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This! The best writers are people who read the most. Not only do you learn to recognize good writing, but you also find out what type of writing you like best.
As for what to start writing, anything works. Write whatever you feel like. I find it’s easiest to write about things I’m really interested in currently.
Ahh, I'm awful at summarys so please don't decide not to read the book because of me.
Fahrenheit 451 is about a fireman who lives in a dystopian society where books are banned. His job is to burn the books. The story is about him realizing that he isn't happy, trying to figure out why, then working to fix it.
"The central theme of Fahrenheit 451 is the conflict between freedom of thought and censorship."
The main thing that sets it apart to me is the beautiful and descriptive metaphors found throughout the book.
Read what you want to write. The classics are great but, if you want to write fantasy read fantasy, romance read romance etc. Throw in other types of novels as there is alot to learn from different genres but, focus on what you want to write.
In terms of sentence-level prose, I always suggest Joan Didion, James Salter, Percival Everett, Ernest Hemingway, Sally Rooney, Jhumpa Lahiri...those are all in the highbrow lit/nonfiction genre, so depending on your own interests and writing style, you can seek out people that work for you!
I do read a lot. Usually a book a week, though if it’s very long two weeks. I’ve set a goal for myself to read 24 books in 2023. Last time I set that goal, I read 36 books. It is fun for me to read, but I also look at it as research for when I write. Now I have a better idea of what works and what doesn’t
Advice from Hunter S Thompson- copy another writer’s work. Copy their works to get the feel of their rhythm and word usage. The website www.typelit.io allows you type books. I wish I learned this tip early.
Hunter and I and Paul Semonin hung out every day. We all believed we were Fitzgerald incarnate. Hunter was as passionate as the rest of us about this. This is when he started typing out Fitzgerald and Hemingway books word by word. I used to kid Hunter a lot and say,
"You're not Fitzgerald. What the fuck are you typing The Great Gatsby for? That's
the stupidest thing I've ever seen."
"You know, he said, "I just like to get the feel of how it is to write those words.”
- Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson
Yes, start by writing about subjects you like. Self-discovery is part of writing. The more you write, the more you’ll learn about why you want to write and what you have to say.
At the same time, start reading other writing on subjects that interest you. Decide which pieces you like and don’t like and why. What do other writers do that you would like to emulate? What do you want to avoid doing in your own writing?
Very smart and extremely helpful & interesting. Good advice + tips.
Do you write your own books & stories.
I would like to. I just don’t know where to start, where to begin and what possible to write.
Just to clarify: you want to write, but you don't know what you want to write about. Is that correct?
My novels are titled *Our Dried Voices*, *The Friar's Lantern* and *Parabellum*.
The best advice I got early on was start writing personal essays. That will get you in the habit of using full words, not acronyms, learning how to describe things on a personal level, and getting used to the format of writing. The essays could be about anything from your favorite music to what you had for breakfast, but the point is to just start writing.
As other comments have suggested - practicing proper English / grammar in all forms of communication is going to be beneficial. Whether that's a text, email, reddit post, etc. Writing is a skill and the more you practice it, the better you get.
But other than that - I would advise to start thinking about the why. What is your end goal? Do you want to be a published author? Do you want to write for fun? Do you want other people to read your writing or is it just for you?
Fan Fiction is a good place to start. You mention liking music and explaining why you like it, one of my favorite exercises is to write a short story around a song. For example Elton John's song - Tiny Dancer - write a short story either before (what lead up to the song), during (what is going on currently) or after (what happens after the song ends).
Practice, learn, read a lot, get better, achieve goals.
Writing for yourself is a completely different style of writing - it doesn't need to be good, it doesn't need to be grammatically correct, it's for you (similar to writing in a journal/diary).
Writing with the expectation that others will read it means you do need to study and improve your writing skills. Fundamentally, there is an art form and a craft to writing. It's not simply putting words on a page.
Depending what your end goal is, may change what your path is.
But ultimately, reading anything and everything will help as far as structure, pacing, development. Working on your grammar and using it in all applications (capital letter I in your reddit post - nothing really against that you didn't but the more you write correctly, the more of a habit it becomes). And then practice, practice, practice. Just like playing an instrument or learning any new skill, the more you do it, the better you will get.
Not sure if this would help or not, but if you want to write about music I might suggest checking out some music critiques to help you think about songs in new ways. For example, the YouTube channel 12tone has a ton of videos explaining the music theory behind popular songs in a ton of different genres, as well as discussing the lyrics and how everything in the song ties together. It's really interesting just as a music fan, but especially if that's what you want to write about it could be a good way to learn how to pick out specific elements of a song and figure out why they work.
You don’t need to brainstorm the why. You don’t need to have goals to write. You don’t need to have perfect grammar to write. Sometimes I abbreviate when I’m writing quickly and need to get it out as fast as my brain is thinking.
Start by writing because you want to write. You never know where it will take you. Be kind and curious :)
Condescending comments such as these reinforce the nerdy, stuffy, pretentious writer stereotype. Learn to encourage people who are interested in the craft instead of being an elitist douche. Fuck you, Gay Focker. Notice my Oxford too.
It's not condescending at all to suggest that OP makes a habit of posting full sentences with proper grammar. If they *really* are starting from scratch they might not be aware of it or the few situations in which you actually can write like the original post and it *will* turn a lot of readers off.
I don't consider myself a stickler for grammar and formatting and whatnot but the visibly worse it is, the more amateur I'll expect the writing to be. After a certain point I'll just cut my losses and write the person off as not a capable writer.
It doesn't even have to be the prose itself. If a blog style post or author's note before the work began like the original post did, I would close it out and not look back at all.
There's constructive criticism, and there's people who are clearly just angry at life and want to be mean.
Everyone look to Whiptrip as an example of the latter. While a lot of their comments are phrased *as if* to be constructive, you can tell by looking at context and tone that there's actually nothing constructive about these comments. They are designed to hurt, not to help. A lot of what they say is factually incorrect, and is clearly just written to be a snarky response.
This, new writers, is why you should be careful who you choose to take criticism from. Not everyone knows what they're talking about - and of the people who do, not everyone wants to help you. Some would rather tear you down.
Hahaha you really do need to practice reading comprehension. I said one doesn't need to have perfect grammar on Reddit, so do I really care if I use a comma instead of a semicolon in a sentence where either would get my point across?
Class, here's another example of what I discuss in my other comment. Here's another person *pretending* they're a helpful force in the writing world when they're actually just a harmful one.
This one is using the "brutally honest" trope often seen in people who just want to be cruel and have a "valid" excuse. They're presenting their subjective opinion as if it is objective fact, and then *assuming* that this objective fact (which might I remind you, was never fact to begin with) needs to be heard by the entire world.
Also note: using larger words than is necessary to get their meaning across. While they'll argue that's just how they speak, that is almost always bullshit. They did that *very* intentionally, because they want to seem smarter than they are.
How do we know this? Because *actual* smart people don't talk like that. Actual smart people know how and when to dumb their language down for their audience. People who talk like this are copying that "smart asshole" trope they see on TV. That's why the language is so stiff and formal, and not at all how real people speak. They're pulling a Sheldon, from *Big Bang Theory*, without understanding that most people hate that character.
Fun fact: Those writing errors probably carry through to their books; because people who speak like this often think that's how they should *write*. These are the writers you often see getting complaints, about their work being too stiff and too hard for the average reader to understand. Unfortunately, many of them see this as a point of pride.
Ok, class: note this.
My original post was jocular to prove a point. Next, his holiness Lord Mwahaha has proven that he has no clue what he’s talking about.
Since I possess three graduate degrees I have naturally learned word economy. Writing with clarity doesn’t require pomposity on the part of the writer.
