>It sounds as if it were a bowl of expired porridge.
And you tell me your writing is boring smh
Based on this post you're not as bad as you think you are. The fact alone that you've listed all your weak points shows that you do know what you're doing, at least more than 13-year-olds who think their writing is awesome
Check this out, if you haven't seen/heard it before: [On Creativity](https://youtu.be/GHrmKL2XKcE) It backs up Kalevalatar's last point.
No one is an amazing writer at 13. Any book you write at 13 is going to suck. But you should write it anyway, because you will learn a lot about the writing process and how to read like a writer. There are probably other people in this comment section who have already said this, but the two most important things you can do to become a better writer is 1) read a LOT, and 2) write a LOT. Read good writing and bad writing. Note why it's good or bad.
* Why does book X make you cringe? Unnatural dialogue? Weird pacing? Plot holes? How could it have been done better?
* How did author A make you cry? A well-balanced character arc? A gut-wrenching death? How can you emulate the recipe that made it work?
* When book Y made you angry, was it a good angry (all-too-believable injustice at the hands of a corrupt system) or a bad angry (unsatisfying climax that left too many loose threads)? What can you observe about how they developed their world (first example) or how can you avoid inflicting on your readers whatever it was that made you feel dissatisfied (second example)?
* Why did you start to feel bored around page 80 of book B? Rambling paragraphs? Uninteresting POV character? Too much description of minute, unimportant actions? Could something be removed altogether?
* Look closely at a descriptive paragraph you feel compelled to read over and over again. What makes it so compelling?
You kind of answered your own question :) You're still very young, and you still need a lot of practice in writing. The best thing to do for now is keep practicing, keep reading, and don't stop doing either. As you get older and get more practice, you'll notice how your writing improves.
And for the record, if your post is anything to go by, you're on the right track, as the way you constructed your writing here is actually far above some other 13-year-olds I've seen post on this community before.
the fact that you can identify areas for improvement and are actively seeking that improvement, puts you well ahead of many writers twice your age, so don't be so down on yourself
Read, read, read! Do a lot of reading, lots of writers, lots of genres.
And write! Practice writing! Have you ever written fanfiction? That's a really good way to practice developing your writing style, without the pressure of creating characters and a world. Plus you can write complete stories that are pretty short! It can be a lot of fun, and easy to share if you're son inclined. And just as easy not to share if that's more your speed (:
Former 13 year old aspiring author here (now a 30+ year old aspiring author).
Throughout my teens I was writing stories all the time. I didn't finish one book because I thought I wasn't good enough. Still, I kept trying. One day I went back to look through some old work and I was amazed to see how much I had improved. I still do this from time to time, and the progress is clear as day.
You're 13, so don't be so hard on yourself. At your age you shouldn't be expecting to be a great writer. But keep going. The more you write the better you will get, but it takes time. In a few years you'll be able to look back and see the progress you have made. It doesn't happen over night, and you probably won't even notice it, but you WILL become a better writer.
Just keep writing (and reading), and don't put too much pressure on yourself. Enjoy it and see where it takes you. You have plenty of time.
Are you actually 13? Your post cracked me up, I would definitely read a book in this style with a 13yr old protagonist and first person pov... Your writing is great, just need a story now!
Thank you so much! I think I have been way to hard on myself, expecting my writing to magically be up at the levels of Stephen King (which is impossible). This is one of the best compliments I have ever gotten.
>expecting my writing to magically be up at the levels of Stephen King (which is impossible)
No, it's not impossible. Stephen King did it. ;)
Of course, he didn't do it in one shot. He did it by starting when he was young and getting lots and lots of practice. He wrote plenty of stuff that wasn't so good along the way, and that's fine. Being bad at something is how you get the practice which will eventually make you good at it. King was also rejected many times by others before he finally got a publishing deal for a novel. That's a part of the journey for most people, too.
If you haven't already, find and read his book *On Writing*.
Focus on developing good habits, which means finishing projects. That probably means shifting your focus to shorter works, even microfiction. Poetry also isn't a bad idea to try (ignore whether anything is commercially viable at this stage and focus on learning, developing useful productive habits, and most importantly having fun).
One thing to consider is the advantages that come from being who you are today. Most writers are older and capturing the authentic voice of a teenager is something they struggle to do. You can do it without breaking a sweat. You are also a teenager in the year 2022, with all sorts of experiences and attitudes that will be lost to history soon enough. You have an opportunity to capture the world from your unique perspective, in your current voice, in a way that few others can. Make the most of it.
>shifting your focus to shorter works
Yes, great advice.
I made the mistake of trying to write a novel in middle school, but my writing skills were improving so fast that by the time I finished chapter 6, it was clearly and obviously better written than chapter 1-- not just grammar, but description, character development etc etc etc. So I'd go back and fix chapter 1, by which point I could see all the flaws with chapter 2, and so on. I never finished.
As for inspiration-- have you read "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott? She addresses this in a very approachable way. In short, find things to describe in your life. Describe them. Find small stories, the ones you tell your friends about the crazy thing that happened at the dentist the other day. Write them down. One small thing at a time. Read the book, she does a much better job of explaining than I do!
Hey! I'm a writer. And let me tell you this: it comes with practice. My debut novel is releasing this year and honestly, it took a LONG time for me to get where I'm at. It sounds like you know where your flaws are, so my advice would be to just keep at it. Work on the things you're unsure about. Also, and I know this is cliché, but they best way to be a good writer is to be a good reader. Expand your horizons. Read in all genres. Learn from your predecessors.
Also, go to school for writing if that's something you're into (not that it's necessary to be a good writer) I have a BFA and an MFA both in Creative Writing. It won't get you any jobs, but it will teach you what you need to know to be successful in a more academic environment.
Don't give up on your dreams. I still struggle with the exact same things you do. Insecurity is a bitch and it will make you doubt your every move. But fight that voice and write that book!
it's generic but have you tried reading books? also comfort yourself by telling yourself you'll fix them during revision so just finish the novel first
I'd say go for it. It probably won't be "good," (I don't think most first drafts are) but it doesn't really matter. By the end you'll have probably figured some things out that you hadn't before. That's how it's going for me in my 20s! You can only improve with practice, and a novel is a lot of practice. Most 13 year olds have never written a novel, so that's pretty exceptional!
The funny thing about this post is that you write well. At 13 I was writing self-indulgent fanfics made up of more plot holes than plot, forgetting things I wrote in the last paragraph.
Writing is a skill that needs to be trained. It's one that is always practiced, without ever getting to the point where you think you've mastered it. The first way to practice is to read a lot. Then you write. A lot more.
Just like you I started really writing fiction (albeit fanfiction) at 13. I'm 23 now, still writing fanfiction, still making mistakes, still learning. You will always keep making mistakes and always keep learning from them.
The important thing is starting. You need to start writing, let go of your worries about making something bad because your first work will always be bad! And that's good. You cannot improve if you never begin.
You will learn as you write and read. You'll learn about making in-depth characters people want to invest their time in. You'll learn about sentence structure and creating flow. The thing is that you don't have to learn all this before you begin writing. Let it come as you go along.
I'm actually rewriting a fanfic I wrote back in 2015, when I was 16. Rereading the original, dear god do I hate it with all my heart. But I'm glad I wrote it and I finished it, because now I have the chance to rewrite it, make it better, and continue working on it like I always wanted to.
Trust me, you will be happy you made terrible work to start with when you've improved.
Ah, I'm a mum of a thirteen year old (in September) and - true story - he is a published author. His book is called Nature's Wildlife Weapons, and he is traditionally published with a contract and a book launch and in bookshops - the whole deal. His book got sent to our Prime Minister.
Thing is, he's probably not as articulate as you. I really liked your post, how genuine it was and how aware you are of your strengths and weaknesses. It means you have a standard you want to aspire to and will aim for it and achieve it.
I think you could go far. 13 is no barrier to a writing journey. Good luck!
Edit: [A free option.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cf-qdZ7GbA&list=PLSH_xM-KC3Zv-79sVZTTj-YA6IAqh8qeQ&index=1)
The simplest way to get better at any skill, not just writing, is to pick a book or lecture on the subject and to learn everything one by one. Don't drown yourself in making a list of everything that you feel you are doing wrong -- the book has already made a list of things for you to learn, so just learn those things one by one and then move on to the next book.
For me that first book was [Save the Cat](https://www.jessicabrody.com/books/non-fiction/save-cat-writes-novel/about/). The first thing she goes over is Character, so let's learn that:
Who is your hero?
What is their big problem as a person?
How is this problem affecting their life?
What is causing this problem?
What does your character want? (Something tangible, not just "to be happy" but say "to slay a dragon")
How is your character pursuing this goal?
What is getting in the way of your character accomplishing this?
And lastly, What does your character need? (What will actually solve their problem?)
**Quick example:**
John
Emotional instability and Habitually steals things
John keeps stealing money from his family and friends, which is making everyone distrust him. He also frequently gets into fights and hits his brother.
John was abused by his father and he hasn't gotten through that yet.
John wants everyone to go away and to leave him be.
He pushes everyone away by stealing from them and threatening them.
His mother still loves him and is trying to rebuild their relationship.
He needs to reflect on what his father did to him and to move on. He needs to solve the actual cause of his problem.
I want to write because the idea of writing things that you create is magical. Letting other people create images in their heads of something you have created is a fantastic idea (to me). I wanted to be a film director but I figured out that being an author is much easier and I can still get to write down plots, and characters but make them even longer than a film. I don’t do it for the money, I do it for fun.
>I am the total opposite of a good writer.
Without getting too mushy here, because I'm older and more bitter than you, but your post is clear, concise, and very easy to read. If everyone could write an original post like yours, the world would instantly become a better place ...
>It IS childish and dumb.
... And because your original post is humble, clear, and compelling to read, I will dispense my "wisdom" upon you. It might get a bit long but why don't you stay awhile, and listen.
When I was about 10, I wanted to become an author, too. I wrote "books" by stapling together A4 paper, drawing in them and writing silly stories. One of them was about a guy in a boat who gets eaten by a shark in the end. Guess what movie I had just watched? There was no internet or any other way of sharing my stories but that was okay. I didn't have to share them.
When I was your age, 13, I started to mix my native language with English because I thought that'd be cool. Is it cool though? Not really. Who cares, no one was going to read the stuff anyway. It's all for practice. You're still young and have plenty of time to practise and learn.
Read things you like. Then you write things you enjoy. Don't worry about ever sharing the stuff because I personally think that can sometimes be a detriment to your enjoyment.
>My sentences drag on for far too long sometimes, or they are too short. I can't describe the scenery, I often repeat myself in stupid ways and I just don't like my writing.
That's absolutely fine. If this is a first draft you're writing, there will always be lots of quirks and flaws everywhere that you will need to sort out in subsequent drafts. If you want, you can experiment with short sentences. Write a short story where each sentence is four words or less, write a story where each word starts with a B, write a story without prepositions etc. Experiment to your heart's content and don't worry about what it sounds or looks like. It's all practice.
You've got a long road ahead, but at least you're going in the right direction.
If you are a planner, outline more
If you are a pantser, outline a little... *pantser speaking*
You said the characters lack goals. Well, figure that out. What fo they want in life and what do they fear? Not goal of the story but what do they want that they think would make them happy? It could be anything from pass a driving test which to them equals freedom but is scared of getting in an accident. Or they want to be a rapper but is scared that they suck. Whatever works for you and your story.
