So! You're new to writing. And you want tips. Well! Here I am. With tips. Enjoy!
There is one tip I have for you. Listen very carefully.
Run.
Run away. Because once you are sucked into the madness of writing, of being unable to stop the incessant daydreaming, of becoming so deeply invested in your characters that you no longer can tell if they have parts of your personality or if you have parts of their personality--
And don't get me started on the lethal reviewers. Each criticism they give will crush your soul.
It's too dangerous. Run. Find a hobby that is less likely to end in misery and binge-eating of ice-cream.
Run.
Anyways!
Now that I'm done being dramatic for no reason, let me assure you that I am just kidding! Writing is a fantastic hobby. It is a great way to really use your imagination, to learn about yourself, and create amazing stories that make others--and yourself--feel things. It's so powerful and is one of the longest standing art forms ever!
A while back, I got asked to give tips for writing beginners! Now, I am not a super seasoned writer by any means. But I have been reviewing for a while, so I have noticed some distinct differences between beginner writers and advanced writers. This chapter contains some overall tips that I personally think would benefit those beginner writers, as well as tips I wish I had been told when I first started writing!
The way I see writing, you have your 'friends' and you have your 'not friends'. It is important to know what is your friend, and what is not your friend, when picking up a hobby.
For example, if you're learning to sky-dive, then the parachute is a huge friend! If you are scuba diving, your oxygen tank is your friend! But the shark that is trying to bite your eyelashes off? Yeah... not your friend.
Let's get into it!
YOUR FRIENDS:
Friend #1: Reading
I normally finish my tip lists with this one, but I genuinely think this needs to go at the very top here--especially for newer writers.
Imagine asking someone to play soccer when they've never even watched a single game of it and therefore, don't know any of the rules or goals of the game.
Imagine asking someone to cook food when they have never eaten a single thing in their life before. Please do not ask me how they would be alive, for I never think far ahead enough when I am coming up with examples.
Imagine asking someone to wax off your arm hair when they have never even--
Okay, that one was getting a bit weird.
It is so important to read! Reading helps enrichen your vocabulary and pick up on writing styles that resonate with you. It helps you learn grammar, and it also helps with discovering what you actually want to write about.
So, please, read broadly! Read widely! Read books by popular authors, and read books by writers who don't have many readers at all. Read books of all genres and read books that contain all the crazy tropes--supernatural creatures, historical fictions about ballerinas, thrillers about murderous seaweed!
This also includes reading your own writing. Because, let's face it, you're going to have to read it and see if you are proud of it!
If you only want to take one tip from this entire list, pick this one. It is so important.
Friend #2: Learning
This ties into the reading--because reading is a form of learning. But, if possible, don't ever stop learning about the craft of writing.
If you can take writing courses, take them! If you can read guides on how to improve your writing, read them! Better yet, if they are called 101 Writing Tips from an Exhausted Reviewer, then give yourself a spoonful of sugar because... Well, I'm not sure. I just want people to eat sugar.
Listen to podcasts or read articles by writers! Read reviews! Talk to people about books in a critical way that helps you learn about writing.
I promise! The hard work and devotion pays off!
Friend #3: Experimenting
Experimenting is a huge friend of yours! I only fell into high fantasy stories because I tried, on a whim one day, to see if I could turn my urban fantasy story into something more medieval and outlandish--and from there, I fell in love, and I'm so glad I did! I have discovered a new love for renaissance-esque vibes, castles, dragons, and corsets. Oh, and the crazy vocabulary they use when insulting people. Bloody loitersacks!
Try different genres! Try rewriting bits of your story by making each character do the opposite of what they originally did! See what happens!
Writing is all one big experiment, so treasure that!
Friend #4: The Practicals
As a beginner, you will make mistakes, and you will learn from them over time as you read, write, and receive feedback. However, right off the bat, there are a few really important fundamentals that you're going to want to know. Why? Because you will hear them a lot. Here they are:
- Showing vs Telling [I have a chapter on this!]