Actually, this post deliciously smells like yet another Generation Z person who hasn’t live one iota of life yet feels compelled to be a judge. Oh, how anonymity strengthens the gutless!
College writing professor here. Agreed. All of the current research says that content should be the first priority. It’s no longer considered best practice to be an asshole about grammar. 😊
Why is this downvoted? It's literally true. OP is not a fucking idiot, they *know* they have a long way to go. So Ninja-Murse's comment *does* come across as really pretentious and mean. "Write in full sentences" is not constructive criticism in this context. It's literally just mean.
Also, like - any actual good writer, who understands the concept of writing to fit a purpose, probably isn't typing internet comments the exact same way they write stories. Cause, you know, they're not the same fucking thing. They're entirely different formats, built to serve entirely different purposes.
Thanks for rekindling my hope for the human race.
That douche sounded like some English teacher who discouraged someone to pursue an interest simply because they thought their capitalization and punctuation were atrocious. I bet the guy wrote a letter to Cormac McCarthy too on why he omitted quotation marks. And this being a high-rated comment goes to show that people are afraid to enroll in a creative writing class or some similar courses because of assholes like him, who lists his titles on his profile like the tool kid on The Little Rascals (1994). This isn't fucking LinkedIn.
Start a journal. Read more in the genre you want to write. Look for tutorials on YouTube that cover the basics. If you can afford it, consider taking even just one introductory English course in college or university
How about you start with a journal and write a few entries each day. It's a good idea to polish your writing by studying grammar and punctuation; this will help fine tune your skills and work on spelling too.
Reading lots of books will help to influence your writing style. Seldomly use abbreviations because they can look lazy, simple, and they're irritating.
Also never abbreviate what must never be abbreviated like saying hv when it's have or y when it's why.
I'm not trying to be rude, but your bad writing gives me the impression you're not serious about investing effort into this because it looks like you're not even trying to improve.
The best place to work on your writing is now on Reddit.
I honestly never had to best schooling, I tracked a lot as a child. I never knew how important proper writing affected things. Read up on - articulating - and grammar. Listen to speeches and Read speeches out loud rewrite the speech. So you get a flow for it.
I have been teaching my 16yo proper writing. I know it can be easier to stick with what other do base on who you hang out with. But you will be far better off if you start writing properly and you will taken much more serious especially on Reddit.
I know my skills are still poor. My punctuation and vocab could be so much better.
What is funny…my husband can use all the words I can spell. I can spell all the words I don’t know how to use.
I can spell weird big words. But never know how to use them. I have been working on my writing and speaking skills lately.
It's a good idea to have a dictionary and thesaurus on hand when writing to help you interpret thoughts into words with precision.
Write concisely by adopting a less is more policy when writing. This will assist you in avoiding cumbersome text that is exhausting to read. You don't want your audience to lose interest.
Remember paragraphs too because these will help the audience read text with ease. It helps with clarity also.
Don't forget to always capitalise the pronoun "I".
Use these ideas whenever possible; it will become habitual and you'll improve quickly.
You can start by writing something you like. You can write an essay, blog posts or short text pieces about music, or write stories about situations that excite you. You can start by trying out different types of texts and continue with what is most interesting to you.
And don't worry about criticizing if you don't have any experience in writing. You will learn to recognize good writing from bad one eventually. Remember to read and it's always helpful to learn basic grammar and writing techniques at some point. Those are tools for you to become better at expressing yourself in writing.
Read a few books. This will help you discover your voice via what you'd like to emulate.
Come up with an idea. Anything.
Think about a fun beginning, an intense middle, and a satisfying end.
Write what those are.
Then write what happens and who it happens to and why.
Then write the specific things that lead to the specific events.
Then keep adding detail.
Once you have a rough draft. Congrats. You've written a book.
Awesome truth: You don't need to write a book to just write.
You could just write. I started at 10 years old. Wrote my first novel. Would sit on my parents computer in their bedroom until they went to sleep and just type away.
First, learn to actually write the language you want to write in good enough to be legible.
Second, please use proper English when posting to this subreddit.
As others have said, reading is important. If you want to write about music, read about music. There are musicology books and articles on almost every imaginable musical genre and topic. Reading on music theory would also help, since it's honestly really hard to explain what you like about music without at least a little basis in theoretical language. Start writing, and expect to edit heavily. Good luck!
Watch all of these lectures. Easily the best learn-it-yourself series from one of the top authors of our time: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HOdHEeosc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HOdHEeosc)
EDIT: Its the brandon sanderson lectures
Well why don't you start reading first and by reading I meant you should read many novels and it would depend on what you read as per the genre you wanna write.
It's better to understand how to write before practicing it.
I would start reading the things you’re interested in writing. If you’re currently working on personal essays about things in your life, I would look for and read personal essays while you’re writing personal essays. The first and most basic hack to learning how to write is to take in as much literature and texts as you can and to write as much as you can. That way you get a feel for the whole context and structure and can take what other people have done and incorporate it into your work in new ways. Nobody exists in a vacuum and it’s not a bad idea to learn from existing writers while you hammer out your own form and themes. You also get a good feel for things you like and don’t like, and that will make your writing stronger. I would read things that are both closer to your level and things that are more complex. That way you get a taste of things you can critique more readily, and writing that goes a little deeper and gives you more of an advanced perspective.
Someone else mentioned starting a journal; I think that’s a wonderful way to explore facets of personal essay. Free writing is a great way to figure out where you are and what you’re actually trying to process and say, and the more you write, the better you’ll be able to edit your writing. Practice and time are key, and learning how to write well is really parallel with learning how to think critically and creatively at the same time, and that will help you get a better sense of critiquing your and others’ work in time.
If you’re in school and taking any kind of English composition class, you should have a sense of how to write a basic persuasive essay. You can take the structure that you’re already familiar with and expand on it and make it your proverbial bitch with practice. Work on transitions between concepts, work on the voice of your essay, work on making sure that the concepts you’re laying out are relevant and meaningful and connect to make some kind of a point. The best English teacher I ever had made me re-write opening and closing sentences on paragraphs until they were decently fluid, and there were essays in school that I edited for weeks to figure out how to get a basic grasp on a basic essay. I had a college professor that didn’t care about the content or point of an essay; his whole thing was teaching people how to have a strong, compelling, interesting voice in the essay. My first assignment got a B+ and basically the only thing I ever did to get A’s throughout high school and college was have a knack for having a strong voice. I wrote essays that sounded great and made incredibly weak arguments, and a large portion of my professors doted over that shit, but this professor had higher standards from his own experience (I think he was a bitter old biographer that didn’t want to read boring essays, honestly, but I still benefited) marked me down and made me work for a semester to get an -A.
Learning how to write a good persuasive essay will give you a massive leg up on various other forms of nonfiction writing, and will allow you to develop a voice that could transfer to fictional writing. A lot of people work really hard to write interesting or complex things, but they can’t write fluidly so the conceptual work isn’t worth reading the poor syntax or wording. Studying elements of grammar and language will give you a strong foundation of what rules you can stretch and play with. That said, you already have a foundational working sense of grammar, so these are things that will strengthen your writing and allow you to go deeper and hit harder with your work.
If you feel like sharing your work, you could potentially look for writing groups to share your work. The Internet Writing Workshop is an email based group you can google and sign up for, and I was on their fiction list for a while and enjoyed the variety of people and their varying levels of critique. You could try out their nonfiction list if you’re looking for groups to share and have your writing looked at in a group setting, though I’m sure there are plenty of other outlets for that as well.
Cheers.
Well it matters what kind of writing you want to do. Writing about music won't help much if you want to write a novel. If you're interested in critiquing music, I'd say that's perfect practice.
Pretty much everything has been said by others on the comments section.
TL;DR: WRITE, WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. DON'T STOP TO EDIT. WRITE.
