Quote:
Originally Posted by Sangetsu
Writing cliche stories is only more difficult because they've been done over and over again. Stories about social issues like homosexuality and racism have been common for the last 40 years. These stories have been written mainly to raise awareness of these issues.
If you are writing such a story, the issue should not be the main part of the story. To tell the truth, the plot of the story is generally not it's most significant part. What is important is the quality and style of writing. A good writer can make VCR instructions interesting, whereas a bad writer can make a New England fall landscape seem as lousy as an insect bite.
If this is your first real effort at writing, you should stay away from difficult or abstract topics like sexuality or style. You'll spend too much time describing things that don't really matter. The idea behind good writing is not to be too descriptive, but to inspire the imagination of the reader. Good writing leaves blanks and openings which are filled by the reader.
You should start simply. Write a story about yourself, and what you did for a single day. A poor writer will only be able to manage a few paragraphs about a trip to Disney. A good writer could write an entire book about a day during which he never left his bedroom.
Words and phrases should be chosen to inspire imagination and emotion. Some writers are very descriptive, and include every detail. This is good writing, and effective when setting the scene for the next step in a closely written story. Other writers describe very little, giving only outlines which the reader must color in with his own imagination. Of both styles, the latter is better than the former, as it increases the involvement of the reader, and is a true expression of the highly skilled writer.
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Well said. For me the plot is important, but not as important as character development and depth.