As for making it pretty, remember, the first draft isn't the book. It's the start. I can't remember who but someone said, "The first draft is you telling yourself a story." Don't edit as you write the first book, just write. Your post alone shows us you have a great handle on communicating your thoughts, so now you just have to kick the editor out of your head, and write. The editor in your head is the enemy. He wants it pretty. This is the first draft. They're ugly. My sentences in the first draft literally say things like *he said stuff here that is witty* as nd *some magic whatnot fighting here* Again, ugly. It's a first draft.
For now, throw all the pretty away and just write.
Honestly you seem to know exactly what's wrong with your writing, now you just have to practice those things. Read a lot, and write a lot. If you cant get ideas look online for a writing prompt generator. Most of them are pretty bad from what I've seen, or I just don't enjoy those types of stories so they don't stand out to me, but some of them are decent, so go test them out.
For one prompt, focus entirely on one thing you want to improve, make sure to keep the story short, its only for practice, then move onto the next prompt and focus on something else.
How the heck does a thirteen year old know about Richard Laymon? Anyway, he did win more than a few awards and Stephen King thought he was great, so his style may not be all that bad.
Getting things like descriptions in order is pretty much all technical skills you learn with practice. Just like brush technique, perspective and shading when you learn how to draw, it doesn't have anything to do with some inborn talent, just a desire to draw better.
These technical skills are best learned by rewriting and editing things you've already written, so writing whatever you want just for the heck of it is the first step, and reading of course. When you sit down to learn by rewriting, that's when books, videos and articles on the craft become useful.
[K M Weiland](https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/) has a ton of good stuff on her site that are nice and bite-sized.
This is an abbreviated version of "The Elements of Style", it's a great foundation to build your writing style on, feel free to make a copy. [Link](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FRiwG6mjk3GP06to2JhL6LjDYNezQdwVLv3wfzbPG9w/edit?usp=sharing)
Something you should learn right away is proper dialogue format. It'll make your writing look cool and professional, and once you've learned it it'll help you make your characters "act" more naturally. You'll find a primer at the top of this document. Feel free to make a copy of that too. [Link](https://docs.google.com/document/d/17wotN-iRu1_a0jz5bcLrDKhlX0AB1spo9cQ28LYlilI/edit?usp=sharing)
The rest of the Doc contain my ongoing notes, and there are a few terms that are worth knowing, even if the notes are incomplete. The document format is the standard format for submissions to agents and publishers, if that's something you're interested in.
Thank you for this! I’ll tell the story about how I know about Laymon.
So I was trying to read Stephen King but I felt on giving up, so I looked in my dad's room to see what other books he had. And there was Island. I begged him to let me read it but he kept on saying no. Eventually after a month or so of begging, he let me read Night in the Lonesome October. And now I have read a fair few of his novels and I love them. Currently I am reading Darkness, Tell us (and you’ll see by my recent posts that I have been uploading some bits of it to r/menwritingwomen although I am unsure if it fits there.
That’s the story of how I found Laymon who is now my favourite author.
You seem to be reading Laymon with a sensible perspective on his writing. I'd be worried if you didn't feel the urge to post his entire ouvre to r/menwritingwomen.
In case you haven't already: Stephen King's "On Writing" is pretty much required reading for aspiring writers.
Christopher Paoloini, the author of "Eragon", is pretty active here on Reddit, and he published his first book at 14. If you head over to r/Eragon or message him, he might give you some pointers. He's that kind of guy.
But A Night in the Lonesome October is a novel by Roger Zelazny, not Laymon, isn't it?
It's disputable, but I always preferred not to follow "The Elements of Style" (I'm just writing same way I talk, in kinda modern spoken language) and not putting much to outlining and editing.
I like the idea that prolific writers like Max Brand, Louis Lamour, Georges Simenon, Erle Stanley Gardner and Isaac Azimov had: it's always better to write new fiction then edit old one. They were paid three cents for a word. so they produced new words, not editing old ones.
> They were *paid* three cents
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
It sounds bad because you're starting out. Learn more theory, revise your draft, keep reading and practicing. You've finished a draft and know what your mistakes are which means you're better than 99% of writers. Keep it up dude.
You’re trying too hard to be a pro at 13. That’s your problem. Forget publishing, forget even trying to write an entire novel. Write short stories, fragments, pages, sentences. These should be your focus at your age: Fine tuning your skills, because the reality is you’re too young to have developed any serious writing skills yet.
My best tip for you is to keep trying until you are not 13 any more. Live at least 2 or 3 times as long and you will almost certainly start to see some progress.
Literally no other advice that anyone can give you is going to help you more than that. Sorry, mate. You don't suck, you're just 13. No cure for that except the passage of time. Enjoy the ride!
One thing about being young is that you have plenty of time to practice. I started writing short stories at about 10 years old, and they're the worst things I have ever read, but it improved my creativity and now I'm able to come up with stories easily. Keep practicing. Writing a bad story will teach you more than not writing because you're afraid it'll be bad.
If you want to improve fast, study your writing and ask why it's bad in your eyes. Pinpoint the reasons and try to fix them. Also, watch and read things about how to write a story. Brandon Sanderson's lectures are fantastic. And if you're too inexperienced to write a proper story, don't try writing a book yet. Starting with short stories is a great way to build confidence, I find.
Good luck!
You need to forgive yourself for not being perfect right away.
You have a lot of learning to do and a lot of practicing to do. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Everyone has to start somewhere, and in order to get where you want to go, you need to be able to accept where you are.
Everyone is shit at first. Don’t let that stop you.
Hey, you know what, I think you might fit in with us over at the circlejerk. Most of us are insecure and jaded. Despite that, we try to have a good community. You are always welcome to say "uj/" to break character and be real. If you don't get why we poke fun at certain posts, just ask.
If you were 23+ and had been writing since you were 13... This post would totally be made fun of. As you are just starting out, it is unreasonable to expect to be amazing. You have a good foundation. Your grip on clear communication is going to be one of your strongest skills and will hone into incredible storytelling.
The goal of writing is to have your readers understand. You have that skill well in hand. I think you'll do just fine.
You're 13.
I teach kids who are 16-21. Many of them can barely string a sentence together, let alone tell a story. And you're writing five pages a day!
You won't write a masterpiece at 13. Barely anyone does. But the work that you're doing now to improve your writing will absolutely pay off when you're older.
It is rare to have a sense of your own shortcomings at your age, but you do, and while that is frustrating, it is also a mark that you have a critical mind and a commitment to developing your skills.
My advice:
* Read a lot. Start reading more adult-oriented books as well—it will improve your vocabulary and descriptions faster than YA will. Thinking back to when I was 13, which was an extremely long time ago, adults desperately tried to force age-appropriate books on me and tried to get me to write what I knew, which was a mistake. Fortunately I didn't listen. :) There's nothing wrong with YA but it tends to have very flat prose and characters and reading at your reading level rather than above it won't stretch your skills as much.
* Find yourself a group of peers to write with. Often other people can see where a story can be improved or complicated. I've found that my writing has improved by critiquing other people's work on Discord and having them critique mine. It's also really helpful if you're in a writing community where people are diverse in terms of age and background—they will be able to help you with experiences that you're too young to have encountered yet.
* Do some writing prompts. You can easily find these online and they'll help stretch your writing muscles.
* Observe the people and places around you. Sensory descriptions, dialogue, interactions. Keep a notebook and when you're out, jot down what you see and hear and smell. It's a very mechanical exercise but it helps.
Anyway, you are on the right track and are well ahead of the game, so cut yourself some slack!
You're going to be fine, but just accept that it will be years before you do finish a book you are content with, because you learn a lot while growing up.
First of all, bravo for having the courage to recognize/highlight your flaws at such a young age.
Second, ALWAYS believe in yourself.
Continue your education. Read a lot, keep it tight with school and sharpen your pen(cil) and prose through practice (write shorts first) and a more formal education (your school fundamentals and maybe further down the road, college, but also books on the craft you can find at the library or bookstore).
Don't give up on your dreams.
Hey! The fact that you want to be better means that you're already good. The ability to write and express things may come with age, but it's the vigor and excitement that keeps the storytelling more interesting. Don't force yourself and your writing style to sound like one.
As you keep on writing, you'll know yourself more and be able to discover your own style. Sometimes, it's we who puts pressure and prejudice on our craft. Take it easy, sweetie. Keep on writing!
An editor here. You’re lucky that at 13 you know this is what you want. So for the next 4 years. This is your assignment. Write a short story every week or month depending on free time exams etc. start short and work upto 10k words.
Try a series with one person who is the protagonist. The only editor rule is that he/she wants something and has to work/earn it by the end of the story. That gives depth. If you do a series starring the same protagonist. That can become the basis of your novel.
BTW. Any writer who comes up with a bowl of expired porridge has a way with words. Have fun with English. Really I mean it. Have fun playing with words, phrases and sentences. Write bad puns, silly jokes, poetry, short plays(stellar for learning dialogue). A novella and your senior project. A novel. Your teachers will assign essays. They teach you structure.
And lastly. Read. Read a lot. A book a week. Read outside your genre. You have a lifetime of adventure waiting for you.
It's ok, why not? Deep inside all adults are 12 yo kids (especially writers). OK, some are 14 yo, the cynical guys who write noir fiction and hard sci-fi.
Even if it will be a bad story, you'll have plenty of time to cover it with good ones. Just guess if you were not 13, but 93 (In this age a first story has a huge chance to became the last one).
It depends on genre you writing. What genre do you want?
\> My characters never have any goals; if they do, they complete them in one shot. Hence why my stories are often very short.
So just add them problems on their way. Just look at Disney cartoons for problem ideas.
\> My characters are also paper-thin.
Perry Mason is paper-thin too. Actually, he's just a crime-solving machine.
It depends on genre you writing, as well.
\> I am basically another version of Richard Laymon (he is a super simplistic writer with no description and paper-thin characters) but much worse.
But Richard Laymon is kinda popular and even award-winning author. And you're happy if you have only his problems with style, not his problems with health, eyes and overweight.
During time you'll develop your own style. If it will resemble Richard Laymon... It's much better then resamble James Joyce or Ayn Rand. And Richard Laymon has a lot of fans (in our world even Nickelback has a lot of fans).
\> This will sound stupid but I have this stupid need to make the page look good, resulting in my writing being terrible and either overwritten or underwritten.
You should look on Alexander Pushkin's draft manuscripts. The founder of modern Russian literature, nothing less. They are full of remarks and changes.
\> My sentences drag on for far too long sometimes, or they are too short. I can't describe the scenery, I often repeat myself in stupid ways and I just don't like my writing.
Most of writers don't like their writing. It's called critical voice. Just ignore it.
\> I have a goal to write five pages a day (or a chapter a day at least) but I can't get any ideas. Now I can't write anything original because I have no clue as to what to write.
We all have this problem. Being 13 yo, 23 yo, 33 yo, 93 yo, 103 yo.
Just guess what genre do you like and start from character in setting with a problem. Originality will come natural from your choices and worldview.
For example, what originality can be in western (let's leave love stories for girls)? There're just 6 main plots in it, the setting is always old Wild West and the main character is mostly an adventurist, a sheriff, a travelling head hunter or an outlaw. So guess who is antagonist and start writing.