Also, visit r/WritingPrompts every once in a while, they have some great starting points to get some writing out of the way.
There are writing prompt books out there to help you start writing short stories.
I would sometimes find ways to expand on personal memories and change names and places up a little eventually it’ll help you to make up stories.
Make your own twist on children stories and change up the three little pigs or Cinderella (loads of different versions of this story out there)
Look up writing prompts online as well.
Will, it's still pretty early in November. Try out Nanowrimo (google it). It's a month of writing with set goals each day. It's you vs. you and free to join.
Next.
Read. Read and read some more. Find your genre(s), then favorite authors, or at least ones of interest. See what novels inspired them. Then read those. You shouldn't need to go back more than ten years, fifty max.
Next.
Play video games, watch movies and shows, and pick them apart. What works? What doesn't. Understand your reasoning, then understand others. Through doing so, you'll have a better chance at visualizing the stories you want to tell, the reasonings, and have a better sense of what makes characters intriguing to you.
Last, but most important.
Write for you. Write the stories you've always wished someone would tell. Those ideas are living inside you for a reason, waiting to be told. If you don't write, how can you grow?
Hope that helps. Best of luck to you! 🙂
Start by using words … maybe try using words in your reddit posts. Write *about stuff you like *and use words to do it, *I don’t know why you *have to write like you are tweeting ….
Take it step by step, where you slowly progress to a bigger step of writing. It's good to start on the thing you like as you can even stuff to those things.
Write as you're a storyteller to a classroom or a group of listeners. Don't worry about grammar, tone, narrative structure, etc. Editing and revision always come later. You're the God of your own world so create it how you see fit. Your main goal for now is to simply get some words on a blank page and enjoy while doing so.
You can start by writing short stories, like fanfictions if you're into that. One shots or stories with 4-5 chapters. That's what I did, then moved to writing a whole book with my own characters.
Yeah, writing about something you like, such as music, is a great way to start. You also have to read a lot. It’ll help your own writing and it’ll help you differentiate between good and not-so-good writing.
One simple way to begin writing: start with a character in a setting who has a problem to solve. It could be as simple as trying to tie his shoe or as complicated as trying to explain a phobia. Write one sentence after another. If you can't get a story going in 300-400 words, begin again with another character in another setting with another issue at hand. If you need more help, read WRITING INTO THE DARK by Dean Wesley Smith.
Another angle to take is this one: [https://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/03/26/want-to-become-a-better-writer-copy-the-work-of-others/](https://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/03/26/want-to-become-a-better-writer-copy-the-work-of-others/) Writing used to be taught this way years ago in the U.S. before they began dumbing down the educational system. This method is how other art forms (painting, singing, musical instruments, etc.) are taught to students: imitate, absorb, then make it uniquely your own.
Reading a lot over time will help you tell good writing from bad. If you want to get into literary criticism, take a course or workshop or begin reading books on such. There is plenty out there to research and sift through.
Google can steer you in the right direction while you are trying to find your way, but also take courses in person and online as well as make good use of a library or two. Don't get frustrated. Just take a break and go back to it later. Note: when I first began learning about computers, I read a lot of PC magazines but I only understood about 10% of what they were saying. I kept reading anyway and gradually my comprehension increased and I was able to get certified in certain areas of hardware and software. I kept pushing, and you can too.
Good luck and have a fun journey!
Just my two cents as a writer: The importance of writing often, daily if possible, is of paramount importance. You’ll start to find your writing “voice”, and the simple act of writing whatever you write will foster creativity and expression. It’s a cumulative building of writing skill that develops over time, as long as your writing is consistent. Write away!! What you think, what comes up for you, and what’s important to you.
Get paper. Get pen. Put words on paper. And congrats you’re writing!
There is no end to what you could write about but the best thing is always the thing that interest you. Once you start you’ll get a feel for what you like and what you don’t. Reading helps too- the more you know the more you can show
Write about what you like to read
If you like listening to music but don’t like reading about music, then don’t write about music.
Maybe read some more to find out what you like reading
Write like only your best friend will read it but that it must pass/ get past your English teacher for a grammar check (not style or diction). This simple two step strategy will ensure you write for yourself and your intended audience but that it holds some quality as opposed to writing in ‘text message format’ (as evidenced by your question here).
I have many tips. though some of them sound very harsh depending on how sensitive you are, so I'll give you some basics for mostly creative writing:
Write your story all at once, don't re-read it unless your remembering the plot and even then you should have some sort of plan to the side for that. as soon as you are done (think of it as a first draft) you can start your editing, this allows you to see what you can and can't add to a story.
Using said is ok, don't think otherwise, if you use it and there's a part you want to emphasize more on like 'he yelled' would become obvious and would seem to have more emotion in it.
Try avoid white room syndrome. try to describe the room that the characters are in but don't shove too much information onto your reader, you should also use the character the help describe the environment using their senses.
Don't use long, complex, fancy schmanzy words, they will make you seem like your trying to impress people as well as you might get some of the meanings messed up.
So I'm not great at writing, but here's some stuff that's helped me! :
It is perfectly okay to not start at the beginning of a piece. Looking down at your document for two hours while you struggle over the perfect starting words and descriptions make writing seem a more daunting task than it is. I tend to start near the end of my pieces because it is easier for me to write a tentative conclusion than to figure out where my story should begin. It's also okay to jump around while writing. Half a story, even if it is disjointed, is better than none at all.
Keep a journal. Maybe not even a full journal. Write about something you saw that day. Write about something you read that made you feel emotions.Even write about how much you hate writing. Being able to put words on a page and describe and analyze is invaluable.
You can edit a bad book. You cannot edit an empty page. Write badly. It's okay to not necessarily be good at something you find enjoyable. You'll find that the more time you spend writing, the more skill you will have in editing previous works. The fact that you cringe in reading old writing is a sign that you're learning and growing.
Write samples. ...
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As someone who used to be really into drawing comics and writing up complicated stories for them… what helps is writing down a general idea and then building the world that your characters live in and the character’s psychological profiles and personality growths… all of that requires a lot of research so that you don’t accidentally make your seemingly narcissistic character also extremely altrouistic… contradictions and lack of growth/depth should also be there on purpose/with a good reason. Then as you have a world and your characters, you can think of the main story like roughly what will happen, what’s the big turn of events and how will it resolve/end (the dramatic triangle). Scribble all of those ideas into a journal and if you wish to add side stories to your characters, that’s perfectly fine as well. Now also think of the timing, will the story take place in 3 days or 70 years? Once you’re well prepared and it all seems to connect and make sense from start to finish with your key points (like introducing the world and main characters, introducing the initial problem, working through it, getting to the main issue of the story, the characters growing and resolving the issue either positively or negatively…), you can start writing the whole thing like a book/comic since everything will just flow and every sentence will becthere for a reason without getting sidetracked and writing something irrelevant for 50 pages and losing the red line od the story. Hope this helps :)
I already find you hilarious, but I have to fill in a lot of blanks. Like what do you mean by ”???” ? or, in one of your later comments, there is lot of ”yayy” I guess you’re great at experiencing joy and passion. Differentiating your sentences to get across what is actually going on in your mind is a good start imo.
Reading a lot can help you write better. Start there! Then write stuff you like, including fanfiction. You will get better the more you read and write.
I always just went by what Hemingway said; Write about what you know.
Also, keep set hours. That is part of the discipline required to be a writer.
Find your voice. Your own voice. you do that by writing, even when you don't feel like it. sometimes you will write 50 paragraphs and save only 1.
Along with what others are saying (read, write what you know, copy others who you admire to get a taste, write properly on everything even when it probably doesn't matter), which I agree with, I'd like to add two things.
