How to Make Your Writing Stand Out – Part 2



Part 1 looked at some of the ways writers can make their work stand out, especially if they want to be noticed by agents and publishers. These are things like description, voice and style, story and sentence structure, using the senses, full characterisation and so on, so in Part 2 we’ll look at some more ways that can help writers can stand out among the crowd.
What’s the first thing that grabs your attention when you open a book? It’s the opening chapter – something exciting, gripping or tense. Without that, you wouldn’t probably read on. Writers take advantage of that by being different or quirky with the beginning of their stories. They use clever opening lines that really do make us pay attention. That can be anything – a posed question, a snippet of description, a statement or even dialogue.  How it’s presented to us makes all the difference.
Of course, we can’t leave out some of the vital ingredients in any story – conflict and action. Every story needs a certain amount of these, but it also needs emotion. It’s a sentiment that grounds us, so without emotion, how do you really tell a story and connect with the reader? Emotional connections through actions, and given rise through conflict, make your story unique. These three elements are so dynamic. Without them, your story won’t stand out.  
There are some elements that writers use that others don’t. How many times have you read a book and noticed subtle symbolism? The use of symbols, or sometimes motifs, all provide juicy morsels for the reader – they love to spot these things. Novels that don’t contain any of these extra layers tend to be a bit bland. But if you want your novel to stand out, give the reader more than just a bland story. Give them symbolism or motifs placed throughout the story. Clever writers give the readers reason to find something different on a second or even third reading. That makes a story stand out.
Foreshadowing is another way to add subtle hidden depths to your story.  Readers love hidden clues about what might happen further in the story, they love to uncover those hints. The more layers the reader uncovers, the more things they reveal. And that’s what can make a story unique.
A good story always knows what’s at stake.  Obstacles that stand in the way of the main character and his or her goal and situations that seem almost impossible are ways to make a story stand out.  If you show a greater understanding of what the story means for the main character and can show that importance translated to the reader, then the strength of the story will stand out.
Of course, every novel needs to be well-structured and well written for it to be noticed. Having all these literary devices and elements at your fingertips is all well and good, but they’re of little use unless what you write is actually well written. How you write is just as important as what you write.
Never lose sight of all these elements and you won’t go far wrong in your writing.
Next week: How to create drama in your writing

Comments

  1. Unknown19 July 2017 at 04:29

    This is awesome! :) Thank you!

    Would you mind checking out my book reviews blog at https://elsbookreviews.blogspot.ca/ and possibly give it a follow? Super excited to read your posts!

    - El

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nicki Minaz30 January 2020 at 07:21

    Nice one, I guess we just need to stop for a brief moment and read through . I noticed that you certainly do have excellent and creative ideas on the topic Sentence Structure . Thanks for the great sharing . Great read.

    ReplyDelete

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