Writing Help

On the internet today there is endless suggestions and advice for writers.  How can we sort through all of the advice and find what will work for us?  I guess this seems like an ironic thing to read about right now?  How do I write an article about finding good help without sounding like the only one giving good help?  Well, it's actually quite simple - I am going to tell you that the answer is not in this article and it is not in the top 1000 you can find online.  The simple answer for this question is different for each of us.
When I think of great literature I think of classic novels that I had to read in school.  Artists like Shakespeare and Steinbeck and Hemmingway.  Did these men have difficulties with opening lines, writing dialogue that was believable, and plot?  Maybe they did.  They wrote great fiction, and when I read a novel I want to read great fiction.  It's important for you to remember as you sit down to write your science fiction fan fiction, that other writers also suffered as you suffer now.  Nobody thinks they have the book that every single person is going to love, and no author writes fiction without some block, or some struggle, or some frustration.  Shakespeare was human, he likely sat and struggled.  He likely re-wrote sections and his friends likely bugged him.  Don't be so hard on yourself, when writing fiction you have to create.  Creation is hard.
Online books are no easier.  It does not matter if you are posting something for people to read free, or to read online, or if you are getting paid per word - or even if you are just planning to write and never show anyone; the fact of the matter is that writers get blocked sometimes.  So how can you fix the problem?
If you have found more than five suggestions on how to fix the problem I can tell you right now that you are trying too hard to fix the problem.  Novels are not an easy thing to create - if it as easy, everyone would be doing it.  Now we can read online, but that content still has to be created somewhere.  We are relying on writers like you to come up with new fiction.  Don't quit, take a break and get some fresh eyes on your project.  Re-think a character if you have to.  Consider what a change to the setting could do for you.  A major change like character or setting could mean hours of re-writes, but better hours of work than leaving a work unfinished.
What about your chosen genre?  Have you been trying to hard?  Great literature is effort, but it should not be a strain.  If you are straining to keep things in place, then maybe you need to make a change.  Are you writing a thriller but you just can't keep it scary?  Why not switch the concept to a romance  fiction, or to a comedy?  Is your science fiction just too technical and driving you insane?  Write a chapter of comedy right into the middle of it.  See how you like it.  You may throw it out after, but it could keep your tone light and give you a break from the heavy work of writing.
Find what makes you happy.  Find a way to release.  Go for a walk, go to the beach, paint with your fingers, or bake some cupcakes.  There is no right answer for everyone.  But do not give up in creating fiction.  Your readers are counting on you.  Stick with it!

Believable or Not?

A good author wants the plot to be believable.  Characters should be believable.  The problem faced should also be believable.  Popular books and great literature normally follows this pattern.  Forbidden love forces young lovers to hide their relationship from their family - Romeo and Juliet.  An evil King, or a crooked politician is the story as old as time - inspiring great literature from the Three Musketeers all the way to Hemingway and Steinbeck.  These are believable characters following the problems of a believable situation.  So how do we create this for our novel?
When people read novels they want the fiction to be so close to reality that it deceives them into believing this could actually happen.  Of course, this is not always the case.  Much science fiction is simply ridiculous and could never happen - but the stories, if told well, still make this seem possible.  The age of online reading has made this possibility seem even more real, since we can add to popular books the endless barrage of fan fiction and analysis.  Since the advent of the internet, online reading has made it possible for anyone with a keyboard to become a contributor to online novels.
So do you want your novel to have a believable plot?  If you are writing a children's book the answer may be "no". You could write a long novel about a caterpillar who wants to be an elephant.  For ridiculous fiction the reality is not important.
But imagine you want to write a great romance novel.  You have to begin with characters that seems real.  They have to have believable lives and problems and the story cannot take place in a fairy land with bean stalks and giants.  Our main character needs flaws and weaknesses - like every human you have ever met.  Creating a perfect character does not mean the character will be perfect.
Of course if this is a romance novel about fairy's and giants then you can disregard the last part - but we are discussing here the illusion of reality in our fictional novel.  When someone reads our novel they want to be whisked away to a believable place that might exist; because if it does exist then that means there is the slim chance that they could live this life also.  They can find true love, or experience a real adventure.  That is on your shoulders as the author, make the story seem real.
I believe you ca do it, if millions of crazy Star Wars fans can believe the reality of something like that, then certainly you can make a story seem real if you write about what you know.  Don't include details of things that are beyond your grasp.  If you have never been to a beach, don't set your novel on the beach.  If you don't understand the laws of thermodynamics, then don't introduce any rocket scientists into your novel.  It's not impossible, with research, to include things you don't understand; but why not stick with what you know for now.  If you are a waitress, write about a waitress.  It will be real, it will be believable, and the literature world will thank you.

The Travel Dilemma

Can you imagine being stuck in 1990 and you need to jump on a plane to travel around the world having to make a decision about which book you are going to take?  Let's face it, onboard entertainment wasn't what it is today and you wanted a good novel, maybe two.  But those things are heavy and choosing just two is difficult.  What if you didn't like one?  You have to finish it, you only have two.  Or you cold shell out big bucks at an airport for another.  What a disaster.  Thank you technology!
Today we travel with a device that weighs nothing more regardless of how many books we put on it.  I prefer doing my reading from a nine inch tablet, but in a pinch I could use my phone.  Epub files are so easy and reading a novel has never been easier.
But there is a newer option also, and it's one I have been exploring a little bit out of curiosity.  Just like books have been replaced with digital files, I wonder if those won't soon pass along to web-based platforms.  I mean, I always have data now - and reading a book takes very little data.  So why not just read the book online and save myself the hassle of downloading a file?  If I don't like the book I can simply navigate away and find another.  Online reading seems to have it's perks.
It has caught on in other countries and other languages so it makes sense that soon it will be a legitimate contender in English too - online fiction.  I have not seen any classic literature posted in this format yet but I'm sure it won't be long.  For now the sites I have been using have not had popular books either; only amateur works of fiction.  But I quite enjoy finding something new.  Online books written by someone unknown is fascinating to me, I feel like a literature teacher who has found a gem in my student's homework assignment.  And other times I feel like the student needs a home tutor.  Some of them are bad, and when that happens I love the fact that I can quit and find another.  Simple!
Another big draw for me is the price.  I don't know if everyone is like this, but I love getting something for free.  Free fiction is so intriguing.  I've bought my share of books in the past, but why can't I read a book for free?  No download, no cost, no app, no heavy book to carry.  For a new author the draw is similarly intriguing.  Post a novel online and allow people to read it.  Free fiction will draw readers, and if I'm writing a book that is what I want; readers.  My last name is not Shakespeare or King.  I may never get a publishing deal - but if I post fiction online and let people read for free then maybe my book will reach an audience.  That's something pretty special.  That's something that was not available to writers twenty years ago.
And then next time I'm on a plane I won't have a tough decision to make since I will do my reading online and then the sky really is the limit.