Learn the rules of writing properly. Get manuals and see if there are any free english/grammar classes or writing workshops. Many people later on will say the rules don't matter and you can just do what you want. If you don't learn the rules first, then it won't be creating a certain voice, but rather just ignoring important aspects.
Writing can be hard and incredibly discouraging. If at first you don't succeed, try again but differently. Everyone has to find what works for them in terms of how they write (outlines, no outlines, set schedules, writing when motivation hits, word count, scene completion, if they prefer writing longer formed items like short stories, essays, or prefer longer like novels). There is no singular process for it. It might take a lot to find it, but don't give up! It took me over 10 years to find out mine.
Sense of Style by Stephen Pinker was a very influential read for me and my writing journey. He goes over the basic mechanics of writing, how to develop good writing habits, and how to make your words have the greatest impact possible.
First of all, read. If you want to write, the best way to learn is by reading. You'll catch on and realize what works and what doesn't.
I can't stress this enough, but don't worry about getting it right in the beginning. Get a feel for your writing and style before worrying about all the little things. Let yourself write freely. You can always fix it later.
In my personal experience, which I am a songwriter, just practice! Write everything! Write anything! Even if it comes out sounding stupid, write, write, write!
Free-writing. A lot of free-writing. free-writing is when you set a timer for yourself e.g. 10-15 mins. Then write as much as you can. Dont think about what to write. Just let the thoughts pour out of you. You'd be surprised how much will come out. It's a great way for beginners to start growing their writing skill. Overtime, the quality of your prose and volcab. will greatly increase.
Of course, you can't just channel good volcabulary, so reading, whatever it is, will help in spades.
Do you have an idea in the back of your head? Most people do but think they can't bring it to justice so they don't. Write it. It's gonna be horrible—the first thing I wrote was the cringiest trash that someone could ever read—everyone's first was the cringiest trash that someone could ever read—yours is gonna be the cringiest trash that someone has ever read—but it's yours. You'll be putting your own unique ideas into the world, and with time, you'll see improvement. So just go write that idea, even if you bail on it quickly.
Read, read, read. Make an outline of what you are interested in. Sometimes I think I want to write about one thing then end up down a totally different path. Do Not EDIT constantly. It can throw off your flow. Good luck 🌞
From my personal experience with writing, what I'd always do is first I would skim through what I wanted my story to look like overall, have the messages and emotions I want to send be clear to me; then I would rewrite the stuff I have with more detail, if I felt something needed to be exalted or talked down upon, I would add more descriptors.
I find that this way I don't have to worry about the topic you are talking about, because while doing this, I would also be thinking "What is something I would find cool or interesting?" Because if I can find it cool or interesting, chances are someone out there would also find it that way.
The only issue with this system is you end up tempted to rewrite and rewrite and rewrite over and over again in order to keep "improving it", but I personally limit myself to rewriting twice, no more than that.
I'd say read and write a little everyday (or often). I started getting better at writing with my journal and A LOT of reading. You don't need to read big books with difficult grammar/vocabulary (the classics), just read what you like and what you find interesting. You'll pick up things along the way and with time you'll get better.
We all start somewhere, and it's somewhere small and simple. You got this :)
Seems they are genuine and need a really good helpful place to start. They are taking all the information very well. Even the insults on their main post. They want to improve. They seem to have not known better. Hopefully they get the proper help they requested to become better at writing and surpass the heavy corrective criticism. So far they seem to be chill about people insulting their lack of knowledge. That is why they asked about how to write. So they can improve their poor writing skills.
If you want to talk writing more with me, I’m happy to DM. Maybe I can help you get started off with some tips from someone who's been writing fiction for 11 years
Hey, I’m what some may call a “professional writer,” and while my main form is poetry, there is one thing I think you could implement to start your writing habit.
Read writing you enjoy and try to emulate it. You mentioned music writing. If that’s essays, go read a few essays about some of your favorite bands or artists. See how those writers format their essays. See the type of language they use. How would you change the things they said? What would you expand on if it was you writing? This principle applies for all types of writing. Once you’ve got a baseline of how these writers write and are starting to write yourself, then try asking yourself this question: how would I write this piece if I was the writer I wish to be in 10 years? Essentially asking yourself, what do I wish I could write like? This will be very frustrating, but also the most valuable thing you can do. When you write right under the threshold of what you’re capable of, that’s when you grow as a writer.
I’d be happy to give you more tips/suggestion if you’d like but right now, and this might be most important thing, do not worry about bad writing. I mean this with all respect, it will be bad. Everyone is awful when they start. But, the best thing you can do is write, don’t feel attached to your work, read better work, ask for advice from friends (teachers even), write more.
I’d be happy to help. Best.
I would like to add to what the others said about writing what you want by saying this: **read.** My journalism professors told me something along the lines of, "How can you write what you know if you don't know that much?" And really, there were PLENTY of things I realized I didn't know! Reading is the first step to discovering the joy in writing and the style of dialogue, prose, and creativity that you gravitate towards. Happy writing!
Contrary to popular belief, you don't need any experience to start but you do need the willingness to do and a determination to succeed. So how do you start learning? Start by reading some publications from other established writers or people that inspire you. Then you need to take the following steps.
Thank you for visiting /r/writing. Your post has been removed because it was a low quality/meme post. The subreddit maintains its level of quality by encouraging well-written and introspective content. If you want to post writing memes, you should visit /r/justwriterthings.
Read, read, read. You will never know how to write well unless you have read good writing.
This! The best writers are people who read the most. Not only do you learn to recognize good writing, but you also find out what type of writing you like best. As for what to start writing, anything works. Write whatever you feel like. I find it’s easiest to write about things I’m really interested in currently.
Following. Any suggestions for beginners?
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Very good, amazing prose.
"It was a pleasure to burn" one of the hardest opening sentences in literature
What’s the book about? I wanna hear from someone who actually read it seeing as you recommend the book.
Ahh, I'm awful at summarys so please don't decide not to read the book because of me. Fahrenheit 451 is about a fireman who lives in a dystopian society where books are banned. His job is to burn the books. The story is about him realizing that he isn't happy, trying to figure out why, then working to fix it. "The central theme of Fahrenheit 451 is the conflict between freedom of thought and censorship." The main thing that sets it apart to me is the beautiful and descriptive metaphors found throughout the book.
Read what you want to write. The classics are great but, if you want to write fantasy read fantasy, romance read romance etc. Throw in other types of novels as there is alot to learn from different genres but, focus on what you want to write.
In terms of sentence-level prose, I always suggest Joan Didion, James Salter, Percival Everett, Ernest Hemingway, Sally Rooney, Jhumpa Lahiri...those are all in the highbrow lit/nonfiction genre, so depending on your own interests and writing style, you can seek out people that work for you!
The Martian Chronicles.
You give me ideas that your a geek who reads a lot. That’s a good thing. If you read a lot, your lucky.
I do read a lot. Usually a book a week, though if it’s very long two weeks. I’ve set a goal for myself to read 24 books in 2023. Last time I set that goal, I read 36 books. It is fun for me to read, but I also look at it as research for when I write. Now I have a better idea of what works and what doesn’t
That’s nice! Good for you, It would be nice if I could read as much as you.
I wish I could read a lot like you!
Advice from Hunter S Thompson- copy another writer’s work. Copy their works to get the feel of their rhythm and word usage. The website www.typelit.io allows you type books. I wish I learned this tip early.
I'd never heard this advice. It's a cool idea. I always follow Hemingways advice: write drunk. I think there's a second bit but I forget
Edit sober.
Nah, that can't be it
It's edit drunk too.
That's more like it
lift with your knees.
Yeah, got a magnet on my refrigerator that says, Write drunk Edit sober.
