people have told me they really like my writing style, which still shocks me, because I just don't see it as all that wonderful. But I know I have improved since I first started writing. A lot of the credit for what helped me goes to many of the writing tutorials that exist here on DeviantArt. They excited me, and made me try harder to better my writing. And now, in my own small way, I'd like to do the same for others by adding my own, little piece. It's pretty easy, and shows the way in which I tend to write my stories. Okay, here we go:

For me, there are three parts to writing a scene: the dialogue , the physical description, and the feelings, thoughts, and emotions . I have made up a scene idea and two characters. Let's see how this process works.

So first, you write the dialogue between the various characters. Make sure that it seems natural, with a sense of reality to it, but not so much that it becomes boring. Keep to the point:



"Hey, you alright?"
"Not really. I...I just wish I could do better."
"You've been doing a fine job. Much better than I ever could have done."



Alright. There's the dialogue. We now know what the characters will say, but there's no information. We don't know anything of what's going on. We don't know who is speaking, or what they are doing physically or feeling emotionally. And though dialogue is fun, alone it simply doesn't do us any good. So now, let's add in a little physical description:



William came forward carefully, lightly laying a hand on Emily's shoulder. "Hey, you alright?"

Emily shrugged, averting her eyes, but not moving away from him. "Not really. I..." She paused. "I just wish I could do better." She raised her eyes a moment, before shifting them to her hands, which were folded tightly in her lap.

William smiled, giving her arm a slight shove. "You've been doing a fine job. Much better than I ever could have done." His smile was contagious.


Alright. That's a little better. We can picture some of the movement now, and we know the characters names. We also can tell a little bit about their outward emotions; their feeling based on their body language. We can see that Emily is sad about something, while William is trying to comfort her. But their thoughts, inner feelings, and emotions are still hidden from us. And so, let us amend that:


William came forward carefully, lightly laying a hand on Emily's shoulder. "Hey, you alright?" He wasn't sure whether he should even disturb her in this emotional state, but he couldn't just leave her alone. His conscience would never allow it.

Emily shrugged, averting her eyes, but not moving away from him. She felt so ashamed, breaking down in front of her friend like this, over something so trivial as teaching a class each morning, but she couldn't seem to help it. It was so hard to handle the stress, and now she had made a mistake she wasn't sure she could fix. "Not really. I..." She paused, uncertain. "I just wish I could do better." She raised her eyes, emotion gleaming within them , before shifting them to her hands, which were folded tightly in her lap. She was fighting the urge to cry now, and not fully succeeding.

William smiled, giving her arm a slight shove. He would have done anything to cheer her up. They had been friends for years, and she had always done so much for him. And now, he felt it was time to repay the favor. "You've been doing a fine job. Much better than I ever could have done." It wasn't much of an encouragement, but what else could he say. He was proud of her, that was a good start, but how to put that in words. Come to find out, he didn't have to. His smile was contagious, and the warmth in his heart grew as she hesitantly returned it.



Alright. So there you go! You simply keep adding dialogue, description, and emotion until you are satisfied with how it looks and sounds. Do this and you will be on your way to discovering your own unique style of writing, and can come up with a routine that works for you. Thanks for reading, and I hope it was helpful!

- Zeragii