7 Tips to Improve Your Writing!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- Today I'm sharing seven tips that will help improve your writing! More writing related videos are on the way!
Chuck Palahniuk's essay - litreactor.com/..."thought"-verbs
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![Developing Characters [Factors of a Great Novel #1]](/img/n.gif)
My first tip: don't care about the language in the first draft, lazy writing is the best way because your story flows fast and you can see the end. Then came the second draft, here you choose and delete unnecessary parts, fix plotholes, sequence of action and decide chapters. Start to follow everything she says in the third draft. Go on and polish your book till it's ready to present strangers.
That's a great advice. Do you believe extensive use of creative writing necessary?
i love this generation. the age of technology, because now ah days you don't have to even go to school to learn, all you have to do is go on youtube. thank you so much for the video. Its very helpful.
Is extensive use of creative writing necessary for writing crime?
+bryant argueta Actually, decades ago you didn't have to go to school to learn, there were books available about any subject, but I, too, love this age since the internet makes learing much faster and at the same time gives people many more opportunities to live succesful and happpy life.
Searching for and joining communities that are focused towards creativity, the process of writing, and who really understand it, is incredibly important these days.
Agreed on learning from youtube, but this generation sucks...... Many lack the insight and depth and some dumb idiots even go to the extent of comparing Justin Bieber with John Lenon.......
@@Weird_Quests Are you sure? Writing is a lonely occupation. It is not a group activity.
"He was standing" isn't passive. It's weak, but not passive.
@@NicverAZ Using the zombie rule gives mixed results. When you add the phrase "by zombies" and it makes sense, it's passive: shoot it in the head.
"He was made to stand by zombies." yep; passes the zombie test. Shoot it.
"He was standing by zombies" makes sense too, but the "by" becomes "beside" rather than the zombies made him do it.
Have him do something, like, "He was standing when he put his hat on."
Thanks for the tips. You are so cute, you remind me of Lily from how I met your mother!
I started watching it a few days ago and I swear I thought exactly the same thing
Thinking the same thing !
Woops, commented just the same thing
OMG yes! lol
That's what i said! lol
Speaking of "Wide, alert eyes", anyone notice she never blinks? I wonder if that's on purpose? I feel hypnotized by those eyes-sleepy, very sleepy.
Those unblinking eyes, I'm mesmerized by them. Does she have eyelids,
I'm not sure.
I can't focus, I hear her words in the background, but her eyes defy logic-I must see, must know... One blink is all I require. Then, and only then, will I find the resolve to let the matter be.
Subscibed, just to see if she ever blinks.
Other than that, I love her videos.
she cuts the video.... In between the cuts she blanks 😂
+FUKUUTUBE USUXX Your soul is mine!
Haha now I can't unnotice it
Alex Alex jump cuts dumbass
FUKUUTUBE USUXX scratch the word "require" it sounds cheesy.
Hey, I'm not trying to be a know-it-all, but I just can't help myself. So I'm sorry but I have to point something out ;)
What you are talking about as the "passive" is actually the "progressive" form of a verb, which is a tense, as in "present progressive" (I am going) or "past progressive" (I was going). Active and passive on the other hand are "voices", not tenses. So "He wrote a book" is active and so is (surprise) "He was writing a book". The passive would be: "A books was written by him" or "A book was being written by him". Active is when the subject (he) does something to an object (a book). Passive is when that object turns into the subject and something is done to it.
Sorry for the lecture, but I thought it important to point out.
Peace and love,
Lisa
Otherwise, awesome video and awesome tips! Keep it up!
+Lisa La Thanks, I noticed something was wrong there.
+Lisa La thanks for that, I was going to point it out but you managed it without sounding mean :)
+Lathan Stanton hmm yeah that is a possibility
Well, an example would be "the book was in the process of being written by him.
oh and by the way, in your passive example, the book in your sentence was plural. He was writing ONE book, not multiple
Another tip, listen to music in the background that follows the theme/climate going on in that part of the story, it will help strengthen the emotions you try to express.
***** Not for me
True. As for me, I can only write with music playing. For real. Especially since I moved here, it is so incredibly noisy all the time (very close to a busy highway), music just gives me ambiance and it helps me focus :) I pick music according to the mood of what I'm writing. Been doing it for years. If I try to write without music I'm just sitting there staring at the screen awkwardly lol
Are you related to Lilly from How I Met Your Mother?
My thoughts Exactly..!!! LOl..