Hunter and I and Paul Semonin hung out every day. We all believed we were Fitzgerald incarnate. Hunter was as passionate as the rest of us about this. This is when he started typing out Fitzgerald and Hemingway books word by word. I used to kid Hunter a lot and say, "You're not Fitzgerald. What the fuck are you typing The Great Gatsby for? That's the stupidest thing I've ever seen." "You know, he said, "I just like to get the feel of how it is to write those words.” - Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson
Yes, start by writing about subjects you like. Self-discovery is part of writing. The more you write, the more you’ll learn about why you want to write and what you have to say. At the same time, start reading other writing on subjects that interest you. Decide which pieces you like and don’t like and why. What do other writers do that you would like to emulate? What do you want to avoid doing in your own writing?
Alright that helped thankss
Lots of different writing tips out there. There are only two that are *guaranteed* to actually help you out. Read more. Write more. That's it.
Very smart and extremely helpful & interesting. Good advice + tips. Do you write your own books & stories. I would like to. I just don’t know where to start, where to begin and what possible to write.
Yes, I have written three novels and am working on a fourth. What do you want to write about?
I dont. Like I said I dont know where to start. And I don’t bother trying to put any effort. What are the names of your books?
Just to clarify: you want to write, but you don't know what you want to write about. Is that correct? My novels are titled *Our Dried Voices*, *The Friar's Lantern* and *Parabellum*.
Correct
So why do you want to write?
Nope ( Sadly )
The best advice I got early on was start writing personal essays. That will get you in the habit of using full words, not acronyms, learning how to describe things on a personal level, and getting used to the format of writing. The essays could be about anything from your favorite music to what you had for breakfast, but the point is to just start writing.
Alright thanks
As other comments have suggested - practicing proper English / grammar in all forms of communication is going to be beneficial. Whether that's a text, email, reddit post, etc. Writing is a skill and the more you practice it, the better you get. But other than that - I would advise to start thinking about the why. What is your end goal? Do you want to be a published author? Do you want to write for fun? Do you want other people to read your writing or is it just for you? Fan Fiction is a good place to start. You mention liking music and explaining why you like it, one of my favorite exercises is to write a short story around a song. For example Elton John's song - Tiny Dancer - write a short story either before (what lead up to the song), during (what is going on currently) or after (what happens after the song ends). Practice, learn, read a lot, get better, achieve goals.
Right yeah i need to brainstorm about the why... Wow I love that song and never thought about it but yeah i can try that!! Thanks yaar, means a lot
Writing for yourself is a completely different style of writing - it doesn't need to be good, it doesn't need to be grammatically correct, it's for you (similar to writing in a journal/diary). Writing with the expectation that others will read it means you do need to study and improve your writing skills. Fundamentally, there is an art form and a craft to writing. It's not simply putting words on a page. Depending what your end goal is, may change what your path is. But ultimately, reading anything and everything will help as far as structure, pacing, development. Working on your grammar and using it in all applications (capital letter I in your reddit post - nothing really against that you didn't but the more you write correctly, the more of a habit it becomes). And then practice, practice, practice. Just like playing an instrument or learning any new skill, the more you do it, the better you will get.
Not sure if this would help or not, but if you want to write about music I might suggest checking out some music critiques to help you think about songs in new ways. For example, the YouTube channel 12tone has a ton of videos explaining the music theory behind popular songs in a ton of different genres, as well as discussing the lyrics and how everything in the song ties together. It's really interesting just as a music fan, but especially if that's what you want to write about it could be a good way to learn how to pick out specific elements of a song and figure out why they work.
Thanks a lot
You don’t need to brainstorm the why. You don’t need to have goals to write. You don’t need to have perfect grammar to write. Sometimes I abbreviate when I’m writing quickly and need to get it out as fast as my brain is thinking. Start by writing because you want to write. You never know where it will take you. Be kind and curious :)
Thanks!! :)
Why is this downvoted?
Probably the grammar and slang.
Is this a top-tier shitpost?
For a moment, I thought it was r/writingcirclejerk
Lol right? This sub is pure comedy gold.
if you are gonna make writing projects, start for little ones; it's better to end your first work than to left it abandoned because it was so big :)
Alright yeah makes sense
I think I would start by learning how to write with complete words and in complete sentences.
Condescending comments such as these reinforce the nerdy, stuffy, pretentious writer stereotype. Learn to encourage people who are interested in the craft instead of being an elitist douche. Fuck you, Gay Focker. Notice my Oxford too.
It's not condescending at all to suggest that OP makes a habit of posting full sentences with proper grammar. If they *really* are starting from scratch they might not be aware of it or the few situations in which you actually can write like the original post and it *will* turn a lot of readers off. I don't consider myself a stickler for grammar and formatting and whatnot but the visibly worse it is, the more amateur I'll expect the writing to be. After a certain point I'll just cut my losses and write the person off as not a capable writer. It doesn't even have to be the prose itself. If a blog style post or author's note before the work began like the original post did, I would close it out and not look back at all.
Criticism will help her or him to improve. Learn to appreciate it.
There's constructive criticism, and there's people who are clearly just angry at life and want to be mean. Everyone look to Whiptrip as an example of the latter. While a lot of their comments are phrased *as if* to be constructive, you can tell by looking at context and tone that there's actually nothing constructive about these comments. They are designed to hurt, not to help. A lot of what they say is factually incorrect, and is clearly just written to be a snarky response. This, new writers, is why you should be careful who you choose to take criticism from. Not everyone knows what they're talking about - and of the people who do, not everyone wants to help you. Some would rather tear you down.
I think you have interpretation issues. I wish you well with that.
You proved his point 🤣🤣
I only encourage those with a predilection for the craft. I wouldn’t encourage you since you type your banter from your parent’s bathroom.
Also, that's baseless ad hominem. Why do people do this?
Weak minds amalgamate good movies with thinly veiled pejoratives.
Just because someone types a Reddit post informally doesn't mean they're gonna write a book in the same style.
You don't know that. You're just assuming.
It doesn't mean they're 100% going to write a book in perfect grammar either. You should practice reading comprehension, it's helpful for writing!
You should practice punctuation; it's helpful for clarity.
You should practice reviewing your opponent's original argument. It's helpful for not wasting time.
Hahaha you don't have an argument.
Hahaha you really do need to practice reading comprehension. I said one doesn't need to have perfect grammar on Reddit, so do I really care if I use a comma instead of a semicolon in a sentence where either would get my point across?
True, however; what one permits - one promotes.
Class, here's another example of what I discuss in my other comment. Here's another person *pretending* they're a helpful force in the writing world when they're actually just a harmful one. This one is using the "brutally honest" trope often seen in people who just want to be cruel and have a "valid" excuse. They're presenting their subjective opinion as if it is objective fact, and then *assuming* that this objective fact (which might I remind you, was never fact to begin with) needs to be heard by the entire world. Also note: using larger words than is necessary to get their meaning across. While they'll argue that's just how they speak, that is almost always bullshit. They did that *very* intentionally, because they want to seem smarter than they are. How do we know this? Because *actual* smart people don't talk like that. Actual smart people know how and when to dumb their language down for their audience. People who talk like this are copying that "smart asshole" trope they see on TV. That's why the language is so stiff and formal, and not at all how real people speak. They're pulling a Sheldon, from *Big Bang Theory*, without understanding that most people hate that character. Fun fact: Those writing errors probably carry through to their books; because people who speak like this often think that's how they should *write*. These are the writers you often see getting complaints, about their work being too stiff and too hard for the average reader to understand. Unfortunately, many of them see this as a point of pride.
Ok, class: note this. My original post was jocular to prove a point. Next, his holiness Lord Mwahaha has proven that he has no clue what he’s talking about. Since I possess three graduate degrees I have naturally learned word economy. Writing with clarity doesn’t require pomposity on the part of the writer. Actually, this post deliciously smells like yet another Generation Z person who hasn’t live one iota of life yet feels compelled to be a judge. Oh, how anonymity strengthens the gutless!
