You not only seek refuge in stories but you also long to share your work with the world. If this describes you, then let Mr Don Bosco share some tips on how to make your start in story-writing.
 

Mr Don Bosco is an award-winning author of fiction novels for children and young adults and has some advice on how you can begin your journey as a storywriter.

 

First, readers are often on the lookout for your signature which is made up of your creative tastes, beliefs, and everything else that makes your story special. So if you have a story, then own it. 

 

“You have to bring something that tastes sincere and authentic and unique and special, and with a certain sense of commitment to it,” says Mr Bosco. Discovering these things about yourself and finding the stories that you want to tell will help you develop yourself better as a writer.

 

Once you’ve found your signature, be comfortable when writing. Forget the expectations of productivity or hitting a certain word count and simply find a comfortable physical environment for yourself to write and develop your ideas.

 

“When we are comfortable, then we are willing to be honest and willing to open up, and then you will find that you start telling the truth about where you want your story to go,” says Mr Bosco.

 

The next thing to remember is that writing is about movement in both external and internal circumstances. An internal movement could be a change in a character’s thoughts, beliefs or feelings, while an external movement would be the physical and tangible changes seen by the end of the story. When both internal and external movements are well-expressed, the story becomes more interesting.

 

Ms Joy Fang, who is also known as @mylifeoftext online, is a content creator who reviews books, and she also emphasises that character development could help a typical story stand out. Adding on, she says that language is one of the other things she looks at when reviewing books. 

 

“The book has to have words that are beautiful, that speak to me. The sentence structures need to be clear and yet not so clinical that they are devoid of emotion,” she says. A common mistake for some writers would be to add too much dialogue which doesn’t bring out the characters’ emotions.

 

Aside from these tips, budding writers may have concerns about the challenges that lie ahead.

 

“I’m not sure whether to write about something similar to what someone else has written about in the past. It is what I’m interested in but I’m concerned that it’s unoriginal,” Goh Han Wei, 18, who is interested in becoming a writer, says.

 

New writers may make the mistake of replicating examples of other books that left strong impressions on them. Some might find themselves writing stories that are similar to others even when it may not align to their personal beliefs or interests.

 

Mr Bosco says, “Stay close to what you are and who you are, and the things you really care about without being caught up in copying your role models.”

 

Stamina is also a challenge for some. He recommends writers to copy short stories between 2,000 to 8,000 words just to feel the stamina required to type out a story of that length. You might feel exhausted or frustrated at some point and that would show your “current comfort zone”.

 

“Working on the stamina is a very important thing because you might have a fantastic idea, but you don't have the stamina to execute it,” says Mr Bosco.

 

In today’s context, anybody has the capacity to write and publish their works online and the unfortunate thing is that this causes a clutter of information that obscures meaningful works.

 

Mr Bosco says, “It's the easiest time in all of human history, to just sit somewhere, pull out a laptop, type your words in, then put it on the internet and have it sent all around the world … but with everybody doing it… what's the value of this that you're putting out?”

 

So ask yourself that question, and start telling great stories.