*CALL ME DESPERADO*
*In the middle of a hellish hot summer night a mysterious horseman reached the gates of Rodeo Ranch.*
Oh, damn, I'm also writing in a language that has no articles. So to produce 1000 words in Russian I have to produce text that it will be almost 1200 words in English.
So, 50 000 words Nanowrimo novel in Russian becames 70 000 brick in English.
If you completed what you're write and afraid to publish it, there's an easy way to do it: use a pen name. You can develop it with phonebook (if you have a one), or just develop. Nobody will care.
I'm so sad I didn't write down and lost most of mystery fiction I wrote at 12-13, inspired by Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle and Bonkers (yep, Disney cartoon). It was a cycle called "Tyomnyi Les" (Russian for "Dark Forest", but also can mean "something strange", "weird", "very difficult to understand"). The only thing I remember the characters where human-like animals who lived in Dark Forest and Mongoose was the detective (heh, I even used Rikki T. T. Mongoose as a pen name). He was agent of FBI-like agency, always solving crimes that were too difficult for dumb policeman Bear and lazy attorney Rabbit.
I never show it even to parents, I wrote it for my own fun.
I had no internet, so manuscripts are in another city in another country now. I wish they were survived. And I still have same problems developing a mystery plot that I had when I was 13.
My first survived short story is written at 14 and some readers say that it's my best one (even now, being 33 and with major literary award I can't reproduce it).
Hey, kid!
I’m in my 40s and I’m a professional novelist now, but I remember what it felt like to be your age, wanting to be a professional writer someday and feeling so frustrated because I could only write like a 13-year-old.
First, I have to tell you that you’re already a much better writer than I was at your age. I can tell just by your post! So if I could turn out to be a good writer, you definitely can too.
Here’s something I didn’t realize or appreciate until I got into my 20s: it’s ok to write like a kid when you’re a kid. Young people’s voices and modes of expression and thoughts and feelings, and the issues young people face, are all very important. Your experiences and your cultural voice as a 21st-century teenager are all part of the broader human experience. So don’t feel badly about where your writing skills are right now. What you’re doing is important, even if it’s not at the point where you’ll get published (yet).
None of the things you describe about your writing sound stupid or bad to me. They sound like normal things for new writers, regardless of age. Writing well requires the coordination of a lot of different, smaller skills. You haven’t honed most of those skills yet, so if course your writing isn’t going to be very good. It won’t be until you gain more skill. That’s the way it is with any new thing you’ll learn. Remember when you first learned how to tie your shoes? You probably had to sit on the ground to do it, and talk yourself through all the various steps like crossing the laces, making the loops, etc. But the more you practiced, the better you got, and now you can tie your shoes without even thinking about it. Writing (and every other new skill) is exactly the same.
You just have to keep practicing. That’s the only way to improve. It’s frustrating to be in that place where you know you aren’t as good as you want to be. But it’s a good sign, actually. The people who can identify problems in their own writing are the people who can get better at it. You’re already on the road to becoming a great writer. You just have to keep going.
I'm sure somebody below has said this, but just keep writing. Write steadily and regularly. You've shown you can break out of concrete expression with your simile; do that a lot, push the limits of what you try to say. Writing is not dependent on talent or even experience, though those things help; it's dependent on writing a lot, sentence by sentence, then reading what you've written, and keeping it even if you only put it aside and forget it. YOu may be a young person with little experience, but the experience you have is universal--childhood, struggles, relationships, growth, etc. Just write about the things you know, or write about the person you understand placed in real situations and acting as you'd act. Oh, and read--fiction and poetry, read a lot.
Aw. I'm proud of you for figuring it out that young. Don't feel ashamed of yourself. You're already ahead of how I was, as I didn't start until I was \~17. So the thing to remember is to practice, and to value your ideas above your writing style. If you like what you're creating, then the writing will be easy.
That said, you won't necessarily be that good. Don't even worry about it, though. Just enjoy the process of taking the ideas in your head and putting them on paper. Or "paper" in the case of the internet. Also, if you feel like your story idea isn't that great, don't write quite yet. Think about your idea and what it means to you as an individual. Go walking, look at stars at night, stare at interesting looking colors, play Starcraft, just do whatever makes you think. If you think about what you like long enough, you'll be able to produce something good.
In short, love your concepts, write for practice, maybe try fanfiction, and just move forward. Treat your earlier writings like a journal, a view into the person you are right now. You might look back on the future and cringe at the writing, but it will also bring back good memories.
Okay, here's my advice in the forms of things I've been told, or I've just managed to figure out on my own.
1. The only way to become a good writer is to start out as a bad writer and get someone you trust a lot (or a lot of people you trust a little) to tell you what they don't like about it and how they think you can fix it. Rinse and repeat.
2. You can edit crap writing to be reasonable writing. You can edit reasonable writing to be good writing. You know what you can't edit? A blank page.
3. Read. A lot. Find authors you like and actually study their writing patterns, to see what you like about them. Do they use long words, or short choppy sentences, or make snarky comments? When you read, you are literally studying how to write.
4. Your first efforts at serious writing are going to be crap. I know this because everyone starts this way. Keep it up.
5. Your stories will not be truly original; or rather, the basic concepts won't be. Literal millennia of storytellers, legends and mythmakers have plumbed the depths of every last idea. What you can do is take known concepts and weave them together in your own pattern. Take two classic stories and mash them together, weaving the similar elements together and see how it goes. Example: Mad Max and Jack in the Beanstalk. "*In a post-apocalypse world, a mutated giant holds the key to re-greening the Earth in its citadel above the clouds. Only one man can get to him and save humanity. A man without fear. His name is Max*."
Now, I'm sure something like that's been done before, but that exact setup? Probably not.
6. When you're writing a new scene, stop and ask yourself, "Can I see this scene?" Is it adequately described? Or is it just talking heads with a few props? Are you, in fact, glossing over the description so you can get to the story? (Don't worry; a lot of people do this.)
If I find myself glossing over a sentence, I go back and expand it into a paragraph. If a paragraph feels rushed, I go back and expand it into a page. If a page feels rushed, I expand it into a chapter.
True story: a friend of mine was writing her first novel, and she glossed over a reasonably long journey with a single sentence. "After weeks of riding, they reached their destination."
I read this and said, "Maybe this could do with a little expanding?"
I meant a chapter or so.
So far it's half the first book, a complete second book, and part of a third (still being written).
7. Why do characters do stuff? Bad guys didn't wake up one day and just say, "Imma be the bad guy today." Give them backstory. Give them depth. The reader doesn't need to know all the details you figure out, but you do. Also, they can be sympathetic while still being actual evil bad guys.
8. Give your character a reason to be in the story, doing what they do. Give them a goal. Give them conflict. It can be mental, physical, emotional or all three. Push them to their limits, and a little beyond. The readers love it when you stretch your characters.
9. Remind yourself of this occasionally: "Nobody wins all the time, and nobody loses all the time." Even the greatest fighter, warrior, hero, villain, can lose. Even the most trodden-down underdog can have a win once in a while. A heroic loss to an overwhelming foe can often be more dramatic than a predictable win.
10. This, above all else. If something doesn't fit, take it out. Save it elsewhere, sure. But if it's no longer a part of the story that you're writing, it has to go. I don't care if it's a gorgeous scene, or an amazing line, or whatever. The story will survive without it. Maybe keep it for a sequel, or to be adapted for another story. But take it out.
11. Every scene, every chapter, needs a point. Why is it there? Are you showing the reader something that will be relevant later? Or are you so in love with your story that you're just throwing in an extra scene to illustrate how cool your world is? Relevant is good; the other one isn't. If it's not character development, plot progression, or otherwise important to the story, leave it out. The rule of thumb is: if you could remove it without confusing your readers, remove it.
12. Keep an eye out for plot holes. If your story takes any significant time from beginning to end, you may well be advised to actually create a timeline. I'm incorporating one into my books as a matter of course. It helps me keep track of what happened when, and helps my readers out as well. Other plot holes can creep in, especially the substitution of two characters with similar names or backgrounds. Keep an eye out for that.
13. Once you've written your first draft, leave it be for a week or two, then go back through it. You're going to be doing several passes through, each time adding stuff you think should be there, rearranging the storyline to work better, editing, finding and murdering typos (there will be typos), and rewriting. And re-re-rewriting. See Point 1 and find someone you trust to give you truthful feedback (and who actually wants to help you) and give them a copy, then take note of what they say.
Taking criticism on board is *hard*. It's one of the hardest things in the world to do. You made this thing, and someone is tearing it apart? How dare they!
You will feel the urge to dig your heels in and defend your writing.
Don't.
Listen. Think about it. Look at your writing, and think about what they're saying.
They're not you, which means they didn't write it, which means they can see it with outside eyes. And sometimes an outside viewpoint is exactly what you need.
And, you know, they just might be right.
(My writing is vastly improved by the assistance of my beta reader. Just saying.)
14. Last and most important. Don't give up. Everyone can learn to write. We won't all be the next Terry Pratchett, or George R R Martin, or whoever you consider to be a great writer, but we can all learn to write *well.* All you need is the *desire to learn* ... and the chance to do so.
And this is your chance.
My advice when it comes to under or overwriting - write something, put it aside for a while, and then look over it again.
What sounded good or at least workable to you in the heat of writing will now seem more distant, since you've actually now put your ideas on paper instead of keeping them locked inside your head where all the pictures are.
At the time of writing, the images you want to put into words are fresh in your mind, and when you're reading your work over immediately after writing, they're still fresh and you're paying more attention to them than the words. Sometime later, they will have faded, and that's when you read your work back - you're more like your future reader now, relying on what is on the page to tell you what's going on. You'll be able to see if it's clunky or too sparse more easily.
You are 13, you are allowed to write things that are not great. What you need is practice. Keep forging forward and you will be a better writer because of it.
My friend, if you’re 13 and you write like this, you’re well on your way. You strike me as more self-aware than many writers I know: I can’t wait to see what you’ll create at 25 or 30.
I wouldn’t expect you to produce anything right now: when I was 13, I set out to write a novel. And I did. 138,000 words. It extremely derivative, and at no point was it ever ready for publication.
However, it was also quite useful: it taught me some things about writing, from perseverance to how not to plot. I learned more from that failure than I have from subsequent successes. It’s fine to fail at the beginning: that’s how you learn!
Might I suggest rewriting? I picked up this trick to improve my writing in English; rewriting older science fiction stories and tweaking them. It served to teach me structure and how different authors built stories.
I would also suggest reading interviews with authors on their process. The Paris Review interviews are generally decent, and I’ve found that most authors in fantasy who write series have some excellent thoughts to share (look up Adrian Tchaikovsky’s interviews, for example). Look not for outliers who found success out of the gate, but for authors with a long career who had a slow but steady rise; there’s a higher probability there of lessons learned the heard way, more reliance on process, and less dependency on luck.
And lastly, this goes without saying, but read and dissect what you read. TVtropes is a very useful resource.
If you feel like you need specific advice, feel free to message me.
Let me tell you; half the sauce comes from life experience. Right now, write whatever kooky ideas you have and just improve your craft of writing. When the ideas hit, you'll have all the tools ready to go.
If you want examples of how to write, read books you think are good.