She looks and sounds just like her LOL
She's way hotter!
i was just going to say that lol
Manshun Neupane She looks exactly like Alyson Hannigan😱 especially young Alyson (from Buffy)
Love the new angle. The thing I enjoy most about your tips is that you make them applicable to my writing. You don't just say, "do this," and expect me to learn. Thanks for the examples.
Wow, you explain really well, really enjoyed your energetic way of describing every single tip.
I dont think she blinked once....
I'm watching just about all your writing tip videos because I want to write my first novel this year
Love this video, Kat! Actively writing is so important. I love that you gave both tips, and examples. Happy writing!
The examples really helped. Thank you.
Awesome tips!! I read through my old stories recently and noticed that, yes, I often told the audience what my characters were feeling rather than showing and its just not as powerful. I'm glad that I'm aware of it now because that means I'm slowly learning and progressing. Good luck to everyone on their writing journeys :)
LOVED that strong verb instead of an adverb tip! Makes total sense and is much easier to understand/put into practice than reducing adverbs as a whole.
Using the passive voice is a big huddle of mine to get a leg over. God, I wish there's some sort of web-based program to allow people to input the passive-filled sentence, and it will give a couple of ideas of the un-passive version of that sentence. I want that so much!
Thank you Kat. Very helpful. I am new to this writing thing. As a child I always had an active imagination and would make up stories in my head to fall asleep by. As I got older I realized some of them were actually pretty good plots. This trend has never changed and now in my middle ages I thought... what the heck. I should be writing some of this stuff down. Any how... good advice.
I used to write a lot from 2009-2011 when I was depressed and spent all day-every day indoors but the last couple of years I've found it very hard to write.. Your writing videos are helping me getting back into writing again. Hopefully I'll start writing something soon.
Ah, thank you so much Katytastic! I'm a beginner when it comes to writing, it's very sweet of you to put out so many helpful videos for people like me!
This was actually a really informative video. I feel like I haven't even considered that before, although I am not a serious writer or anything. Thank you Kat!
This was super helpful! I'm currently editing my story and I'm picking a color for every tip you gave, and I'm going to go through and highlight every passive description and adverb I find.
Love the last tip about being aware and conscious about every single word!
am i the only one here who thinks she looks and talks like lily from how i met your mother?
I thought about it too, omg
Tip number 8: Try the amazing art of blinking.
I feel like I force things on the reader. Like one moment this guy is in a fight, and like 6 paragraphs later he's chilling on the roof with a cat.
Online Alias same
Zoie B How do you avoid it?
Online Alias don't! Yet. Well I would suggest just to leave it for now until editing. But if you really can't stand it look closer at your story and add more descriptions to the scene or maybe add more dialogue. But as you reread you will see how it could improve
Thanks so much for this (can't believe I missed this video), it's really helped me look back at my drafts critically.
I love how you gave examples for each tip. You rock! Thank you!
That link set to Chuck Palahniuk's essays is gold. GOLD I SAY. All of the advice there is fantastic. Much appreciated.
I'm a beginner writer. Got into it by accident, long story. Your video was not only fun to watch, but I learned a few things. So, thank you! I appreciate your video.
INSTANT cry of joy early on in the video when you say 'show don't tell doesn't apply to everything'! Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that way
I love your stuff on Passive Voice. Also, THANK YOU for stating that telling is sometimes appropriate.
Writing my first book at the moment, it is a non fiction book. I am inspired to write a novel or two. Try my hand at it. I like writing.
This was a really good breakdown of some of the more common "tips" bandied about by writers. Kudos!
Yes! Thank you for making more writing videos, they are so helpful.
George Orwell said to never use the passive when you can use the active. Nice tips, Kat!
Thank you for the tips. I'm currently fourteen years of age that has a passion for writing short stories and some sort in both my native language and English. I have a lot to learn so I appreciate this video that will enable me to improve my writing style. You mentioned my errors in writing; therefore, I'll start to work on that. Thanks again.
yay! I'm not alone! I've known I wanted to be a writer since 4th grade. I'm working on my fifth attempt of a novel as a writer, and I'm so passionate about the topic that it's not slipping away anytime soon:)
Great video! This sums up a lot of things that I've learned in writing classes in an informative way. Awesome job :D
That Chuck Palahniuk article is still up (and free to read!) Thank you for the suggestion. He always said he would come out with a book about writing... based on some of his articles, it could easily be a best seller, chock full of GREAT writing tips and theories.