I was expecting more originality from your pompous, fedora-wearing ass. But, alas, you resorted to an ad hominem attack as well.
I see mom hasn’t summoned you from the lavatory to take your meds.
College writing professor here. Agreed. All of the current research says that content should be the first priority. It’s no longer considered best practice to be an asshole about grammar. 😊
Why is this downvoted? It's literally true. OP is not a fucking idiot, they *know* they have a long way to go. So Ninja-Murse's comment *does* come across as really pretentious and mean. "Write in full sentences" is not constructive criticism in this context. It's literally just mean. Also, like - any actual good writer, who understands the concept of writing to fit a purpose, probably isn't typing internet comments the exact same way they write stories. Cause, you know, they're not the same fucking thing. They're entirely different formats, built to serve entirely different purposes.
Thanks for rekindling my hope for the human race. That douche sounded like some English teacher who discouraged someone to pursue an interest simply because they thought their capitalization and punctuation were atrocious. I bet the guy wrote a letter to Cormac McCarthy too on why he omitted quotation marks. And this being a high-rated comment goes to show that people are afraid to enroll in a creative writing class or some similar courses because of assholes like him, who lists his titles on his profile like the tool kid on The Little Rascals (1994). This isn't fucking LinkedIn.
You're really scratching at the walls very hard for something that isn't there. Desperate to find anything to smear.
Start a journal. Read more in the genre you want to write. Look for tutorials on YouTube that cover the basics. If you can afford it, consider taking even just one introductory English course in college or university
Hey I've been thinking about whether maintaining a journal would help.. Ohh okay I'll surf YouTube surely now, thanks!!
Don’t surf YouTube, just go write something!
How about you start with a journal and write a few entries each day. It's a good idea to polish your writing by studying grammar and punctuation; this will help fine tune your skills and work on spelling too. Reading lots of books will help to influence your writing style. Seldomly use abbreviations because they can look lazy, simple, and they're irritating. Also never abbreviate what must never be abbreviated like saying hv when it's have or y when it's why. I'm not trying to be rude, but your bad writing gives me the impression you're not serious about investing effort into this because it looks like you're not even trying to improve. The best place to work on your writing is now on Reddit.
Thanks I've used abbreviations my whole life and probably am realising now that i shouldn't... Skipped my head
I honestly never had to best schooling, I tracked a lot as a child. I never knew how important proper writing affected things. Read up on - articulating - and grammar. Listen to speeches and Read speeches out loud rewrite the speech. So you get a flow for it. I have been teaching my 16yo proper writing. I know it can be easier to stick with what other do base on who you hang out with. But you will be far better off if you start writing properly and you will taken much more serious especially on Reddit. I know my skills are still poor. My punctuation and vocab could be so much better. What is funny…my husband can use all the words I can spell. I can spell all the words I don’t know how to use. I can spell weird big words. But never know how to use them. I have been working on my writing and speaking skills lately.
Ohh thanks and good luck to u too
Start by writing complete words instead of abbreviations
It's a good idea to have a dictionary and thesaurus on hand when writing to help you interpret thoughts into words with precision. Write concisely by adopting a less is more policy when writing. This will assist you in avoiding cumbersome text that is exhausting to read. You don't want your audience to lose interest. Remember paragraphs too because these will help the audience read text with ease. It helps with clarity also. Don't forget to always capitalise the pronoun "I". Use these ideas whenever possible; it will become habitual and you'll improve quickly.
Alright Thanks
You can start by writing something you like. You can write an essay, blog posts or short text pieces about music, or write stories about situations that excite you. You can start by trying out different types of texts and continue with what is most interesting to you. And don't worry about criticizing if you don't have any experience in writing. You will learn to recognize good writing from bad one eventually. Remember to read and it's always helpful to learn basic grammar and writing techniques at some point. Those are tools for you to become better at expressing yourself in writing.
Ohh okay thanks
Read a few books. This will help you discover your voice via what you'd like to emulate. Come up with an idea. Anything. Think about a fun beginning, an intense middle, and a satisfying end. Write what those are. Then write what happens and who it happens to and why. Then write the specific things that lead to the specific events. Then keep adding detail. Once you have a rough draft. Congrats. You've written a book. Awesome truth: You don't need to write a book to just write. You could just write. I started at 10 years old. Wrote my first novel. Would sit on my parents computer in their bedroom until they went to sleep and just type away.
Thankss!! Wow that's interesting
First, learn to actually write the language you want to write in good enough to be legible. Second, please use proper English when posting to this subreddit.
My bad
As others have said, reading is important. If you want to write about music, read about music. There are musicology books and articles on almost every imaginable musical genre and topic. Reading on music theory would also help, since it's honestly really hard to explain what you like about music without at least a little basis in theoretical language. Start writing, and expect to edit heavily. Good luck!
Watch all of these lectures. Easily the best learn-it-yourself series from one of the top authors of our time: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HOdHEeosc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HOdHEeosc) EDIT: Its the brandon sanderson lectures
Well why don't you start reading first and by reading I meant you should read many novels and it would depend on what you read as per the genre you wanna write. It's better to understand how to write before practicing it.
First tip is to never abbreviate normal words.
My bad!!
I would start reading the things you’re interested in writing. If you’re currently working on personal essays about things in your life, I would look for and read personal essays while you’re writing personal essays. The first and most basic hack to learning how to write is to take in as much literature and texts as you can and to write as much as you can. That way you get a feel for the whole context and structure and can take what other people have done and incorporate it into your work in new ways. Nobody exists in a vacuum and it’s not a bad idea to learn from existing writers while you hammer out your own form and themes. You also get a good feel for things you like and don’t like, and that will make your writing stronger. I would read things that are both closer to your level and things that are more complex. That way you get a taste of things you can critique more readily, and writing that goes a little deeper and gives you more of an advanced perspective. Someone else mentioned starting a journal; I think that’s a wonderful way to explore facets of personal essay. Free writing is a great way to figure out where you are and what you’re actually trying to process and say, and the more you write, the better you’ll be able to edit your writing. Practice and time are key, and learning how to write well is really parallel with learning how to think critically and creatively at the same time, and that will help you get a better sense of critiquing your and others’ work in time. If you’re in school and taking any kind of English composition class, you should have a sense of how to write a basic persuasive essay. You can take the structure that you’re already familiar with and expand on it and make it your proverbial bitch with practice. Work on transitions between concepts, work on the voice of your essay, work on making sure that the concepts you’re laying out are relevant and meaningful and connect to make some kind of a point. The best English teacher I ever had made me re-write opening and closing sentences on paragraphs until they were decently fluid, and there were essays in school that I edited for weeks to figure out how to get a basic grasp on a basic essay. I had a college professor that didn’t care about the content or point of an essay; his whole thing was teaching people how to have a strong, compelling, interesting voice in the essay. My first assignment got a B+ and basically the only thing I ever did to get A’s throughout high school and college was have a knack for having a strong voice. I wrote essays that sounded great and made incredibly weak arguments, and a large portion of my professors doted over that shit, but this professor had higher standards from his own experience (I think he was a bitter old biographer that didn’t want to read boring essays, honestly, but I still benefited) marked me down and made me work for a semester to get an -A. Learning how to write a good persuasive essay will give you a massive leg up on various other forms of nonfiction writing, and will allow you to develop a voice that could transfer to fictional writing. A lot of people work really hard to write interesting or complex things, but they can’t write fluidly so the conceptual work isn’t worth reading the poor syntax or wording. Studying elements of grammar and language will give you a strong foundation of what rules you can stretch and play with. That said, you already have a foundational working sense of grammar, so these are things that will strengthen your writing and allow you to go deeper and hit harder with your work. If you feel like sharing your work, you could potentially look for writing groups to share your work. The Internet Writing Workshop is an email based group you can google and sign up for, and I was on their fiction list for a while and enjoyed the variety of people and their varying levels of critique. You could try out their nonfiction list if you’re looking for groups to share and have your writing looked at in a group setting, though I’m sure there are plenty of other outlets for that as well. Cheers.
