Execution is a hard thing.

[Abnormals]

I have around 10 story ideas. Four are half-completed, two or three have finished arcs or some chapters, and the rest mostly have worldbuilding and maps but no actual chapters.


I don’t publish because I always feel there’s room for improvement. Also, I want writing to stay a hobby until I finish college; publishing would make it feel like a responsibility.


What I really want to understand is the execution side of writing:

• What elements make a story work?
• How should I structure scenes and arcs?
• How do I write strong fighting scenes?
• My style is sometimes poetic — how do I balance that with clarity?

Any advice?

 

[Bimbanana]

stop overthinking and writes.
you can do it

 

[Eldoria]

What I really want to understand is the execution side of writing:

• What elements make a story work?
• How should I structure scenes and arcs?
• How do I write strong fighting scenes?
• My style is sometimes poetic — how do I balance that with clarity?

Any advice?

Your questions are equivalent to a literary thesis. Please conduct research using case studies from well-known and memorable fiction to comprehensively answer your questions.

If you'd like a more practical answer, please complete your draft. You can request feedback on your narrative in the story feedback section of this forum.

 

[laccoff_mawning]

Hmmm. If I'm stuck, I have a few things I like to go back to think about.

Firstly, I like to think about the genre I'm writing. Different genres are entertaining for different reasons, so what's the entertainment value for your chosen genre?

I like reading and writing comedies, so my entertainment is mainly just writing jokes in novel form. So when I go to write a chapter, if it feels like it's missing something it's usually because its missing comedy, so I try thinking of some funny scene I can add to the part.

For writing scenes, I like going back to setting-buildup-resolution-ending. A resolution is the interesting part of the story, but it's the buildup that makes it interesting.

As for planning arcs, You usually have a few key events you want to include spread out in your story, right? Each arc is one big, distinct event, and the entire plan for that arc is me figuring out what I need to make that event work. For example, I need to introduce all the characters relevant to that event. I also need to somehow get the protagonist involved and prepared for it.

 

[Corty]

But it's honest work. It all lies in the execution itself. Usually I use a handax, sometimes a sword. But it makes your hand tired, but all in a day's work, am I right?

 

[CharlesEBrown]

What I really want to understand is the execution side of writing:

It generally involves large, hooded men employed by the state.

• What elements make a story work?

You honestly can never know - sometimes something just CONNECTS, and other times something (sometimes the SAME something) just falls flat (or the opposite). Take Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" - when he first released the song, crickets. Put it out again, virtually unchanged, ten or so years later, it was such a mega-hit the Royal Family of England commissioned a new version to honor Princess Dianna after her tragic death.
Sometimes the timing is what is critical, sometimes it is irrelevant.
You never know.

• How should I structure scenes and arcs?

There are literal classes in this - but it generally all boils down to "whatever flows best."
There are some guidelines for print vs. serial novel vs. webnovel, but they are very specific to format, and there are always successful exceptions, and failures that follow the guidelines slavishly. Just go for whatever flows best.

• How do I write strong fighting scenes?

There are even more classes and books and discussions on this. I have no clue. I think I've done a few decent ones, and a few that were just way too fast, and a few that dragged out. We all do. Just focus on the emotions of the combatants, as that is as important as their actions, and keep their environment, your ultimate goal with the fight, and what impact the fight has on the larger story in mind and you should do at least passably well.

• My style is sometimes poetic — how do I balance that with clarity?

You HAVE a style. Use it. Don't overuse it but rely on it. Some writers just ARE poetic - James Joyce, for example. Others are the exact opposite, like Hemmingway or Faulkner (though Faulkner could wax poetic at times), or even Heinlein. If you really feel you need a better balance, find authors who, for you, have found that balance and read as much of their work as you can, trying to get a feel for how they did it.

Any advice?

Exactly what at least one other person in this thread said: Stop overthinking or you'll never get past the "pre-rough-draft" phase, ever.