Tips For Writing Stories

Hi, everyone! It’s my birthday today, and I decided to celebrate by sharing my secrets on how I write stories.

Tip #1. Don’t publish the story until it’s ready.

Don’t you hate it when people write fanfics that are promising, but they turn out to be unfinished? I avoid that with my work by completing the story first, and then publishing it when I know it’s complete.

Tip #2. Make your own website to showcase your story instead of relying on other websites.

It may be tempting to start an account on FanFiction.net or Archive of Our Own, but both websites can have mischievous characters running around. Also, there are strict rules on these websites on what can and can be allowed, so I suggest making your own website with the help of either Blogger, Wordpress, or even SquareSpace!

Tip #3. Write stories about what you’re interested in.

A lot of the stories that I write either feature characters from movies/shows that I like, really like, or even love, or are retellings of old favorites with new characters. That's what I recommend what YOU should write about. What are some of your favorite shows, movies, video games, and books that you want to make fanfics out of?

Tip #4. Write a story spine beforehand.

For those unfamiliar, a story spine is a simple yet powerful storytelling framework, consisting of a series of connected phrases or “spines” that guide the progression of a narrative. Mine are a little different, but this is what story spines usually look like.

These will serve as the guiding point for what will become your story.

Tip #5. Do lots of research.

Similar to how Pixar does a ton of research for their movies, I do lots of research for my stories, no matter what the subject is. For example, for my Finding Dory sequel Finding Bailey, I did lots of research to find out what animals (mostly fish) live in Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park, California’s Morro Bay, The Great Barrier Reef, and Graham Island, among other places. If you want your story to be as authentic as possible, do lots of research.

Tip #6. Make sure that your story is family-friendly.

There are way too many NSFW (not safe for work) fanfics out there, even if the source material is aimed at kids. That’s why for all my stories, I make sure that they’re suitable for kids at least ages 7-12.

Tip #7. Get tips from friends and family in case you get writer’s block.

As the Muppets put it in the Harry Belefante episode of The Muppet Show, writing can be tough work. In case you’re having trouble writing a chapter or even a few paragraphs, I recommend getting advice from friends on what they think should happen. For The Great Toon War, in which the old Cartoon Network characters and the new Cartoon Network characters go to war to prove which shows were better, I was having trouble on what to do with Finn from Adventure Time. In one chapter, he got hit with Samurai Jack’s sword and got fatally wounded. I was thinking of him getting revived by Steven Universe’s healing saliva, but after getting advice from a friend, I decided not to so it could be more dramatic. Man, I need to rework that story, someday.

And that’s all the advice I can give all of you. I won’t do anything new for a while, but on May 25th, I will review The Garfield Movie! Please let it be good.

On an unrelated note, I rewatched Wish the other day, and looking back, I feel I was too generous on the movie when it was released. Wish isn't as horrible as many people say, but's it's bit of a disappointing way to celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary with a story that feels manufactured, a protagonist that just doesn't measure up to past Disney heroines, too many Disney references, unnecessary side characters (Valentino and the Seven Teens), some misplaced songs, and an underwhelming finale compared to what has happened in the past. It also didn't help that AI was used for the film. Also, in one draft, Star was going to be a humanoid character who would've been a shapeshifter along with a love interest for Asha. He was changed to a star-shaped character not just because he'd be more marketable, but also because they were afraid that he'd be too similar to Genie and Maui.

Luckily, there have been fans all over the web who took it upon themselves to make Wish a worthy film that sits comfortably on the same shelf as the Disney Renaissance and Revival Era films.