I love these tips! Thankyou so much Kat I will keep these in mind while I'm writing my manuscripts
8:03-8:07 "sound at least kinda smart in them". This is when she blinks. She is human.
The Notorious JOB it's all a metaphor
whew! Thank god!
Amazing tips! Simple but to the point. I am really trying to FINISH a novel... any of my many novels that I have started. But I just don't have enough confidence. Then I realized it's because I'm not knowledgeable enough about HOW to write. So I'm doing my research. Thanks for the tips. You made a lot of good points.
What an awesome list of tips. Thanks for posting this video, it really helps and I have already identified a ton of the mistakes you mentioned in my manuscript, like usage of the passive voice and many examples of "talking about it and not showing it" :)
Those are some awesome tips even if you aren't a professional. I remember my English 1A & 1B teachers preaching the same tips and advice. Well said!
Thank you for this video. I'm beginning to take my writing more seriously. This really helps.
This video is great!! I love your energy and your sense of humor!!
Thanks for explaining this so clearly with good examples. I appreciate your recommendation of the article too.
Thanks for the tips, I find them very useful and something I will think about. I love your writing videos.
This was fantastic - I especially love the part about active vs. passive voice. That issue (and other types of syntax choices) makes a HUGE difference in terms of how dynamic the writing ends up sounding, as well as setting different types of tones and shaping the voice.
You guys should also check out my writing channel - I started a writing advice vlog too, but don't worry, it doesn't steal ideas from yours. :)
This is fantastic! I feel like we approach writing in a very similar way :D The only thing I'd add (and only must because I'm a grammar nerd haha) is that I've always learned passive voice is something that's done *to* the character. So, rather than the active "Simon closed the book," passive would be "the book was closed by Simon." But the "stood" vs. "was standing" tip was great and something I actually hadn't thought about!
Now you've made me want to go write :P
I was trying to figure out why your eyes were a little disconcerting and realized that you barely blink.
FINALLY! A WRITING VIDEO! I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR SUCH A LONG TIME !!! :D
Great video; one point - while I agree that "He stood" sounds better than "He was standing" (because of Orwell's rule on concision rule), the former is 100% ACTIVE, not passive ("He had been stood" would be something like a passive for this). It is actually just past progressive tense, rather than a simple past. Terminology, Kat! :)
First tip was explained so nicely, thank you!!
I just love the energy in the room!
What an awesome video. Your tips are brilliant and presented with great clarity and so much fun. I enjoyed it a lot. Thank you.
Thank you so much this is very interesting and helps me tremendously. I appreciate that you have kept it short and precise.
All great tips to keep in mind! A good memory jogger from my journalism classes, heh. Looking forward to more writing videos :)
Well done, my dear. You nailed it! I hope all young writers will check out this post.
Thanks a heap, this was super helpful and easy to watch. Look forward to your future vids!
Thank you pal! I’m a beginner writer and your tips are pretty helpful!
extremely helpful video. Would be great if you did a video on how to research for a piece of writing. I find it to be tedious but there's no way around it. Thanks.
thanks so much for the tips Kat! :) God bless you and I hope you are published some day!
First video of yours that I've ever watched and I've already subscribed. Great tips, great clarification, great delivery and humor! (Yes, I meant to write great three times; for emphasis!) Thank you, and definitely keep posting! :D
Thanks for this! I found it very helpful. I've always had issues understanding active/passive voice, so now I think I get it.
Oh, my God! Katy IS Allyson Hannigan!
+Drogan Stiegsson EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT!!!!!
+Drogan Stiegsson yeeeeeeesssss I was like "Willow?"
+Drogan Stiegsson I was about to comment this lmao
+Drogan Stiegsson She even sounds like her
Jojo717 Right? Right?!!!
Thank you so much for this video! I am a young writer and this has helped me heaps.
Wonderful tips and easy to follow explanations!
I love your tips. "Show, don't tell" is a phrase I try to keep in mind, but it's easy to forget the true meaning. This video was a great refresher. One thing that was a little distracting to me was the strong, constant eye contact. I caught myself looking away from the screen in order try to meet socially appropriate eye-contact standards. Is it weird to be distracted by that? It could just be me. This the first video of yours that I've seen, but I like it! You have a new subscriber.
Same
haha that is the exact reason I am reading the comments right now
Sorry but "He was standing" is NOT passive. It is active.