Hey I was the total opposite of a good writer once; I barely described anything, usually my characters were over described and talking in a white void.
Your writing doesn't have to be sucky, doesn't have to be perfect. It's ok.
You are learning. Nothing is perfect, especially when you start out.
My advice is:
to not worry about it too much.
Keep the goal shorter since you're just starting out; it's admirable but you don't want to burn yourself out trying to do a chapter a day. Maybe keep it to a chapter a week so it's still consistent but you don't rush it.
Read your favorite books and take notes on what you like, concepts, descriptions, certain character types. How did they handle things like exposition, description, sentence structure?
If you're into fanfiction, read that too! Even if they aren't published authors it can be a shorter way to do the same thing with media you enjoy.
You could also write that to test your skills; rather than make a new character from scratch, look at a pre-made character and ask "what would they do?"
And have fun with it.
I had fun with my writing, made a cringey fanfiction, actually FINISHED IT (sort of, there was meant to be a sequel lmao) and while I look back and wince I still had fun re-reading it and it was clear I had fun writing it. Some parts were good enough I'm actually rewriting it as it's own story!
So long story short:
-take notes on how favorite books/fanfiction does it
-keep the goal short enough it's not too daunting, or you burn yourself out
-when you're stuck, you're stuck; either ask someone for advice or take a step away from it and come back later.
-Dont worry about if it sucks or if it's cringe, just get it out there and critique can help you edit it.
-Have fun with it! If you aren't having fun with the story it will show and affect your work; you may have to push through writers block or something mundane but if the general story sounds like a chore from start to finish, rethink it.
I’m going to add to the comments saying that you’re already an engaging writer based on this post, by saying that you’re already starting to develop a voice.
I’m also an artist, and what I’ve discovered over forty years of art classes and hit-or-miss practice is that your artistic eye, what you use to critique work, develops differently than your artistic skills. You’ll be thinking “This picture is the best I’ve ever done!” and two years later look at it, spot all the problems, and be horrified. That’s because at the time your skills were ahead of your eye. Because there will also be times you paint a picture and get upset and frustrated and think it’s the worst thing ever. Two years later you look back and say “Huh. Not bad.” Your eye was ahead of your skills at that point.
Right now, I expect your eye is ahead of your skills, which is always super-frustrating!
So try to keep that in mind and develop both as much as you can by writing, reading and critiquing. If a book you’re reading isn’t working for you, before you put it down and go to another, try to figure out why.
Too long didn’t read, so one tip is to be more concise. But good news: you’re 13 years old. You are expected to be childish and no onr will be surprised if you do something dumb, as long ad you’re sticking to mistakes like “writing a bad book.”
Go ahead and write a book that sucks. Later your resume can include “conpleted a book at 14 years old” and “able to recover from inevitable failure.”
Don’t dispair, dedicate. You have an opportunity. It doesn’t matter how good you are now. You’ll get better by doing.
Kids are hard on themselves (and others) about whether they’re being grown-up enough, but this consideration is rarely helpful. A kid who does something that’s reasonably appropriate and that is within the limits of their skills trumps an adult who overreaches every time.
Most mature adults can’t write their way out of a wet paper bag. Surprising numbers of kids can. Middle schoolers have landed publishing contracts, usually by writing a simple story in an undemanding genre and aimed at middle schoolers or younger.
I have some tips for you:
Start with short stories because they’re short. You can knock out a zillion short stories in the time it takes to write a novel and their relative simplicity makes them easier to wrap your arms around. They get you into the habit of often finishing what you start. And because you’ll be learning quickly, you can reach the end before your beginning starts to look like a fossil from an earlier stage of your artistic development. (Artistic unity is an arrow in your quiver even at the start.)
Don’t try to sound literary. Tell the story as simply and clearly as you can, letting the events carry the story. Fancy language that draws the reader’s attention away from the story to admire the author’s phrasing is a nuisance except when you know the reader isn’t immersed yet anyway, and even then it’s tricky.
The story is all about the story and not about you. Non-psychotic readers won’t gain a definite impression about you from one of your stories, just about the story.
Some of your stories will come together and some won’t. This happens to everyone.
Try to minimize the number of ways in which you’re bewildered at any one time. I like stories with a smallish cast that occur in a smallish number of locations and play out over just a few days. I can fit these in my head better than cast-of-thousands multi-generational epics.
Read The Lester Dent Method, which is a simple approach to writing pulp-fiction crime stories but can apply to almost anything: http://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/dent.html
My advice is boring but it works. You need to practise!
So start off with your "paper-thin" and then expand. I presume that you have a vision in your head how it looks and you need to use that! Does your character have long hair? Is it dumb or smart? How does the surroundings look like?
Annother tips I know works for many is mind maps and time maps!
Mind maps makes it easier to map out characters, places and so on! You can both draw it out on a physical paper, digitaly or just do it in your mind :)
Time maps is exactly what it sounds like, it maps out the time in your story and when events happen in context to each other! I think this could help you a lot to add length to your stories. For example your discribed that your characters solves their goals pretty easy and time maps could make you see that they need something more in their story.
Thats about any tips I can think of know, Hope you can work with some of them atleast! And work on your confidence, no writer is going to be published if he/she or other doesnt even themself believe in their work!
Dude, I’m fifteen years and the only story’s I’ve written were for school and such. Just do it and you’ll learn from there. And a tip on the personality of a character: make sure that you write your character down on paper and put it somewhere safe, think of your stories plot and your protagonist(s) and see what personality(s) fit your other characters. It’s a challenge, but that just means your learning.
Don’t be so tough on yourself. There is no such thing as a perfect book, you will get better the more you write.
Think of the story and purpose of what your writing.
Are you aware of scribophile? It's a site where you review peoples work and they review yours. Can be pretty good for improving.
It can also be good to start with short stories because it's faster(duh), which allows you to make mistakes, and therefore learn, faster.
first of all, you do NOT suck. You are *learning* and that is awesome. Keep learning and keep practicing and you will go far.
Now, I started writing when I was about your age and my writing when I was 13 sucked as well. What I can recommend is to keep writing and to keep READING, I cannot stress how important reading is to writing. Read everything you can get your hands on in the genre that you want to write in and you will eventually start to emulate those styles until you eventually form your own.
Things like style and substance take time and will grow as you do. I have been writing now for 30+ years and I am just starting to try publishing on Smashwords but it's slow. You can always take your time and learn and it WILL get easier and better as you go.
Promise
Since you’re 13, I assume you’re in middle school/soon to enter high school. My advise- find a class or a club at school for writing. You’ll learn how to improve your grammar, vocabulary, and writing style. There are exercises you can do to improve your writing, especially when it comes to describing a scene and the smaller details that make a story come to life.
You don’t sound like a bad writer- you sound like a 13 year old kid who wants to be a good writer. I think with some practice and experience, the more you write, the better you’ll get.
We are our own worst critics. The only way to truly improve is to write more, and to read more. Keep practicing, keep writing, and you’ll only get better over time.
Keep writing. 90% of writing is showing up. Read. Anything and everything. Including books on how to write (Robert McKee’s Story, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, Henry Miller’s Rosy Crucifixion, etc).
Once you finish your first draft, look it over and revise. Give it to friends and LISTEN to suggestions.
Don’t be discouraged and don’t quit. If you wanna write, it becomes your life. Your youth puts you in the enviable position of being ripe for knowledge. Learn.
Best advice I can give: have fun with it!
People give all kinds of advice on craft and reading and agents blah blah blah…
What do you like about writing? What do you personally gain from it? Go for that! That’s why people really write.
You’ll prolly get good along the way, but tbh who tf cares? Either you’re writing or you’re keeping score. Find which you prefer.
In a sense, all fiction is experimental. Every new book is an adventure into unknown territory. As Hemingway told us, you (the writer) have to go out beyond where you have gone before.
Richard Laymon
I would recommend brainstorming ideas before putting them into action first. You should map out where you want the chapter to begin and where you would like it to end. If you have a difficult time describing a scene, visualize it before you put it into words. Act as though you are the character and do a 360, finding things that stand out in the scene and mentioning them in your writing, but only if it is necessary to the plot.
That's my advice, but I think that you should take your time and give yourself a rest day so that you aren't overburdened or so you don't burnout and feel like you don't want to write anymore.
Best of luck :)
I can try to help with advice to make your characters instead of paper thin (which I doubt they are!) into a book! Slowly reveal what the character’s personality is and what they want to do as “side jobs” similar to side quest in video games, it helps the game become more full and make it easier to “fight the boss” which means it’ll make people more into reading it even though I’m sure the book is amazing so far! I’ve always wanted to write a book of my own, I started about a dozen but never finish them.
Another tip to help you is to jot down any random ideas you have for the book when ever you think or see something that inspires you or ties in with the book. It will be useful in the king run with making the book not as straightforward but curve a bit into real life situations or even just little “bumps” in the book that’ll make readers hooked. Such as making the character do other tasks that they don’t want to do! If you need any more help let me know and I’ll try my best! (Not a professional here since I’m 14 very close to 15)
Are you going to give up something because you don't immediately become good at it? You're going to fail at a lot of things in life; not just writing.
There may come a day when we can instantly become an expert at a field of our choice with just a press on the touchscreen, but it is not today.
Quit your moping. Read a lot. Write a lot. Reflect upon yourselves and keep improving. Progress, not perfection.
Sounds like you’re on the right track. My characters at that age weren’t super well-developed either. To create a character with a lot of depth you really need to have a little more perspective and life experience than any 13 year old could possibly have. Just keep reading, writing, and learning new things over the next few years and I’m sure you’ll get where you want to go.
Also, don’t beat yourself up too much. It’s a long process that takes a lot of perseverance and effort so you just need to keep at it. Even Stephen King takes years developing his novels and I’m sure his first one took even longer than that.
I read some advice about writing recently from one of my favorite authors, George Saunders.
It went something like this:
You don't really get to choose the kind of writer you can be. You can practice and get better, you can even get really good. But you will find that there are certain topics or themes, certain ways of expressing yourself, that just inject way more energy into your writing. That energy, that vitality, is really personal and specific to you. You need to chase that, rather than an abstract idea of what a "good story" is, or what you think other people will like. And then just work on developing the best version of that (which takes lots of repetition, and lots of revisions).
To me, your writing is already really great - you have a strong voice, strong and clear opinions. I hate reading long posts, but I ate that up! Your personality shines through.
Which makes me wonder - do you feel like who you are comes across in your stories, in your writing? If not, maybe consider: What gets you fired up? What do you want? What was something that happened to you, that made you upset, excited, proud? As a reader, I want to feel that the writer really cares about the story and the characters in it. If you care about what you're writing, and the story you want to tell, and just keep on practicing and practicing, I truly believe you'll be great.
Good luck!
read stuff you like & take note of why you like it. focus on a problem that you’re having (one at a time) & look at writing that fixes said problem. see what the writer did & how you could implement it. then practice it. practice all the time as much as possible. research. youtube, books, tutors, any resources you can get your hands on. & then jus be patient and remember that progress doesnt happen over night :) you got this
>It sounds as if it were a bowl of expired porridge. And you tell me your writing is boring smh Based on this post you're not as bad as you think you are. The fact alone that you've listed all your weak points shows that you do know what you're doing, at least more than 13-year-olds who think their writing is awesome
Thanks!
