A little helpful writing advice?

[nikinoodle7]

I have a slight issue when it comes to my writing. How do I not keep repeating myself (in different ways) so the reader doesn't get bored? I've always unfortunately had this issue! Any helpful advice?

[cam_gold]

What do you exactly do you write? If you are writing full books and novels, then perhaps you can focus more on short stories - a least for a while - which would perhaps reduce repetitions. Also, expand your portfolio of experiences. Try new things. Have fun, and bring that all into your writing.

Analyze the works of some of your favorite authors. See how they develop their characters and plots, look closely at their transition points, and pay attention to the language style.

Work with others; have other people who can give you constructive feedback read your work before you submit a final draft.

These are just a few suggestions. I am sure there are many more, but I hope that you find these a little bit helpful.

[kelsmercer]

I have a big problem with this too. As cam_gold said, looking at other writers' work helps a lot; you'll be able to see how someone can get a point or idea across without repeating it.

If that doesn't help, I have a personal trick that might. Get away from your writing. It might be a little counter intuitive if you're writing on a deadline, but letting your mind air out can be really helpful. Stay away from it for a week (or, at the very least, two days). When you get back to it, read the troubling part to yourself out loud. Then, you'll be able to catch, not only mistakes, but repetitions that sound really awkward. Giving yourself time gives you a fresher perspective and a great mindset to do editing. I hope that helps!

[KLyons1]

To add to what the others have said - once you've made your best effort to avoid that repetition, find a beta reader (or two) who can help you with feedback. Readers can assist in finding your problem areas - or (sometimes) letting you know that it's not the problem that you thought!

If it's words that you're guilty of repeating, use the Find function in Word (or whatever program you're using) to see how often you've used a particular word, and to look at each instance. Then you can check your handy thesaurus for alternate words/phrases.

If it's information that you keep repeating, then it is a question of context. Why do you think it has to be repeated? This is where the famiiliarity with other writers can help, because you'll see alternate ways to refer to details that were already presented. That's another area where reading aloud will help, and might even be helped if you and one of your beta readers can read to each other.

Good luck!

[WriterBLAlley]

Write the story, not the novel, then be happy with it regardless of the length.

[moderntimes]

This is an excellent question, one that at least you, as a (likely) fairly new writer do seem to be aware of -- so many writers are not.

The short answer is of course that you'll improve your art as you learn to write better, and those things will be in the past. I hope that answers your question! (ha ha -- of course it doesn't!)

Okay, let me recommend some things, and sight unseen, as you didn't provide any examples nor did you proffer much detail... mmm...

1. Read aloud. Read to the empty room, the cat, your significant other, whomever or whatever. Reading aloud is absolutely requisite. When I'm working on a passage in my new novel, I'll read it out and listen to the rhythm and sentence structure, how the characters are speaking, whether their conversations ring true. My girlfriend has learned to tune me out, by the way, ha ha. She just puts on the headphones and listens to CCW loud.

I read all my stuff aloud, essays and book reviews and my novels and short stories, particularly dialogue. By hearing the words, you genuinely can discern how to help your passages in not seeming repetitive.

2. Use a thesaurus, but sparingly. If newbie writers drink too deeply from the pool of the synonyms, it is easily detected. The word choices then sound forced, which is why #1 is so important. So... glance in the thesaurus but then let your own imagination come up with the right word. It must sound natural.

3. Vary sentence structure. "The girl hit the ball" is fine but it can soon sound like a beginning Dick & Jane reader (and even those are better these days). Off the top of my head, let me proffer a couple of sentences from my new in-progress mystery novel as examples, okay? Here:

"It was the sort of accusatory deception most addicts resort to, and it’s telltale evidence that I was sliding down a chute to nowhere."

I could have reversed the clauses, starting with "I was sliding... [because] this is the sort of..." and this would affect the rhythm. Also note the variation in word choice. I really cannot emphasize this enough. Note that I start the sentence with some fairly high-sounding words (accusatory, deception, telltale) but then I alter the rhythm to an abrupt ending with "chute to nowhere", graphic and commonplace by comparison to the start of the sentence. Ya see what I'm getting to? I start with highfalutin words and end with a harsh conclusion, thereby creating a juncture in the mind, a break in the otherwise smooth tone.

Here's my sterling example, perfect in its use of more flowery Norman-based rhetoric but slammed off by good ol' Anglo-Saxon brevity. Hamlet is talking to the skull of the jester in the famous graveyard scene (Act 4) and pardon me if I quote off the top of my head, I'm too lazy to look it up, but I think I've got it right....

"Now go thou to my lady's chamber, and tell her to paint an inch thick."

Note how perfectly Shakespeare does this? He starts flowery and ends with a bang, "inch thick", so abrupt and harsh, intentionally so, true greatness. And of course it's pertinent too, since Gertrude has been in her "hasty marriage" to Claudius, whom Hamlet hates. See how the rhythm changes? This is the sort of thing you need to be cognizant of, and reading aloud helps, believe me.

And back to my own shallow writing, later in the same narrative of my new book:

"And I was complaining? I shook my head, trying to clear the density and the stubborn mindset that was damning me to a crazy endgame. Not smart."

Note how I bracket the longer expository sentence between two shorter ones, the first a question, the second a declaration. It's this sort of variation and alteration of structure that prevents a story from becoming placid or repetitive.

There's really no cut and dried formula -- if there were, you could auto-write and auto-read and no people would be needed at all! ha ha -- Techniques as I mention are legion. My general recommendation is to not take too much time with books on "how to write" although they can be helpful at first. But mostly, reading a lot, especially established authors of the same genre in which you're working, and taking time to appreciate their skill set and how they create a mood or express an idea.

And don't forget to read aloud. If you do, you'll quickly spot the weak places because you'll stumble over them -- "That doesn't sound right!" is what you'll say. And you'll be right, and then you'll have a clue as to how to better formulate your story.

Hope this helps. And please, if you find yourself stuck and would like some specific help, either post the examples here for us to review, or PM me if you want. Realize that in addition to being a novelist, I also review mystery novels and I'm pretty good at finding flaws (and being courteous with the advice, too. ha!)