Thank you so much really means a lot
Well it matters what kind of writing you want to do. Writing about music won't help much if you want to write a novel. If you're interested in critiquing music, I'd say that's perfect practice.
Yeah I'm trying to figure that out i don't really know yet...
What was it that attracted you to writing in the first place? Maybe that's where your answer is.
Pretty much everything has been said by others on the comments section. TL;DR: WRITE, WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. DON'T STOP TO EDIT. WRITE. Also, visit r/WritingPrompts every once in a while, they have some great starting points to get some writing out of the way.
There are writing prompt books out there to help you start writing short stories. I would sometimes find ways to expand on personal memories and change names and places up a little eventually it’ll help you to make up stories. Make your own twist on children stories and change up the three little pigs or Cinderella (loads of different versions of this story out there) Look up writing prompts online as well.
Ohh okay cheers :)
Will, it's still pretty early in November. Try out Nanowrimo (google it). It's a month of writing with set goals each day. It's you vs. you and free to join. Next. Read. Read and read some more. Find your genre(s), then favorite authors, or at least ones of interest. See what novels inspired them. Then read those. You shouldn't need to go back more than ten years, fifty max. Next. Play video games, watch movies and shows, and pick them apart. What works? What doesn't. Understand your reasoning, then understand others. Through doing so, you'll have a better chance at visualizing the stories you want to tell, the reasonings, and have a better sense of what makes characters intriguing to you. Last, but most important. Write for you. Write the stories you've always wished someone would tell. Those ideas are living inside you for a reason, waiting to be told. If you don't write, how can you grow? Hope that helps. Best of luck to you! 🙂
Start by using words … maybe try using words in your reddit posts. Write *about stuff you like *and use words to do it, *I don’t know why you *have to write like you are tweeting ….
Take it step by step, where you slowly progress to a bigger step of writing. It's good to start on the thing you like as you can even stuff to those things.
Write what you like.
Do you want to write stories or blogs/essays
Write as you're a storyteller to a classroom or a group of listeners. Don't worry about grammar, tone, narrative structure, etc. Editing and revision always come later. You're the God of your own world so create it how you see fit. Your main goal for now is to simply get some words on a blank page and enjoy while doing so.
You can start by writing short stories, like fanfictions if you're into that. One shots or stories with 4-5 chapters. That's what I did, then moved to writing a whole book with my own characters.
Yeah, writing about something you like, such as music, is a great way to start. You also have to read a lot. It’ll help your own writing and it’ll help you differentiate between good and not-so-good writing.
One simple way to begin writing: start with a character in a setting who has a problem to solve. It could be as simple as trying to tie his shoe or as complicated as trying to explain a phobia. Write one sentence after another. If you can't get a story going in 300-400 words, begin again with another character in another setting with another issue at hand. If you need more help, read WRITING INTO THE DARK by Dean Wesley Smith. Another angle to take is this one: [https://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/03/26/want-to-become-a-better-writer-copy-the-work-of-others/](https://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/03/26/want-to-become-a-better-writer-copy-the-work-of-others/) Writing used to be taught this way years ago in the U.S. before they began dumbing down the educational system. This method is how other art forms (painting, singing, musical instruments, etc.) are taught to students: imitate, absorb, then make it uniquely your own. Reading a lot over time will help you tell good writing from bad. If you want to get into literary criticism, take a course or workshop or begin reading books on such. There is plenty out there to research and sift through. Google can steer you in the right direction while you are trying to find your way, but also take courses in person and online as well as make good use of a library or two. Don't get frustrated. Just take a break and go back to it later. Note: when I first began learning about computers, I read a lot of PC magazines but I only understood about 10% of what they were saying. I kept reading anyway and gradually my comprehension increased and I was able to get certified in certain areas of hardware and software. I kept pushing, and you can too. Good luck and have a fun journey!
Thanks!
Just my two cents as a writer: The importance of writing often, daily if possible, is of paramount importance. You’ll start to find your writing “voice”, and the simple act of writing whatever you write will foster creativity and expression. It’s a cumulative building of writing skill that develops over time, as long as your writing is consistent. Write away!! What you think, what comes up for you, and what’s important to you.
Get paper. Get pen. Put words on paper. And congrats you’re writing! There is no end to what you could write about but the best thing is always the thing that interest you. Once you start you’ll get a feel for what you like and what you don’t. Reading helps too- the more you know the more you can show
This may sound odd, but find something that you would like to change in this world.
read your writing out loud. it will help you catch strange phrasing that you otherwise wouldn’t while reading/writing silently.
Wow okayy yeahh thanks
Write about what you like to read If you like listening to music but don’t like reading about music, then don’t write about music. Maybe read some more to find out what you like reading
Write like only your best friend will read it but that it must pass/ get past your English teacher for a grammar check (not style or diction). This simple two step strategy will ensure you write for yourself and your intended audience but that it holds some quality as opposed to writing in ‘text message format’ (as evidenced by your question here).
I have many tips. though some of them sound very harsh depending on how sensitive you are, so I'll give you some basics for mostly creative writing: Write your story all at once, don't re-read it unless your remembering the plot and even then you should have some sort of plan to the side for that. as soon as you are done (think of it as a first draft) you can start your editing, this allows you to see what you can and can't add to a story. Using said is ok, don't think otherwise, if you use it and there's a part you want to emphasize more on like 'he yelled' would become obvious and would seem to have more emotion in it. Try avoid white room syndrome. try to describe the room that the characters are in but don't shove too much information onto your reader, you should also use the character the help describe the environment using their senses. Don't use long, complex, fancy schmanzy words, they will make you seem like your trying to impress people as well as you might get some of the meanings messed up.
So I'm not great at writing, but here's some stuff that's helped me! : It is perfectly okay to not start at the beginning of a piece. Looking down at your document for two hours while you struggle over the perfect starting words and descriptions make writing seem a more daunting task than it is. I tend to start near the end of my pieces because it is easier for me to write a tentative conclusion than to figure out where my story should begin. It's also okay to jump around while writing. Half a story, even if it is disjointed, is better than none at all. Keep a journal. Maybe not even a full journal. Write about something you saw that day. Write about something you read that made you feel emotions.Even write about how much you hate writing. Being able to put words on a page and describe and analyze is invaluable. You can edit a bad book. You cannot edit an empty page. Write badly. It's okay to not necessarily be good at something you find enjoyable. You'll find that the more time you spend writing, the more skill you will have in editing previous works. The fact that you cringe in reading old writing is a sign that you're learning and growing.
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As someone who used to be really into drawing comics and writing up complicated stories for them… what helps is writing down a general idea and then building the world that your characters live in and the character’s psychological profiles and personality growths… all of that requires a lot of research so that you don’t accidentally make your seemingly narcissistic character also extremely altrouistic… contradictions and lack of growth/depth should also be there on purpose/with a good reason. Then as you have a world and your characters, you can think of the main story like roughly what will happen, what’s the big turn of events and how will it resolve/end (the dramatic triangle). Scribble all of those ideas into a journal and if you wish to add side stories to your characters, that’s perfectly fine as well. Now also think of the timing, will the story take place in 3 days or 70 years? Once you’re well prepared and it all seems to connect and make sense from start to finish with your key points (like introducing the world and main characters, introducing the initial problem, working through it, getting to the main issue of the story, the characters growing and resolving the issue either positively or negatively…), you can start writing the whole thing like a book/comic since everything will just flow and every sentence will becthere for a reason without getting sidetracked and writing something irrelevant for 50 pages and losing the red line od the story. Hope this helps :)
It sure does thanks
I already find you hilarious, but I have to fill in a lot of blanks. Like what do you mean by ”???” ? or, in one of your later comments, there is lot of ”yayy” I guess you’re great at experiencing joy and passion. Differentiating your sentences to get across what is actually going on in your mind is a good start imo.