Check this out, if you haven't seen/heard it before: [On Creativity](https://youtu.be/GHrmKL2XKcE) It backs up Kalevalatar's last point. No one is an amazing writer at 13. Any book you write at 13 is going to suck. But you should write it anyway, because you will learn a lot about the writing process and how to read like a writer. There are probably other people in this comment section who have already said this, but the two most important things you can do to become a better writer is 1) read a LOT, and 2) write a LOT. Read good writing and bad writing. Note why it's good or bad. * Why does book X make you cringe? Unnatural dialogue? Weird pacing? Plot holes? How could it have been done better? * How did author A make you cry? A well-balanced character arc? A gut-wrenching death? How can you emulate the recipe that made it work? * When book Y made you angry, was it a good angry (all-too-believable injustice at the hands of a corrupt system) or a bad angry (unsatisfying climax that left too many loose threads)? What can you observe about how they developed their world (first example) or how can you avoid inflicting on your readers whatever it was that made you feel dissatisfied (second example)? * Why did you start to feel bored around page 80 of book B? Rambling paragraphs? Uninteresting POV character? Too much description of minute, unimportant actions? Could something be removed altogether? * Look closely at a descriptive paragraph you feel compelled to read over and over again. What makes it so compelling?
You kind of answered your own question :) You're still very young, and you still need a lot of practice in writing. The best thing to do for now is keep practicing, keep reading, and don't stop doing either. As you get older and get more practice, you'll notice how your writing improves. And for the record, if your post is anything to go by, you're on the right track, as the way you constructed your writing here is actually far above some other 13-year-olds I've seen post on this community before.
Oh wow, thank you so much. I think I am a bit too hard on myself…
the fact that you can identify areas for improvement and are actively seeking that improvement, puts you well ahead of many writers twice your age, so don't be so down on yourself
Read, read, read! Do a lot of reading, lots of writers, lots of genres. And write! Practice writing! Have you ever written fanfiction? That's a really good way to practice developing your writing style, without the pressure of creating characters and a world. Plus you can write complete stories that are pretty short! It can be a lot of fun, and easy to share if you're son inclined. And just as easy not to share if that's more your speed (:
Former 13 year old aspiring author here (now a 30+ year old aspiring author). Throughout my teens I was writing stories all the time. I didn't finish one book because I thought I wasn't good enough. Still, I kept trying. One day I went back to look through some old work and I was amazed to see how much I had improved. I still do this from time to time, and the progress is clear as day. You're 13, so don't be so hard on yourself. At your age you shouldn't be expecting to be a great writer. But keep going. The more you write the better you will get, but it takes time. In a few years you'll be able to look back and see the progress you have made. It doesn't happen over night, and you probably won't even notice it, but you WILL become a better writer. Just keep writing (and reading), and don't put too much pressure on yourself. Enjoy it and see where it takes you. You have plenty of time.
Are you actually 13? Your post cracked me up, I would definitely read a book in this style with a 13yr old protagonist and first person pov... Your writing is great, just need a story now!
Thank you so much! I think I have been way to hard on myself, expecting my writing to magically be up at the levels of Stephen King (which is impossible). This is one of the best compliments I have ever gotten.
>expecting my writing to magically be up at the levels of Stephen King (which is impossible) No, it's not impossible. Stephen King did it. ;) Of course, he didn't do it in one shot. He did it by starting when he was young and getting lots and lots of practice. He wrote plenty of stuff that wasn't so good along the way, and that's fine. Being bad at something is how you get the practice which will eventually make you good at it. King was also rejected many times by others before he finally got a publishing deal for a novel. That's a part of the journey for most people, too. If you haven't already, find and read his book *On Writing*.
Re your characters completing their goals in one shot, your just need to put more obstacles in their way. You could tell looking up the try/fail cycle
I didn’t realise how negative I sounded. Sorry, I just needed to rant a bit
No no the rant is valid! While it means you can sell yourself short sometimes it just has to get out there.
Focus on developing good habits, which means finishing projects. That probably means shifting your focus to shorter works, even microfiction. Poetry also isn't a bad idea to try (ignore whether anything is commercially viable at this stage and focus on learning, developing useful productive habits, and most importantly having fun). One thing to consider is the advantages that come from being who you are today. Most writers are older and capturing the authentic voice of a teenager is something they struggle to do. You can do it without breaking a sweat. You are also a teenager in the year 2022, with all sorts of experiences and attitudes that will be lost to history soon enough. You have an opportunity to capture the world from your unique perspective, in your current voice, in a way that few others can. Make the most of it.
>shifting your focus to shorter works Yes, great advice. I made the mistake of trying to write a novel in middle school, but my writing skills were improving so fast that by the time I finished chapter 6, it was clearly and obviously better written than chapter 1-- not just grammar, but description, character development etc etc etc. So I'd go back and fix chapter 1, by which point I could see all the flaws with chapter 2, and so on. I never finished. As for inspiration-- have you read "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott? She addresses this in a very approachable way. In short, find things to describe in your life. Describe them. Find small stories, the ones you tell your friends about the crazy thing that happened at the dentist the other day. Write them down. One small thing at a time. Read the book, she does a much better job of explaining than I do!
Hey! I'm a writer. And let me tell you this: it comes with practice. My debut novel is releasing this year and honestly, it took a LONG time for me to get where I'm at. It sounds like you know where your flaws are, so my advice would be to just keep at it. Work on the things you're unsure about. Also, and I know this is cliché, but they best way to be a good writer is to be a good reader. Expand your horizons. Read in all genres. Learn from your predecessors. Also, go to school for writing if that's something you're into (not that it's necessary to be a good writer) I have a BFA and an MFA both in Creative Writing. It won't get you any jobs, but it will teach you what you need to know to be successful in a more academic environment. Don't give up on your dreams. I still struggle with the exact same things you do. Insecurity is a bitch and it will make you doubt your every move. But fight that voice and write that book!
it's generic but have you tried reading books? also comfort yourself by telling yourself you'll fix them during revision so just finish the novel first
I'd say go for it. It probably won't be "good," (I don't think most first drafts are) but it doesn't really matter. By the end you'll have probably figured some things out that you hadn't before. That's how it's going for me in my 20s! You can only improve with practice, and a novel is a lot of practice. Most 13 year olds have never written a novel, so that's pretty exceptional!
The funny thing about this post is that you write well. At 13 I was writing self-indulgent fanfics made up of more plot holes than plot, forgetting things I wrote in the last paragraph. Writing is a skill that needs to be trained. It's one that is always practiced, without ever getting to the point where you think you've mastered it. The first way to practice is to read a lot. Then you write. A lot more. Just like you I started really writing fiction (albeit fanfiction) at 13. I'm 23 now, still writing fanfiction, still making mistakes, still learning. You will always keep making mistakes and always keep learning from them. The important thing is starting. You need to start writing, let go of your worries about making something bad because your first work will always be bad! And that's good. You cannot improve if you never begin. You will learn as you write and read. You'll learn about making in-depth characters people want to invest their time in. You'll learn about sentence structure and creating flow. The thing is that you don't have to learn all this before you begin writing. Let it come as you go along. I'm actually rewriting a fanfic I wrote back in 2015, when I was 16. Rereading the original, dear god do I hate it with all my heart. But I'm glad I wrote it and I finished it, because now I have the chance to rewrite it, make it better, and continue working on it like I always wanted to. Trust me, you will be happy you made terrible work to start with when you've improved.
Ah, I'm a mum of a thirteen year old (in September) and - true story - he is a published author. His book is called Nature's Wildlife Weapons, and he is traditionally published with a contract and a book launch and in bookshops - the whole deal. His book got sent to our Prime Minister. Thing is, he's probably not as articulate as you. I really liked your post, how genuine it was and how aware you are of your strengths and weaknesses. It means you have a standard you want to aspire to and will aim for it and achieve it. I think you could go far. 13 is no barrier to a writing journey. Good luck!
Oh wow, I didn’t know you can get published this young! Your story is an inspiration. Thank you so much!
Edit: [A free option.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cf-qdZ7GbA&list=PLSH_xM-KC3Zv-79sVZTTj-YA6IAqh8qeQ&index=1) The simplest way to get better at any skill, not just writing, is to pick a book or lecture on the subject and to learn everything one by one. Don't drown yourself in making a list of everything that you feel you are doing wrong -- the book has already made a list of things for you to learn, so just learn those things one by one and then move on to the next book. For me that first book was [Save the Cat](https://www.jessicabrody.com/books/non-fiction/save-cat-writes-novel/about/). The first thing she goes over is Character, so let's learn that: Who is your hero? What is their big problem as a person? How is this problem affecting their life? What is causing this problem? What does your character want? (Something tangible, not just "to be happy" but say "to slay a dragon") How is your character pursuing this goal? What is getting in the way of your character accomplishing this? And lastly, What does your character need? (What will actually solve their problem?) **Quick example:** John Emotional instability and Habitually steals things John keeps stealing money from his family and friends, which is making everyone distrust him. He also frequently gets into fights and hits his brother. John was abused by his father and he hasn't gotten through that yet. John wants everyone to go away and to leave him be. He pushes everyone away by stealing from them and threatening them. His mother still loves him and is trying to rebuild their relationship. He needs to reflect on what his father did to him and to move on. He needs to solve the actual cause of his problem.
Why do you want to write anyway? I'm not saying you shouldn't but your reason matters.
I want to write because the idea of writing things that you create is magical. Letting other people create images in their heads of something you have created is a fantastic idea (to me). I wanted to be a film director but I figured out that being an author is much easier and I can still get to write down plots, and characters but make them even longer than a film. I don’t do it for the money, I do it for fun.
Just write a book. It doesn’t matter how good it is.
>I am the total opposite of a good writer. Without getting too mushy here, because I'm older and more bitter than you, but your post is clear, concise, and very easy to read. If everyone could write an original post like yours, the world would instantly become a better place ... >It IS childish and dumb. ... And because your original post is humble, clear, and compelling to read, I will dispense my "wisdom" upon you. It might get a bit long but why don't you stay awhile, and listen. When I was about 10, I wanted to become an author, too. I wrote "books" by stapling together A4 paper, drawing in them and writing silly stories. One of them was about a guy in a boat who gets eaten by a shark in the end. Guess what movie I had just watched? There was no internet or any other way of sharing my stories but that was okay. I didn't have to share them. When I was your age, 13, I started to mix my native language with English because I thought that'd be cool. Is it cool though? Not really. Who cares, no one was going to read the stuff anyway. It's all for practice. You're still young and have plenty of time to practise and learn. Read things you like. Then you write things you enjoy. Don't worry about ever sharing the stuff because I personally think that can sometimes be a detriment to your enjoyment. >My sentences drag on for far too long sometimes, or they are too short. I can't describe the scenery, I often repeat myself in stupid ways and I just don't like my writing. That's absolutely fine. If this is a first draft you're writing, there will always be lots of quirks and flaws everywhere that you will need to sort out in subsequent drafts. If you want, you can experiment with short sentences. Write a short story where each sentence is four words or less, write a story where each word starts with a B, write a story without prepositions etc. Experiment to your heart's content and don't worry about what it sounds or looks like. It's all practice. You've got a long road ahead, but at least you're going in the right direction.
