The 3 most common mistakes all writers make when writing their first stories

As you all know, I recently conducted a 5 day crash-course on creating stories. On the last day, I asked them to edit and send in their stories for it to be published on my blog, and later on I got a draft written by one of my *special* readers (if you're the special reader then read on) she sent me a rough draft she created of a story she wrote. she said she needed advice and feedback on how she could make it better. It melted my heart of she said she needed "expert" advice and came to ME, I really never thought of myself that way at all, but focusing on the main point, she sent in her story to be reviewed and i found very minimal issues that I also saw in the enrollers of my 5 day crash course. So this post summarizes it all, what's the mistake you're doing and how to rectify it!

1. Going to fast

We all feel the excitement of writing stories, but sometimes it can be evident in our stories as well. the excitement you feel makes you want to finish it faster and most of it shows in your story. You cannot write something you don't feel. The result? The story goes too fast, barely even a page long. Lets look at this example: It was Mary's birthday and she really desired to own a doll. Her dad offered to go birthday shopping with her to see what she would like to buy. Mary looked at her dad and asked him to buy the doll. Her dad agreed and Mary ran back home holding the doll in her hands. This was short because I do not think I would be able to fit a whole chapter in here, but if you look at the story, its short and a bit too direct, hence the reader finds it boring and feels that it has been written by an amateur (be on a look out for a future post on the same!) and the reader would probably let the book down as he is not that hooked to its plot. Now lets look at a different and more slower version of the story. Mary eagerly ran down the stairs, each step resulted with a loud 'THUD' from her tiny bunny slippers, her hands trailed down the handle bars as she slid down towards the door, she couldn't wait to open her presents! This is one line of how it can be, but you can already tell how se feels, what she is doing, and how the setting is. These tiny details gets the reader hooked to your story, as well as create a slower pace. 2. Characters Background Personally, this is where I struggle to. Creating a background for your character helps the reader relate more to him/her. It helps make him/her more memorable and unique. It can be as simple as her past, troublesome or horrific, or even her problems, he flaws or weaknesses. Backgrounds create a sense of comfort, as the readers know that he/she have their own personal problems that they can relate to, and makes the reader more comfortable with the character. 3. Show don't Tell One of the famous tactics used by all authors. "Show, dont tell" means expressing certain line indirectly, which gives a major feel to the story. Lets look at this example: "The sun set and the night tinged the sky" This sentence is a bit direct, it talks about the sun setting and the night coming into action. Now look at a different version of this: "The sunset filled the sky with a deep red flame, setting the clouds ablaze. The crispy winter night started invading the once chilly morning." Do you see the difference? The second version SHOWS what's happening, it doesn't blandly say the sun is setting, it helps the reader visualize what's going on, and makes the reader guess what's happening, this creates more interaction with your story, more engagement means more interesting. I hope this helped you in your story, be precise but not too much, have fun and your story will automatically turn fun too! Your feelings are reflected in your story, YOU are your story.