Sometimes, I wonder to myself, how should I write a story? And why am I posting unfinished and first chapters of stories in read.cash? The answer isn't really simple. It's all on the mind of the writer, after all. It's also generally recommended to stick to one or two topics, and in my previous articles, they are either stories or something I find interesting. Today, I found that writing articles themselves is interesting because it shows the mind of the writer itself. Now, there's stuff about writing blogs, but what about writing stories?

Here are some of the tips I learned from my time writing small fanfictions and an SCP article.

1. Stick to one topic

Sometimes, you get an idea of what to write. Sometimes, you get lots of ideas on what to write. Most of the time, when writing, you will get into a form of writer's block because you have too many ideas, not enough time, or probably no writing pad to place ideas into. You can choose a topic from various sources, like a video game. In our demo, we'll choose Fallout, a science fiction game created by Interplay/Bethesda. Which leads to the second tip I have for any writers.

2. Write down ideas which can be related

You might ask yourself, "Hey me, this story about a Vault in the Fallout franchise is amazing. But what should I add in it?" The first thing you should do is to write all ideas you have about the topic. May it be something like as simple as plants, or even monsters, or even Doom's Hell itself manifesting in a portal. Keep a notepad with you, especially when you get ideas you think will be important to your story. The ideas we can make from this "Vault" idea can be the experiment, the collapse of the Vault, and the discovery of the Vault by outsiders. Out of many possible ideas.

3. Set up the flow of the story

Yes, you have a topic. Yes, you have ideas. But, do you know which goes to which part? There are generally five main parts of a story, the introduction, the rising action, the climax, and the falling action, and the resolution. The most important parts are the introduction, climax, and resolution. Look at your list of ideas and then place each idea in its appropriate slot. If I were to sort the prior topics, it would be that the Vault's discovery will be the introduction, showing what the Vault would be located and how it was located. The climax will be the discovery of its experiment, and how horrifying its results were, and the ending will show the collapse of the Vault itself, may it be a physical collapse, which destroys the Vault, or the experiment's collapse, which would show that the Vault was abandoned for some time.

4. Create draft(s)

A draft is important. This is where other parts of writing come into play, especially the grammar. I have seen lots of fanfictions with bad grammar, misplaced punctuation, and even improper paragraph alignments. It's silly considering their idea was a good one. Make sure that you don't stick to just one draft. Write as many as possible. It doesn't mean you need to overdo it. If the draft doesn't work, keep it and try again.

5. Refine, and ask criticism

Now, this is the most important of all writing tips and walkthroughs. With a finished draft, you might say "This is done, I'm sharing it to the world!" No, don't do that. In fact, try to refine it. If you think it is done, sooner or later something will nag you and you will have to start over. If you think nothing is wrong now, and you are really sure, don't immediately post it to the world. Check other writers and get critiques. Friends also work. If no friends or other known writers, read your whole draft to yourself.

6. Don't be afraid to fail

Honestly, everyone fails. If your writing doesn't get accepted, let it slide. Learn from it. You don't have to give up once you have written a story. Write some more.

And this is where I go off. There's really a lot of these things, and everyone repeats the same things. Except in their own words, and experiences. Don't worry. You'll still be here. Good day.