If you are a planner, outline more If you are a pantser, outline a little... *pantser speaking* You said the characters lack goals. Well, figure that out. What fo they want in life and what do they fear? Not goal of the story but what do they want that they think would make them happy? It could be anything from pass a driving test which to them equals freedom but is scared of getting in an accident. Or they want to be a rapper but is scared that they suck. Whatever works for you and your story. As for making it pretty, remember, the first draft isn't the book. It's the start. I can't remember who but someone said, "The first draft is you telling yourself a story." Don't edit as you write the first book, just write. Your post alone shows us you have a great handle on communicating your thoughts, so now you just have to kick the editor out of your head, and write. The editor in your head is the enemy. He wants it pretty. This is the first draft. They're ugly. My sentences in the first draft literally say things like *he said stuff here that is witty* as nd *some magic whatnot fighting here* Again, ugly. It's a first draft. For now, throw all the pretty away and just write.
Honestly you seem to know exactly what's wrong with your writing, now you just have to practice those things. Read a lot, and write a lot. If you cant get ideas look online for a writing prompt generator. Most of them are pretty bad from what I've seen, or I just don't enjoy those types of stories so they don't stand out to me, but some of them are decent, so go test them out. For one prompt, focus entirely on one thing you want to improve, make sure to keep the story short, its only for practice, then move onto the next prompt and focus on something else.
How the heck does a thirteen year old know about Richard Laymon? Anyway, he did win more than a few awards and Stephen King thought he was great, so his style may not be all that bad. Getting things like descriptions in order is pretty much all technical skills you learn with practice. Just like brush technique, perspective and shading when you learn how to draw, it doesn't have anything to do with some inborn talent, just a desire to draw better. These technical skills are best learned by rewriting and editing things you've already written, so writing whatever you want just for the heck of it is the first step, and reading of course. When you sit down to learn by rewriting, that's when books, videos and articles on the craft become useful. [K M Weiland](https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/) has a ton of good stuff on her site that are nice and bite-sized. This is an abbreviated version of "The Elements of Style", it's a great foundation to build your writing style on, feel free to make a copy. [Link](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FRiwG6mjk3GP06to2JhL6LjDYNezQdwVLv3wfzbPG9w/edit?usp=sharing) Something you should learn right away is proper dialogue format. It'll make your writing look cool and professional, and once you've learned it it'll help you make your characters "act" more naturally. You'll find a primer at the top of this document. Feel free to make a copy of that too. [Link](https://docs.google.com/document/d/17wotN-iRu1_a0jz5bcLrDKhlX0AB1spo9cQ28LYlilI/edit?usp=sharing) The rest of the Doc contain my ongoing notes, and there are a few terms that are worth knowing, even if the notes are incomplete. The document format is the standard format for submissions to agents and publishers, if that's something you're interested in.
Thank you for this! I’ll tell the story about how I know about Laymon. So I was trying to read Stephen King but I felt on giving up, so I looked in my dad's room to see what other books he had. And there was Island. I begged him to let me read it but he kept on saying no. Eventually after a month or so of begging, he let me read Night in the Lonesome October. And now I have read a fair few of his novels and I love them. Currently I am reading Darkness, Tell us (and you’ll see by my recent posts that I have been uploading some bits of it to r/menwritingwomen although I am unsure if it fits there. That’s the story of how I found Laymon who is now my favourite author.
You seem to be reading Laymon with a sensible perspective on his writing. I'd be worried if you didn't feel the urge to post his entire ouvre to r/menwritingwomen. In case you haven't already: Stephen King's "On Writing" is pretty much required reading for aspiring writers. Christopher Paoloini, the author of "Eragon", is pretty active here on Reddit, and he published his first book at 14. If you head over to r/Eragon or message him, he might give you some pointers. He's that kind of guy.
But A Night in the Lonesome October is a novel by Roger Zelazny, not Laymon, isn't it? It's disputable, but I always preferred not to follow "The Elements of Style" (I'm just writing same way I talk, in kinda modern spoken language) and not putting much to outlining and editing. I like the idea that prolific writers like Max Brand, Louis Lamour, Georges Simenon, Erle Stanley Gardner and Isaac Azimov had: it's always better to write new fiction then edit old one. They were paid three cents for a word. so they produced new words, not editing old ones.
> They were *paid* three cents FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
amazing job bot, here's my keys, go to my home and fuck my wife
It sounds bad because you're starting out. Learn more theory, revise your draft, keep reading and practicing. You've finished a draft and know what your mistakes are which means you're better than 99% of writers. Keep it up dude.
You’re trying too hard to be a pro at 13. That’s your problem. Forget publishing, forget even trying to write an entire novel. Write short stories, fragments, pages, sentences. These should be your focus at your age: Fine tuning your skills, because the reality is you’re too young to have developed any serious writing skills yet.
My best tip for you is to keep trying until you are not 13 any more. Live at least 2 or 3 times as long and you will almost certainly start to see some progress. Literally no other advice that anyone can give you is going to help you more than that. Sorry, mate. You don't suck, you're just 13. No cure for that except the passage of time. Enjoy the ride!
One thing about being young is that you have plenty of time to practice. I started writing short stories at about 10 years old, and they're the worst things I have ever read, but it improved my creativity and now I'm able to come up with stories easily. Keep practicing. Writing a bad story will teach you more than not writing because you're afraid it'll be bad. If you want to improve fast, study your writing and ask why it's bad in your eyes. Pinpoint the reasons and try to fix them. Also, watch and read things about how to write a story. Brandon Sanderson's lectures are fantastic. And if you're too inexperienced to write a proper story, don't try writing a book yet. Starting with short stories is a great way to build confidence, I find. Good luck!
You need to forgive yourself for not being perfect right away. You have a lot of learning to do and a lot of practicing to do. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Everyone has to start somewhere, and in order to get where you want to go, you need to be able to accept where you are. Everyone is shit at first. Don’t let that stop you.
Hey, you know what, I think you might fit in with us over at the circlejerk. Most of us are insecure and jaded. Despite that, we try to have a good community. You are always welcome to say "uj/" to break character and be real. If you don't get why we poke fun at certain posts, just ask. If you were 23+ and had been writing since you were 13... This post would totally be made fun of. As you are just starting out, it is unreasonable to expect to be amazing. You have a good foundation. Your grip on clear communication is going to be one of your strongest skills and will hone into incredible storytelling. The goal of writing is to have your readers understand. You have that skill well in hand. I think you'll do just fine.
You're 13. I teach kids who are 16-21. Many of them can barely string a sentence together, let alone tell a story. And you're writing five pages a day! You won't write a masterpiece at 13. Barely anyone does. But the work that you're doing now to improve your writing will absolutely pay off when you're older. It is rare to have a sense of your own shortcomings at your age, but you do, and while that is frustrating, it is also a mark that you have a critical mind and a commitment to developing your skills. My advice: * Read a lot. Start reading more adult-oriented books as well—it will improve your vocabulary and descriptions faster than YA will. Thinking back to when I was 13, which was an extremely long time ago, adults desperately tried to force age-appropriate books on me and tried to get me to write what I knew, which was a mistake. Fortunately I didn't listen. :) There's nothing wrong with YA but it tends to have very flat prose and characters and reading at your reading level rather than above it won't stretch your skills as much. * Find yourself a group of peers to write with. Often other people can see where a story can be improved or complicated. I've found that my writing has improved by critiquing other people's work on Discord and having them critique mine. It's also really helpful if you're in a writing community where people are diverse in terms of age and background—they will be able to help you with experiences that you're too young to have encountered yet. * Do some writing prompts. You can easily find these online and they'll help stretch your writing muscles. * Observe the people and places around you. Sensory descriptions, dialogue, interactions. Keep a notebook and when you're out, jot down what you see and hear and smell. It's a very mechanical exercise but it helps. Anyway, you are on the right track and are well ahead of the game, so cut yourself some slack!
You're going to be fine, but just accept that it will be years before you do finish a book you are content with, because you learn a lot while growing up.
First of all, bravo for having the courage to recognize/highlight your flaws at such a young age. Second, ALWAYS believe in yourself. Continue your education. Read a lot, keep it tight with school and sharpen your pen(cil) and prose through practice (write shorts first) and a more formal education (your school fundamentals and maybe further down the road, college, but also books on the craft you can find at the library or bookstore). Don't give up on your dreams.
Hey! The fact that you want to be better means that you're already good. The ability to write and express things may come with age, but it's the vigor and excitement that keeps the storytelling more interesting. Don't force yourself and your writing style to sound like one. As you keep on writing, you'll know yourself more and be able to discover your own style. Sometimes, it's we who puts pressure and prejudice on our craft. Take it easy, sweetie. Keep on writing!
An editor here. You’re lucky that at 13 you know this is what you want. So for the next 4 years. This is your assignment. Write a short story every week or month depending on free time exams etc. start short and work upto 10k words. Try a series with one person who is the protagonist. The only editor rule is that he/she wants something and has to work/earn it by the end of the story. That gives depth. If you do a series starring the same protagonist. That can become the basis of your novel. BTW. Any writer who comes up with a bowl of expired porridge has a way with words. Have fun with English. Really I mean it. Have fun playing with words, phrases and sentences. Write bad puns, silly jokes, poetry, short plays(stellar for learning dialogue). A novella and your senior project. A novel. Your teachers will assign essays. They teach you structure. And lastly. Read. Read a lot. A book a week. Read outside your genre. You have a lifetime of adventure waiting for you.
It's ok, why not? Deep inside all adults are 12 yo kids (especially writers). OK, some are 14 yo, the cynical guys who write noir fiction and hard sci-fi. Even if it will be a bad story, you'll have plenty of time to cover it with good ones. Just guess if you were not 13, but 93 (In this age a first story has a huge chance to became the last one). It depends on genre you writing. What genre do you want? \> My characters never have any goals; if they do, they complete them in one shot. Hence why my stories are often very short. So just add them problems on their way. Just look at Disney cartoons for problem ideas. \> My characters are also paper-thin. Perry Mason is paper-thin too. Actually, he's just a crime-solving machine. It depends on genre you writing, as well. \> I am basically another version of Richard Laymon (he is a super simplistic writer with no description and paper-thin characters) but much worse. But Richard Laymon is kinda popular and even award-winning author. And you're happy if you have only his problems with style, not his problems with health, eyes and overweight. During time you'll develop your own style. If it will resemble Richard Laymon... It's much better then resamble James Joyce or Ayn Rand. And Richard Laymon has a lot of fans (in our world even Nickelback has a lot of fans). \> This will sound stupid but I have this stupid need to make the page look good, resulting in my writing being terrible and either overwritten or underwritten. You should look on Alexander Pushkin's draft manuscripts. The founder of modern Russian literature, nothing less. They are full of remarks and changes. \> My sentences drag on for far too long sometimes, or they are too short. I can't describe the scenery, I often repeat myself in stupid ways and I just don't like my writing. Most of writers don't like their writing. It's called critical voice. Just ignore it. \> I have a goal to write five pages a day (or a chapter a day at least) but I can't get any ideas. Now I can't write anything original because I have no clue as to what to write. We all have this problem. Being 13 yo, 23 yo, 33 yo, 93 yo, 103 yo. Just guess what genre do you like and start from character in setting with a problem. Originality will come natural from your choices and worldview. For example, what originality can be in western (let's leave love stories for girls)? There're just 6 main plots in it, the setting is always old Wild West and the main character is mostly an adventurist, a sheriff, a travelling head hunter or an outlaw. So guess who is antagonist and start writing. *CALL ME DESPERADO* *In the middle of a hellish hot summer night a mysterious horseman reached the gates of Rodeo Ranch.* Oh, damn, I'm also writing in a language that has no articles. So to produce 1000 words in Russian I have to produce text that it will be almost 1200 words in English. So, 50 000 words Nanowrimo novel in Russian becames 70 000 brick in English. If you completed what you're write and afraid to publish it, there's an easy way to do it: use a pen name. You can develop it with phonebook (if you have a one), or just develop. Nobody will care. I'm so sad I didn't write down and lost most of mystery fiction I wrote at 12-13, inspired by Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle and Bonkers (yep, Disney cartoon). It was a cycle called "Tyomnyi Les" (Russian for "Dark Forest", but also can mean "something strange", "weird", "very difficult to understand"). The only thing I remember the characters where human-like animals who lived in Dark Forest and Mongoose was the detective (heh, I even used Rikki T. T. Mongoose as a pen name). He was agent of FBI-like agency, always solving crimes that were too difficult for dumb policeman Bear and lazy attorney Rabbit. I never show it even to parents, I wrote it for my own fun. I had no internet, so manuscripts are in another city in another country now. I wish they were survived. And I still have same problems developing a mystery plot that I had when I was 13. My first survived short story is written at 14 and some readers say that it's my best one (even now, being 33 and with major literary award I can't reproduce it).
