By Usman Salame
Tips on how to write good stories and articles that engage with readers
Days have gone by when people only write for hubby, with the way contents are turning writers into millionaires, you will never joke but learn professional writing skills
Live on this topic, the tips on how to write good stories and articles that will get readers engaged and love your work
Writing a good story or article may seem like a daunting task to do, no doubt, putting words down which an audience can relate with might be a bit difficult.
More difficult if you are just starting out, even to renowned writers whose books you must have read before and thought it is easy for them,
You will be surprised to learn how long and difficult it took them to get such work done, yes it can take them months or even years in some cases to finish.
Aside from that, it took them that long to finish up, it still went through a thorough editing process and some rewriting to make sure it comes out fine.
The writer of the story maybe not be able to carry out all the tasks all alone by themselves, therefore they’d need the services of a professional editor and proofreader.
Any well-written story that catches the interest of many readers means it has fulfilled some rituals associated with writing a good story. Until these things are put in place, a story might not serve its intended purpose, or have its intended effect on its readers. So, below we’d discuss some tips for writing good stories and articles
1: Showing:
Showing, in creative writing, means to write in a way that the readers feel as though they are part of the story, in a way that would relay the information to them firsthand
Make them see for themselves rather than tell them how it happened. Here’s a quick example:
Jason leaned against the window’s burglary proof, watching the pigeons perch on the almond tree branch outside which had its yellow leaves shower down when a slight wind blew.
Jason hated autumn; it made him feel empty especially without Taylor, his first daughter, by his side.
He imagined her smile, revealing her missing canine, she was such a feisty young girl at 7.
Now the sentences above did very much to show the reader the mood of the character Jason.
The way the sentence sound, indicates that Jason misses his first daughter, Taylor.
The first line indicated that it was an autumn season without exactly mentioning it, but by merely showing the readers who would imagine already that the period where leaves fall off their branches in autumn.
And to lean against the window’s burglary proof symbolizes a sober mood.
All these did not have to be spelled out but left to the readers to decode and enjoy.
2: Short Dialogue:
Although dialogues put the readers in the middle of the conversation a long dialogue makes them lose grip of the whole event and ultimately lose interest.
So it is better to write a short dialogue that says a lot than write very long dialogues with no direction. And too, you should avoid a “Yes” and “No” kind of conversation; you would bore your readers to death
You could devise a means of answering questions without using a yes or a no, it makes it more dramatic and interesting. For example:
“Hey Ife, would you be coming to see my school football competition this Friday?”
“I wouldn’t want to miss it for anything.”
This reply did not carry a yes or a no but from the way it sounds, it means Ife would be going to see the football match.
3: Paragraph:
It is advised to start a new idea, including dialogues with a new paragraph.
This is to give your writing a clean and professional look, easier for your reader to read and comprehend your messages
Some writers make the mistake of bunching their ideas together in one long paragraph thereby causing a long streak of disjointed ideas all in one paragraph.
If you write like this, it is only a matter of time before your readers dump your book for something else.
4: Good Imagery:
This is the process of using words to create a mental picture in the minds of your readers, this effect is to draw your readers closer to your story and make them relate to it word for word.
Example
He reeled his clothes off the line, making the ropes swing briskly back and forth for few seconds before staying still.
His steps reverberated on the wooden floor as he marched to his room, slamming the door behind him.
The first sentence creates a mental image in the mind of the readers because, in their lifetime, they must have taken their clothes from a cloth line which makes the ropes swing for a bit
This way, they have a clear and vivid mental image of what the writer was trying to say.
The second sentence indicates that the character is seemingly angry, evident in the way he walked across the room and slamming of the door.
Without having to spell it out for them, your readers already have a mental picture of an angry man.
Story or article writing may seem easy when we are not the writer, but as soon as we engage it, it proves otherwise.
Every story has background work done on it to make it appear the way it is in the finished state.
A lot of work has to be done and techniques have to be adopted to bring your stories to life, lest you risk losing your ardent readers.
These few techniques and more is what you need to pay attention to and yes, you just might be the next Chimamanda or Dean Koontz of our time.
Want to say something about this ‘Tips on how to write good stories and articles that engage with readers’ then use the comment box to drop your comment. We do love to hear from you, Usman Salame, AfriNOTES, Africa multipurpose portal for Africa global tiers
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Usman
I'm a prolific content and creative writer with over 10 years experience. My books and articles have been published in many self publishing platforms including Okadabooks and Draft2digital. I'm impeccable too, when it comes to proofreading and editing contents. In conclusion, I have a natural flair for words!
