I have 3 great ideas for books, but my inexperience is crippling. Nothing happens like it should, my plots are skeletal, ugh... Anyway, to the point, I need someone to give some advice about how to give character interactions more flow. Please?
Read more, then re-read to the point it feels like homework or studying. That's when you know you're doing it right. When you find sentences or passages that do what you wish you could do, highlight them and then hand-write them into a notebook. Then when you're feeling 'meh' about your abilities, read more and find more passages, or re-read the ones you wrote down previously. And look for specific stuff. Struggling with the flow of character interactions (not sure what that actually means, btw), look for that in well-crafted published works, and use it as a model (which is what occurs passively by copying it down). Any style or genre or themes you're looking for? I'm sure folks will have reading suggestions.
What do you mean by more flow? Do you mean make it sound more natural, or less choppy? Well, either way, it helps to imagine how interactions works in real life when you write. Do not feel so depressed. Everyone starts out inexperienced, after all. Keep writing and you will acquire the skills you need eventually.
Some advice I would give is to actually watch some good TV shows - ones that you think 'flow' particularly well. Even if you aren't writing screenplays, TV can help you write more 'cinematically' so readers can see your scenes in their minds' eye better, and while the structure of dialogue isn't exactly the same, it will help to watch 'real people' speak dialogue that's been clipped and pruned of real life um's and ahh's, so you can apply it to your own work and find out where's wrong. Also, similarly, read good books - that is, not to say what other people define as classics, but which you particularly admire or want to emulate (not imitate, by the way, just thought I'd drop that in! ). Sooner or later it will sink in, and your words will flow a bit better. Hope that helped a bit, good luck!
Inexperience is the easiest thing to fix. Just go sit down and write some more. It won't get any better if you sit around whining that you haven't written enough.
Just get writing - talk to them, write short stories about them - write a blog for them etc You get to know characters the same way you get to know people. But also allow them to get to know each other and more importantly let them tell your story for you. Characters in my experience usually know what is best for them (Except Socrates did learn to sew in the end - I won that arguement lol) - if a character is fighting for their life I usually find keeping them alive improves the story etc I had planned on keeping sexual tension between two characters alive through my novel - keeping them apart has proved useless lol - I definitely did not plan on getting teenage Alice in Wonderland and Merlin together as a partnership nor having them beat up Attilla the Hun (especially as Alice is pint size and she informs me she has died her hair pea-green to match her eyes). Also let the characters talk to each other, size each other up. Sometimes I write a little dialogue on the side. Tell them off, or maybe reward them for behaving themselves etc Don't expect too much of them in a first draft - you don't know them yet, they don't know you or each other. If you have completed the story and on reworking you can't make them sound more distinctive, then worry about it. The best thing I ever did for my characters was to rewrite my first novel without referring to the first draft very often.
First the good news. Writing is a craft and like all crafts it can be learned. Now the not so good news. Like all crafts some people have a natural aptitude, the rest of us have to practice, practice, practice. Learn the basics and stick with it.
Word! xD TV is an underrated tool for a writer. Doubt most would agree but it helped me a lot. To the OP, all I can say is write and write some more. Don't worry if the stories suck, they're still your stories. Eventually, I think you will get better at it just by writing. I did. After you write, try to get constructive and honest critique. For ME anyway, those two things have been what has evolved me as a writer. Be patient and just write. Build up relationships with these characters. Even if your writing sucks, if you have a better understanding of the story, you've made progress. You'll get there if you work at it. Read if it helps, but first and foremost, write.