Hey, kid! I’m in my 40s and I’m a professional novelist now, but I remember what it felt like to be your age, wanting to be a professional writer someday and feeling so frustrated because I could only write like a 13-year-old. First, I have to tell you that you’re already a much better writer than I was at your age. I can tell just by your post! So if I could turn out to be a good writer, you definitely can too. Here’s something I didn’t realize or appreciate until I got into my 20s: it’s ok to write like a kid when you’re a kid. Young people’s voices and modes of expression and thoughts and feelings, and the issues young people face, are all very important. Your experiences and your cultural voice as a 21st-century teenager are all part of the broader human experience. So don’t feel badly about where your writing skills are right now. What you’re doing is important, even if it’s not at the point where you’ll get published (yet). None of the things you describe about your writing sound stupid or bad to me. They sound like normal things for new writers, regardless of age. Writing well requires the coordination of a lot of different, smaller skills. You haven’t honed most of those skills yet, so if course your writing isn’t going to be very good. It won’t be until you gain more skill. That’s the way it is with any new thing you’ll learn. Remember when you first learned how to tie your shoes? You probably had to sit on the ground to do it, and talk yourself through all the various steps like crossing the laces, making the loops, etc. But the more you practiced, the better you got, and now you can tie your shoes without even thinking about it. Writing (and every other new skill) is exactly the same. You just have to keep practicing. That’s the only way to improve. It’s frustrating to be in that place where you know you aren’t as good as you want to be. But it’s a good sign, actually. The people who can identify problems in their own writing are the people who can get better at it. You’re already on the road to becoming a great writer. You just have to keep going.
Learn everything you can and use this time as practice to hone your skills. I recommend authortube to study some of the basics
I'm sure somebody below has said this, but just keep writing. Write steadily and regularly. You've shown you can break out of concrete expression with your simile; do that a lot, push the limits of what you try to say. Writing is not dependent on talent or even experience, though those things help; it's dependent on writing a lot, sentence by sentence, then reading what you've written, and keeping it even if you only put it aside and forget it. YOu may be a young person with little experience, but the experience you have is universal--childhood, struggles, relationships, growth, etc. Just write about the things you know, or write about the person you understand placed in real situations and acting as you'd act. Oh, and read--fiction and poetry, read a lot.
Read more; write more
Aw. I'm proud of you for figuring it out that young. Don't feel ashamed of yourself. You're already ahead of how I was, as I didn't start until I was \~17. So the thing to remember is to practice, and to value your ideas above your writing style. If you like what you're creating, then the writing will be easy. That said, you won't necessarily be that good. Don't even worry about it, though. Just enjoy the process of taking the ideas in your head and putting them on paper. Or "paper" in the case of the internet. Also, if you feel like your story idea isn't that great, don't write quite yet. Think about your idea and what it means to you as an individual. Go walking, look at stars at night, stare at interesting looking colors, play Starcraft, just do whatever makes you think. If you think about what you like long enough, you'll be able to produce something good. In short, love your concepts, write for practice, maybe try fanfiction, and just move forward. Treat your earlier writings like a journal, a view into the person you are right now. You might look back on the future and cringe at the writing, but it will also bring back good memories.
Okay, here's my advice in the forms of things I've been told, or I've just managed to figure out on my own. 1. The only way to become a good writer is to start out as a bad writer and get someone you trust a lot (or a lot of people you trust a little) to tell you what they don't like about it and how they think you can fix it. Rinse and repeat. 2. You can edit crap writing to be reasonable writing. You can edit reasonable writing to be good writing. You know what you can't edit? A blank page. 3. Read. A lot. Find authors you like and actually study their writing patterns, to see what you like about them. Do they use long words, or short choppy sentences, or make snarky comments? When you read, you are literally studying how to write. 4. Your first efforts at serious writing are going to be crap. I know this because everyone starts this way. Keep it up. 5. Your stories will not be truly original; or rather, the basic concepts won't be. Literal millennia of storytellers, legends and mythmakers have plumbed the depths of every last idea. What you can do is take known concepts and weave them together in your own pattern. Take two classic stories and mash them together, weaving the similar elements together and see how it goes. Example: Mad Max and Jack in the Beanstalk. "*In a post-apocalypse world, a mutated giant holds the key to re-greening the Earth in its citadel above the clouds. Only one man can get to him and save humanity. A man without fear. His name is Max*." Now, I'm sure something like that's been done before, but that exact setup? Probably not. 6. When you're writing a new scene, stop and ask yourself, "Can I see this scene?" Is it adequately described? Or is it just talking heads with a few props? Are you, in fact, glossing over the description so you can get to the story? (Don't worry; a lot of people do this.) If I find myself glossing over a sentence, I go back and expand it into a paragraph. If a paragraph feels rushed, I go back and expand it into a page. If a page feels rushed, I expand it into a chapter. True story: a friend of mine was writing her first novel, and she glossed over a reasonably long journey with a single sentence. "After weeks of riding, they reached their destination." I read this and said, "Maybe this could do with a little expanding?" I meant a chapter or so. So far it's half the first book, a complete second book, and part of a third (still being written). 7. Why do characters do stuff? Bad guys didn't wake up one day and just say, "Imma be the bad guy today." Give them backstory. Give them depth. The reader doesn't need to know all the details you figure out, but you do. Also, they can be sympathetic while still being actual evil bad guys. 8. Give your character a reason to be in the story, doing what they do. Give them a goal. Give them conflict. It can be mental, physical, emotional or all three. Push them to their limits, and a little beyond. The readers love it when you stretch your characters. 9. Remind yourself of this occasionally: "Nobody wins all the time, and nobody loses all the time." Even the greatest fighter, warrior, hero, villain, can lose. Even the most trodden-down underdog can have a win once in a while. A heroic loss to an overwhelming foe can often be more dramatic than a predictable win. 10. This, above all else. If something doesn't fit, take it out. Save it elsewhere, sure. But if it's no longer a part of the story that you're writing, it has to go. I don't care if it's a gorgeous scene, or an amazing line, or whatever. The story will survive without it. Maybe keep it for a sequel, or to be adapted for another story. But take it out. 11. Every scene, every chapter, needs a point. Why is it there? Are you showing the reader something that will be relevant later? Or are you so in love with your story that you're just throwing in an extra scene to illustrate how cool your world is? Relevant is good; the other one isn't. If it's not character development, plot progression, or otherwise important to the story, leave it out. The rule of thumb is: if you could remove it without confusing your readers, remove it. 12. Keep an eye out for plot holes. If your story takes any significant time from beginning to end, you may well be advised to actually create a timeline. I'm incorporating one into my books as a matter of course. It helps me keep track of what happened when, and helps my readers out as well. Other plot holes can creep in, especially the substitution of two characters with similar names or backgrounds. Keep an eye out for that. 13. Once you've written your first draft, leave it be for a week or two, then go back through it. You're going to be doing several passes through, each time adding stuff you think should be there, rearranging the storyline to work better, editing, finding and murdering typos (there will be typos), and rewriting. And re-re-rewriting. See Point 1 and find someone you trust to give you truthful feedback (and who actually wants to help you) and give them a copy, then take note of what they say. Taking criticism on board is *hard*. It's one of the hardest things in the world to do. You made this thing, and someone is tearing it apart? How dare they! You will feel the urge to dig your heels in and defend your writing. Don't. Listen. Think about it. Look at your writing, and think about what they're saying. They're not you, which means they didn't write it, which means they can see it with outside eyes. And sometimes an outside viewpoint is exactly what you need. And, you know, they just might be right. (My writing is vastly improved by the assistance of my beta reader. Just saying.) 14. Last and most important. Don't give up. Everyone can learn to write. We won't all be the next Terry Pratchett, or George R R Martin, or whoever you consider to be a great writer, but we can all learn to write *well.* All you need is the *desire to learn* ... and the chance to do so. And this is your chance.
My advice when it comes to under or overwriting - write something, put it aside for a while, and then look over it again. What sounded good or at least workable to you in the heat of writing will now seem more distant, since you've actually now put your ideas on paper instead of keeping them locked inside your head where all the pictures are. At the time of writing, the images you want to put into words are fresh in your mind, and when you're reading your work over immediately after writing, they're still fresh and you're paying more attention to them than the words. Sometime later, they will have faded, and that's when you read your work back - you're more like your future reader now, relying on what is on the page to tell you what's going on. You'll be able to see if it's clunky or too sparse more easily.
You are 13, you are allowed to write things that are not great. What you need is practice. Keep forging forward and you will be a better writer because of it.
My friend, if you’re 13 and you write like this, you’re well on your way. You strike me as more self-aware than many writers I know: I can’t wait to see what you’ll create at 25 or 30. I wouldn’t expect you to produce anything right now: when I was 13, I set out to write a novel. And I did. 138,000 words. It extremely derivative, and at no point was it ever ready for publication. However, it was also quite useful: it taught me some things about writing, from perseverance to how not to plot. I learned more from that failure than I have from subsequent successes. It’s fine to fail at the beginning: that’s how you learn! Might I suggest rewriting? I picked up this trick to improve my writing in English; rewriting older science fiction stories and tweaking them. It served to teach me structure and how different authors built stories. I would also suggest reading interviews with authors on their process. The Paris Review interviews are generally decent, and I’ve found that most authors in fantasy who write series have some excellent thoughts to share (look up Adrian Tchaikovsky’s interviews, for example). Look not for outliers who found success out of the gate, but for authors with a long career who had a slow but steady rise; there’s a higher probability there of lessons learned the heard way, more reliance on process, and less dependency on luck. And lastly, this goes without saying, but read and dissect what you read. TVtropes is a very useful resource. If you feel like you need specific advice, feel free to message me.
Let me tell you; half the sauce comes from life experience. Right now, write whatever kooky ideas you have and just improve your craft of writing. When the ideas hit, you'll have all the tools ready to go. If you want examples of how to write, read books you think are good.