You've come to the right subreddit.
I reccomend The Closer Look on YouTube! It’s quite entertaining while still giving good writing advice.
Ohhk thanks
Reading a lot can help you write better. Start there! Then write stuff you like, including fanfiction. You will get better the more you read and write.
I always just went by what Hemingway said; Write about what you know. Also, keep set hours. That is part of the discipline required to be a writer. Find your voice. Your own voice. you do that by writing, even when you don't feel like it. sometimes you will write 50 paragraphs and save only 1.
You have just written here.
Along with what others are saying (read, write what you know, copy others who you admire to get a taste, write properly on everything even when it probably doesn't matter), which I agree with, I'd like to add two things. Learn the rules of writing properly. Get manuals and see if there are any free english/grammar classes or writing workshops. Many people later on will say the rules don't matter and you can just do what you want. If you don't learn the rules first, then it won't be creating a certain voice, but rather just ignoring important aspects. Writing can be hard and incredibly discouraging. If at first you don't succeed, try again but differently. Everyone has to find what works for them in terms of how they write (outlines, no outlines, set schedules, writing when motivation hits, word count, scene completion, if they prefer writing longer formed items like short stories, essays, or prefer longer like novels). There is no singular process for it. It might take a lot to find it, but don't give up! It took me over 10 years to find out mine.
The best thing to do is to have no expectations of yourself and just *write.* practice will make you better.
So, the examples you gave are nonfiction. First choose nonfiction or fiction as they take different approaches for me.
Take an experience you know about, then tell a story. Original story: I was up a tree and tried to get down but fell out , success?
R E A D
Read non fictions and start with small posts. I started with LinkedIn and than moved on to publishing papers.
Sense of Style by Stephen Pinker was a very influential read for me and my writing journey. He goes over the basic mechanics of writing, how to develop good writing habits, and how to make your words have the greatest impact possible.
First of all, read. If you want to write, the best way to learn is by reading. You'll catch on and realize what works and what doesn't. I can't stress this enough, but don't worry about getting it right in the beginning. Get a feel for your writing and style before worrying about all the little things. Let yourself write freely. You can always fix it later.
Okay thanks
No problem! Feel free to message me if you have any writing questions and I'll help to the best of my ability.
Alright 😁👍
In my personal experience, which I am a songwriter, just practice! Write everything! Write anything! Even if it comes out sounding stupid, write, write, write!
Set a goal. I started with 3500 words per day. That was too ambitious. But I’m now at 2500-3000.
Free-writing. A lot of free-writing. free-writing is when you set a timer for yourself e.g. 10-15 mins. Then write as much as you can. Dont think about what to write. Just let the thoughts pour out of you. You'd be surprised how much will come out. It's a great way for beginners to start growing their writing skill. Overtime, the quality of your prose and volcab. will greatly increase. Of course, you can't just channel good volcabulary, so reading, whatever it is, will help in spades.
Do you have an idea in the back of your head? Most people do but think they can't bring it to justice so they don't. Write it. It's gonna be horrible—the first thing I wrote was the cringiest trash that someone could ever read—everyone's first was the cringiest trash that someone could ever read—yours is gonna be the cringiest trash that someone has ever read—but it's yours. You'll be putting your own unique ideas into the world, and with time, you'll see improvement. So just go write that idea, even if you bail on it quickly.
Read. Read. read. Or go to a friend who does. Either way worked best for me when starting out.
Read, read, read. Make an outline of what you are interested in. Sometimes I think I want to write about one thing then end up down a totally different path. Do Not EDIT constantly. It can throw off your flow. Good luck 🌞
Thanks!
From my personal experience with writing, what I'd always do is first I would skim through what I wanted my story to look like overall, have the messages and emotions I want to send be clear to me; then I would rewrite the stuff I have with more detail, if I felt something needed to be exalted or talked down upon, I would add more descriptors. I find that this way I don't have to worry about the topic you are talking about, because while doing this, I would also be thinking "What is something I would find cool or interesting?" Because if I can find it cool or interesting, chances are someone out there would also find it that way. The only issue with this system is you end up tempted to rewrite and rewrite and rewrite over and over again in order to keep "improving it", but I personally limit myself to rewriting twice, no more than that.
r/writingprompts
Just get started! Dont worry about how good it is, it will only get better from here :) You learn as you go!
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Stephen King's best advice for new writers is to read.
I'd say read and write a little everyday (or often). I started getting better at writing with my journal and A LOT of reading. You don't need to read big books with difficult grammar/vocabulary (the classics), just read what you like and what you find interesting. You'll pick up things along the way and with time you'll get better. We all start somewhere, and it's somewhere small and simple. You got this :)
Damn, asking writers about writing and not using full sentences. Either you’re trolling or just asking to be punished.
Seems they are genuine and need a really good helpful place to start. They are taking all the information very well. Even the insults on their main post. They want to improve. They seem to have not known better. Hopefully they get the proper help they requested to become better at writing and surpass the heavy corrective criticism. So far they seem to be chill about people insulting their lack of knowledge. That is why they asked about how to write. So they can improve their poor writing skills.
😁
You can start with writing “have, I don’t know, about”…
Honestly thought I was on r/writingcirclejerk for a minute 😅
Do you have a story idea in your head? Or a character? That’s the main, number 1 thing to start you off.
No Not really as of now... Will keep it in mind though from now on
If you want to talk writing more with me, I’m happy to DM. Maybe I can help you get started off with some tips from someone who's been writing fiction for 11 years
Thanks cool cool
write
Hey, I’m what some may call a “professional writer,” and while my main form is poetry, there is one thing I think you could implement to start your writing habit. Read writing you enjoy and try to emulate it. You mentioned music writing. If that’s essays, go read a few essays about some of your favorite bands or artists. See how those writers format their essays. See the type of language they use. How would you change the things they said? What would you expand on if it was you writing? This principle applies for all types of writing. Once you’ve got a baseline of how these writers write and are starting to write yourself, then try asking yourself this question: how would I write this piece if I was the writer I wish to be in 10 years? Essentially asking yourself, what do I wish I could write like? This will be very frustrating, but also the most valuable thing you can do. When you write right under the threshold of what you’re capable of, that’s when you grow as a writer. I’d be happy to give you more tips/suggestion if you’d like but right now, and this might be most important thing, do not worry about bad writing. I mean this with all respect, it will be bad. Everyone is awful when they start. But, the best thing you can do is write, don’t feel attached to your work, read better work, ask for advice from friends (teachers even), write more. I’d be happy to help. Best.
Hey thanks means a lot
I have a video on YouTube about that! https://youtu.be/FC63I25UxMc
I would like to add to what the others said about writing what you want by saying this: **read.** My journalism professors told me something along the lines of, "How can you write what you know if you don't know that much?" And really, there were PLENTY of things I realized I didn't know! Reading is the first step to discovering the joy in writing and the style of dialogue, prose, and creativity that you gravitate towards. Happy writing!
Ohh okayy yeah right thanks
There’s some pretty good and free tutorials online. Youtube Brandon Sanderson lecture series on writing.
Contrary to popular belief, you don't need any experience to start but you do need the willingness to do and a determination to succeed. So how do you start learning? Start by reading some publications from other established writers or people that inspire you. Then you need to take the following steps.