When will I find My WRITING STYLE? | #AskAbbie

Welcome back to #AskAbbie, where I answer your writing questions and help you make your story matter! Today we're tackling some big topics, like how to write a satisfying ending, when you should (and shouldn't) write body language, writing scenes out of sequential order, and finding YOUR writing voice!

Comment below! Tell me how you've been and give me a writing update! 💜 love you guys, rock on..

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✨ V A L U A B L E R E S O U R C E S✨

MORE ASK ABBIE EPISODES:

→ "How do I stay creative in tough times?"

→ "I'm afraid my main character is too cliche!"

→ "How do I balance internal conflict and external conflict?"

→ "Should my book be a standalone or a series?"

✨F O L L O W ✨

✨ A B O U T ✨
My name is Abbie Emmons I teach writers how to make their stories matter by harnessing the power and psychology of storytelling, transforming their ideas into a masterpiece, and creating a lifestyle that makes their author dreams come true.

Story isn’t about “what happens” — it’s about how what happens affects and transforms the characters. I believe that there is an exact science (a recipe, if you will) behind a perfect story. And if you know what ingredients you need, you can create your own perfect story with ease and confidence. That’s what we talk about every week on this channel – and if it’s something you’re into, be sure to subscribe and join this community!

[AndreaHecklerWriter]

Body language is probably one of my most frequent first-draft problems. Everyone is always smiling and turning and meeting eyes and shrugging 😂😂 Thank god for revisions!

[grimmdanny]

I like writing scenes out of order because it gives me motivation to reach those points, and in fact it helps me come up with good reasons to reach those points in the story leading up to it.

[Hamilwhovian]

More than once I wrote the last scene before starting so... yeah, I'm all the way on writing out of order, I really like it 😂

[eunatalioliveira]

I write fanfiction and i think is so worth it!! It's free, it's lovely, it helps you writting better! I learned a LOT writing fanfiction for 12 yrs now and i don't regret it nor i'm ashamed of it. I read fanfiction and i see a lot of young writers doing justice to my fav characters and they're so good. Some published authors can't create a peace of fiction that's as good as some of fanfictions i've read! And i'm glad you mentioned fanfiction, made me really happy, thank you <3

[Jo-lgbb]

Thank you for the fanfic comment. I've been struggling with that because I've begun to write fanfiction again as an adult but I really just wanted to in order to get back into a groove and you've made me feel better about doing that. Thanks!!

[memma]

Writing style is a lot like the daemons from The Golden Compass, if any of you have read that series. Once a person grows up, their daemon solidifies as one animal and stops changing form.






(Really recommend that fantasy series, if you haven’t read it!)

[Raging_Fish]

Yep, pretty much all my stories begin with a general idea and a couple of really vivid scenes from somewhere in the middle, and then I figure out the cohesive plot later. Great video!

Edit: typo

[leascurti]

Yes! Writing out of sequential order! I do that! Or rather : my mind makes me do that, because I would much rather be naturally inclined to do things in the proper order. I agree with Abbie, it can be detrimental to stop yourself from writing that scene because you will drag your feet forcing yourself to work on your outline instead.
I also feel like when you go back to working on your outline after writing that scene you wanted so badly to get out on the page, it can be very enriching to revisit the ideas you had at that moment. Some of them will fit perfectly into the plot you constructed and you will be happy to see that your writing instincts haven't failed you. And some of them will not because you outgrew them and moved your story in a different direction. It's a constructive process either way.
(Btw, reading Lisa Cron at the moment and loving it, thank you Abbie!)

[SerafRhayn]

I really appreciate you answering that last question! One of my protagonists does move a lot: waves hands while talking; subtly gets in others’ personal space, and lots in between. Great video all around Abbie 🙌

[alicemaliyekkal]

I have been writing different scenes of the story, which I will eventually plan out and actually write it.
Your videos make this thing a whole lot easier and fun. Thnx Abbie!!!! Keep making awesome videos.
❤️❤️❤️

[SysterYster]

My current story has like... 3-4 endings. I can't decide where to end it. XD In my first book I wrote things in linear order, but I find myself writing random scenes here and there in the book in my second one. Weird. But it seems to work too. :D Just like in art, I think people think too much about their "style" sometimes. Just write, you have your own style. It shows in the words you chose, the sentence structure, the way you build a story (or art). You might not be able to see it yourself, but it's there. :) Oh gosh, my characters frown and nod their heads all the time. XD I have edited out sooo much of that. XD

[kayciejones]

I most definitely write scenes out of order. I'm three chapters into the first draft of my first novel, and I've already written the epilogue. I also skip over scenes I'm not in the mood to write, and work on a future scene I'm really excited about. Then I go back later and write whatever connecting scenes I need to. That really seems to have a positive outcome on my pacing and structure, and often my connecting scenes are better written the first time around this way. I first started writing on an old site called Quizilla, where I would post a new chapter each week for people to read. Spending all those years forcing myself to write every scene in order, I learned a lot about making things connect in a believable and engaging way. So now writing out of order is no problem for me. I have friends who only write in-order who think I'm nuts, but even they can admit I write a lot more and have more solid structure doing it that way.

[SerafRhayn]

I outline like hell but I definitely write out of sequential order. I look at some scenes in my outline and start thinking “that’ll be a dope scene, I have to write it.”

[christianknickerbocker]

Your point about only including non verbal cues that are important to characterization is great. It's really an effective yet simple standard for cutting out redundant descriptions. I would say that sometimes (if there are none) you might put in a non verbal purely for the sake of breaking up the dialogue, but probably in that case you should think of something more interesting for the characters to do, like fiddling with a desk bauble only to almost drop it rather than just

[topik]

I always have detailed scene ideas before I even start outlining, so I write them all down, out of sequential order, in a separate document, and label them. For instance:
131. #hospital #mid-point #protagonist #feelings #angst
<the actual scene>
Then I outline, and when I write my first draft, I already have some scenes mostly written. Obviously, those often need readjusting so as to fit in with the rest of the draft, and some never make it to the final draft at all.

[zigaudrey]

I believe style is how you present your story. If it is a comic-style or a serious style. If the narration is emotionally-invested or not.

[johnpauldagondong]

I am a novice writer finding my style. What I do after an outline is to list the chronology of the scenes (the main ones) and determine why they are important, either to establish the relationship between characters or drive the plot forward. Then I will craft the scene like a screenplay, just dialogues, so that when I write it in narrative, I already know what the scene would look like. I just have to insert introspection, descriptions, etc. I use Celtx in writing the scenes in screenplay format.

[monywrmtailpadfotprngs]

I literally lost all my documents which contained everything about my WIPs. Now I’m just watching your vids for “future use”

[melissavalentinereadablemv]

I deffinitely DO write scenes out of sequence. I will have a great idea, or I will be in the mood to work on that scene, and I feel like I need to do it at that time. You can always add to it later or take something out as you continue writing. Sometimes, even with an outline, I will have new ideas to add as I go. So my story does change.

[goodgirl]

There are so many golden nuggets of information in these videos, I’m using this evening to learn all I can before I begin writing my second draft. Thank you for clearing up several misconceptions for me. 🙏🏾👍🏾 I’m now a new subscriber.