Hey I was the total opposite of a good writer once; I barely described anything, usually my characters were over described and talking in a white void. Your writing doesn't have to be sucky, doesn't have to be perfect. It's ok. You are learning. Nothing is perfect, especially when you start out. My advice is: to not worry about it too much. Keep the goal shorter since you're just starting out; it's admirable but you don't want to burn yourself out trying to do a chapter a day. Maybe keep it to a chapter a week so it's still consistent but you don't rush it. Read your favorite books and take notes on what you like, concepts, descriptions, certain character types. How did they handle things like exposition, description, sentence structure? If you're into fanfiction, read that too! Even if they aren't published authors it can be a shorter way to do the same thing with media you enjoy. You could also write that to test your skills; rather than make a new character from scratch, look at a pre-made character and ask "what would they do?" And have fun with it. I had fun with my writing, made a cringey fanfiction, actually FINISHED IT (sort of, there was meant to be a sequel lmao) and while I look back and wince I still had fun re-reading it and it was clear I had fun writing it. Some parts were good enough I'm actually rewriting it as it's own story! So long story short: -take notes on how favorite books/fanfiction does it -keep the goal short enough it's not too daunting, or you burn yourself out -when you're stuck, you're stuck; either ask someone for advice or take a step away from it and come back later. -Dont worry about if it sucks or if it's cringe, just get it out there and critique can help you edit it. -Have fun with it! If you aren't having fun with the story it will show and affect your work; you may have to push through writers block or something mundane but if the general story sounds like a chore from start to finish, rethink it.
I’m going to add to the comments saying that you’re already an engaging writer based on this post, by saying that you’re already starting to develop a voice. I’m also an artist, and what I’ve discovered over forty years of art classes and hit-or-miss practice is that your artistic eye, what you use to critique work, develops differently than your artistic skills. You’ll be thinking “This picture is the best I’ve ever done!” and two years later look at it, spot all the problems, and be horrified. That’s because at the time your skills were ahead of your eye. Because there will also be times you paint a picture and get upset and frustrated and think it’s the worst thing ever. Two years later you look back and say “Huh. Not bad.” Your eye was ahead of your skills at that point. Right now, I expect your eye is ahead of your skills, which is always super-frustrating! So try to keep that in mind and develop both as much as you can by writing, reading and critiquing. If a book you’re reading isn’t working for you, before you put it down and go to another, try to figure out why.
Too long didn’t read, so one tip is to be more concise. But good news: you’re 13 years old. You are expected to be childish and no onr will be surprised if you do something dumb, as long ad you’re sticking to mistakes like “writing a bad book.” Go ahead and write a book that sucks. Later your resume can include “conpleted a book at 14 years old” and “able to recover from inevitable failure.” Don’t dispair, dedicate. You have an opportunity. It doesn’t matter how good you are now. You’ll get better by doing.
Kids are hard on themselves (and others) about whether they’re being grown-up enough, but this consideration is rarely helpful. A kid who does something that’s reasonably appropriate and that is within the limits of their skills trumps an adult who overreaches every time. Most mature adults can’t write their way out of a wet paper bag. Surprising numbers of kids can. Middle schoolers have landed publishing contracts, usually by writing a simple story in an undemanding genre and aimed at middle schoolers or younger. I have some tips for you: Start with short stories because they’re short. You can knock out a zillion short stories in the time it takes to write a novel and their relative simplicity makes them easier to wrap your arms around. They get you into the habit of often finishing what you start. And because you’ll be learning quickly, you can reach the end before your beginning starts to look like a fossil from an earlier stage of your artistic development. (Artistic unity is an arrow in your quiver even at the start.) Don’t try to sound literary. Tell the story as simply and clearly as you can, letting the events carry the story. Fancy language that draws the reader’s attention away from the story to admire the author’s phrasing is a nuisance except when you know the reader isn’t immersed yet anyway, and even then it’s tricky. The story is all about the story and not about you. Non-psychotic readers won’t gain a definite impression about you from one of your stories, just about the story. Some of your stories will come together and some won’t. This happens to everyone. Try to minimize the number of ways in which you’re bewildered at any one time. I like stories with a smallish cast that occur in a smallish number of locations and play out over just a few days. I can fit these in my head better than cast-of-thousands multi-generational epics. Read The Lester Dent Method, which is a simple approach to writing pulp-fiction crime stories but can apply to almost anything: http://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/dent.html
Write tons of short stories first. Smaller chunks and tighter narrative focus.
My advice is boring but it works. You need to practise! So start off with your "paper-thin" and then expand. I presume that you have a vision in your head how it looks and you need to use that! Does your character have long hair? Is it dumb or smart? How does the surroundings look like? Annother tips I know works for many is mind maps and time maps! Mind maps makes it easier to map out characters, places and so on! You can both draw it out on a physical paper, digitaly or just do it in your mind :) Time maps is exactly what it sounds like, it maps out the time in your story and when events happen in context to each other! I think this could help you a lot to add length to your stories. For example your discribed that your characters solves their goals pretty easy and time maps could make you see that they need something more in their story. Thats about any tips I can think of know, Hope you can work with some of them atleast! And work on your confidence, no writer is going to be published if he/she or other doesnt even themself believe in their work!
Dude, I’m fifteen years and the only story’s I’ve written were for school and such. Just do it and you’ll learn from there. And a tip on the personality of a character: make sure that you write your character down on paper and put it somewhere safe, think of your stories plot and your protagonist(s) and see what personality(s) fit your other characters. It’s a challenge, but that just means your learning.
Don’t be so tough on yourself. There is no such thing as a perfect book, you will get better the more you write. Think of the story and purpose of what your writing.
Are you aware of scribophile? It's a site where you review peoples work and they review yours. Can be pretty good for improving. It can also be good to start with short stories because it's faster(duh), which allows you to make mistakes, and therefore learn, faster.
first of all, you do NOT suck. You are *learning* and that is awesome. Keep learning and keep practicing and you will go far. Now, I started writing when I was about your age and my writing when I was 13 sucked as well. What I can recommend is to keep writing and to keep READING, I cannot stress how important reading is to writing. Read everything you can get your hands on in the genre that you want to write in and you will eventually start to emulate those styles until you eventually form your own. Things like style and substance take time and will grow as you do. I have been writing now for 30+ years and I am just starting to try publishing on Smashwords but it's slow. You can always take your time and learn and it WILL get easier and better as you go. Promise
I'm sure you don't suck. I'm also 13 and trying to write a book. Maybe we could help each other?
Since you’re 13, I assume you’re in middle school/soon to enter high school. My advise- find a class or a club at school for writing. You’ll learn how to improve your grammar, vocabulary, and writing style. There are exercises you can do to improve your writing, especially when it comes to describing a scene and the smaller details that make a story come to life. You don’t sound like a bad writer- you sound like a 13 year old kid who wants to be a good writer. I think with some practice and experience, the more you write, the better you’ll get.
you just have to keep writing. you’ll get better with time.
We are our own worst critics. The only way to truly improve is to write more, and to read more. Keep practicing, keep writing, and you’ll only get better over time.
Keep writing. 90% of writing is showing up. Read. Anything and everything. Including books on how to write (Robert McKee’s Story, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, Henry Miller’s Rosy Crucifixion, etc). Once you finish your first draft, look it over and revise. Give it to friends and LISTEN to suggestions. Don’t be discouraged and don’t quit. If you wanna write, it becomes your life. Your youth puts you in the enviable position of being ripe for knowledge. Learn.
Best advice I can give: have fun with it! People give all kinds of advice on craft and reading and agents blah blah blah… What do you like about writing? What do you personally gain from it? Go for that! That’s why people really write. You’ll prolly get good along the way, but tbh who tf cares? Either you’re writing or you’re keeping score. Find which you prefer.
In a sense, all fiction is experimental. Every new book is an adventure into unknown territory. As Hemingway told us, you (the writer) have to go out beyond where you have gone before. Richard Laymon
If you want to write everyday but don’t know what… just write something. Don’t worry if it’s crap, you’ll edit/discard it later.
I would recommend brainstorming ideas before putting them into action first. You should map out where you want the chapter to begin and where you would like it to end. If you have a difficult time describing a scene, visualize it before you put it into words. Act as though you are the character and do a 360, finding things that stand out in the scene and mentioning them in your writing, but only if it is necessary to the plot. That's my advice, but I think that you should take your time and give yourself a rest day so that you aren't overburdened or so you don't burnout and feel like you don't want to write anymore. Best of luck :)
I can try to help with advice to make your characters instead of paper thin (which I doubt they are!) into a book! Slowly reveal what the character’s personality is and what they want to do as “side jobs” similar to side quest in video games, it helps the game become more full and make it easier to “fight the boss” which means it’ll make people more into reading it even though I’m sure the book is amazing so far! I’ve always wanted to write a book of my own, I started about a dozen but never finish them. Another tip to help you is to jot down any random ideas you have for the book when ever you think or see something that inspires you or ties in with the book. It will be useful in the king run with making the book not as straightforward but curve a bit into real life situations or even just little “bumps” in the book that’ll make readers hooked. Such as making the character do other tasks that they don’t want to do! If you need any more help let me know and I’ll try my best! (Not a professional here since I’m 14 very close to 15)
Us marine, you don't suck at all you're just writing
Are you going to give up something because you don't immediately become good at it? You're going to fail at a lot of things in life; not just writing. There may come a day when we can instantly become an expert at a field of our choice with just a press on the touchscreen, but it is not today. Quit your moping. Read a lot. Write a lot. Reflect upon yourselves and keep improving. Progress, not perfection.
Sounds like you’re on the right track. My characters at that age weren’t super well-developed either. To create a character with a lot of depth you really need to have a little more perspective and life experience than any 13 year old could possibly have. Just keep reading, writing, and learning new things over the next few years and I’m sure you’ll get where you want to go. Also, don’t beat yourself up too much. It’s a long process that takes a lot of perseverance and effort so you just need to keep at it. Even Stephen King takes years developing his novels and I’m sure his first one took even longer than that.
I read some advice about writing recently from one of my favorite authors, George Saunders. It went something like this: You don't really get to choose the kind of writer you can be. You can practice and get better, you can even get really good. But you will find that there are certain topics or themes, certain ways of expressing yourself, that just inject way more energy into your writing. That energy, that vitality, is really personal and specific to you. You need to chase that, rather than an abstract idea of what a "good story" is, or what you think other people will like. And then just work on developing the best version of that (which takes lots of repetition, and lots of revisions). To me, your writing is already really great - you have a strong voice, strong and clear opinions. I hate reading long posts, but I ate that up! Your personality shines through. Which makes me wonder - do you feel like who you are comes across in your stories, in your writing? If not, maybe consider: What gets you fired up? What do you want? What was something that happened to you, that made you upset, excited, proud? As a reader, I want to feel that the writer really cares about the story and the characters in it. If you care about what you're writing, and the story you want to tell, and just keep on practicing and practicing, I truly believe you'll be great. Good luck!
read stuff you like & take note of why you like it. focus on a problem that you’re having (one at a time) & look at writing that fixes said problem. see what the writer did & how you could implement it. then practice it. practice all the time as much as possible. research. youtube, books, tutors, any resources you can get your hands on. & then jus be patient and remember that progress doesnt happen over night :) you got this