+S. Lee Benedict No it isn't. :P
Maf Laitano Yes, it is active. Passive voice denotes when the action is being done to the subject. In the sentence "He was standing," the subject "He" is doing the action. He's standing. The action isn't being done to him. The word "was" doesn't magically make a sentence passive. To make this sentence passive, it would be "He was being stood" which really doesn't make a lot of sense unless the subject is a statue or something. This is a huge misconception among a lot of people, even people who fancy themselves editors. It's a big problem.
Wouldn't it be 'he stood'?
"He stood" is active. It is and means exactly the same thing as "He was standing." Both are active. Just two ways of saying exactly the same thing. As I said before, the passive voice only means that the action is being done to the subject, i.e. passively. A different example: "He read the book" is the same as "He was reading the book." Both are active because the subject "He" is actively doing the action "read." If the sentence was "The book was read by him" or "The book was being read by him," that would be passive because the action is being done TO the subject passively.
Pfft.
Okay, whatever floats your boat.
Thank you for the tips I'm currently working on the 1st draft I did three layouts now planing ahead it will take s lot however I always wanted to write one book. The words will come out in the 2nd and 3rd draft
I can only imagine kellin Quinn editing the part with all the doors she talked about
"THERE ARE SO MANY DOORS TO POINT OUT!"
Thank you Katy! This was really helpful, even though some of the tips didn't work out for me a lot because I write in Spanish. But thanks anyways, I love how you talk, and you are really nice (:
I found this video so useful and inspiring! You're amazing!
Good video! Hope you post more on writing tips and recommendations.
the tip about show v tell regarding emotion was a solid point.
You are so adorable, Katy. Thank you for these awesome tips!
Thank you for this video! I love writing and this is really helpful
Yes, being descriptive helps the reader get the point of the writer a whole lot better. And extremely important in creative writing. Usefull tips that I can apply to writing as most writers should also. awesome job & nicely done vid.
YES! I have been waiting on more writing videos for AGGGEEEEESSSSSSS
First video of yours I have ever seen and you reference Chuck. You win.
Your eye makeup looks amazing!
I HATE it when the same word is used all the time, and my first book had a lot of word repetition and I didn't even realize I was doing it, and NO ONE noticed it until the FOURTH person read it and caught it in a few paragraphs. I was so happy he found those parts so I could fix them. I hope I am more aware of it all now.
This was a great video!
"Was standing" is not the passive voice. It's the active voice in the past progressive tense. The passive voice is defined by using the helping verb "be" in addition to the present participle form of the main verb. Moreover, a passive voice promotes the theme/recipient to the subject position while demoting the agent to an oblique argument of the verb.
This is really great! Thank you so much definitely helped me realize things that I wouldn't have noticed :)
Thanks for being such a great booktuber!!! I hope I'll have even just half of our books! :) One more thing, the last part of this video made my day! #ROAR
Thank you for creating this video :) I'm from the Philippines and one of your biggest fan EVER! Hope I also have a collection of books like yours :) Keep up the good work!
Subtle tips which I largely hadn't thought about! Thanks for the advice!
The first half of Force Awakens is the perfect example of Show don't tell. Absolutely amazing.
Best video thus far I found on this topic, thanks!
This helped me a lot.I adore you and this also not only taught me,but it motivated me into beautiful writing.Thank you.
I frikken love Litreactor! So great.
Love this video, by the way. I think I might make a writing video one day. Maybe some tips about what to do after writing.
This really helped me yes I may only be working on a fanfiction but most video's just tell me the tips and did not give me plain straight forward examples thank you so much ;)
"Adverbs are the Devil!" Excuse me while I go make a statement shirt.
I love your channel and craftsmanship in your videos. Thank you for posting from buffalo NY
Passive voice is when the action is done TO the subject, not BY the subject (active voice). "He was standing" is past tense, not passive voice. He read the book (active voice) vs. The book was read by him (passive voice)
Yup...her example was of present tense vs. past tense. Not of active vs. passive voice
I only watched this yesterday and I can already see how you’re tips have improved my writing thanks!
It seems like everyone edits their videos the same exact way on youtube these days. It's like a barrage of sound with no pauses in speech between thoughts at all. It's a bit hard to listen to but I watched your entire video, very good tips, thank you.
Katytastic! You are fantastic! fun! and informative. Just beginning the writing journey and this little video proved how much there is to learn! Subscribed!!
Your tips help so much! Thank you for giving the best advice :)