- Descriptions + Settings [I have a chapter on this!]
- Redundancy [I have a chapter on this!]
Those three gremlins are the areas that I feel most beginner writers need to really develop when they begin. I have read many stories where the characters are basically in a white room the whole time because there is no description. So many. And I'm like... damn, that room must be big if it can fit a dragon, a dragon's treasure, all six hundred people in the village, and the love interest's giant ego.
You also want to start practising descriptive verbs [for example, saying bolted instead of ran to show urgency], varying sentence lengths and styles, and noticing which words you seem to be using a lot!
Trust me. Every author goes through the phase where they realise that they've said 'her heart caught in her throat' or 'she released the breath she didn't know she was holding' at least six times in a single chapter. It's okay.
Also, grammar. As much as grammar--especially in the English language--can be a nightmare, you're going to have to learn it if you want to be a writer. So start early! Reading professional and published books is the best way to observe accurate grammar, but guess what! Some exhausted reviewers have written guides that contain chapters designed to help with grammar... wink... wink... nudge... nudge...
I don't know why I am promoting my own work within my own work. Seriously. What is up with me today?
Friend #5: Feedback
Feedback is a friend. It is one of those tough love friends who will tell you that you're a loitersack when you're being a loitersack. This is the friend who, when they can see that you're in a bad relationship, will call up Britney Spears and get her to sing "Toxic" for you live.
It can sting to receive feedback from fellow readers, writers, and reviewers. It can really suck. But it is one of the best things you can receive as a beginner writer. It may get you down for a bit, but the things you learn about how others perceive your characters and writing is huge. Besides, you then have an excuse to just sadly eat lots of ice-cream, cheesecake, and strawberries dipped in salad dressing if that's what you like.
Of course, not all feedback will be particularly helpful! Shout out to that one reviewer who told me I should just use American English spelling instead of British/Australian spelling because it would be easier for her to review.
However, if you are seeing the same feedback from multiple people, or the reviewer provides you with clear and helpful examples, then that's feedback you want to pay attention to! It will help you hone your craft and polish up any sloppy bits in your writing!
Friend #6: Community
Join writing groups and clubs! Be involved in the social groups across Wattpad! Make friends with writers.
Because, trust me, writers inspire writers more than anything else in this world. We keep each other in check with feedback and reminders to write, we bounce ideas off each other endlessly, and we remind each other why we love to torture our readers by killing off their beloved characters.
Be part of supportive communities, because the feedback and support is so great when you're in your early stages of writing!
Friend #7: A Notebook
Seriously. Carry around a notebook with you. Whether it is on your phone or literally a piece of paper strapped to your socks. I do not care.
As a writer, you will get ideas randomly popping into your head at the most inconvenient times. When you are grocery shopping, when you are robbing a bank, when you are chasing an ice-cream truck. And later on, when you try to remember what it was, you may not remember it.
So, whenever an idea comes to mind, pause the bank robbery, write it down quickly in your notebook, and then continue stealing cash.
You can thank me later.
Friend #8: Routine
I am a hypocrite for suggesting this one when I have not posted a chapter in this book for months. Forgive me! I promise I will get all 101 tips out eventually! Even if this means I am a crooked 96 year old spending her last breath making sure you all get all 101 chapters complete. I will do it for y'all. I've just been distracted making my first music album, in which I attempt to be a mermaid while I sing! The link is in the comments if you want to hear me be a mermaid!
Anyways, routine is important! Writing is something that takes discipline and practise. It's like learning an instrument, learning a sport, and picking up on a new language! You need to schedule time to do little bits of it every week, to make sure you are consistently developing your skills and you are slowly chipping away at your projects.
Friend #9: Writing Exercises and Prompts
Now, you may have a project in mind. You may love it with all your heart. It may be the only thing you want to write--your crazy eighteen-book series about vampires who are trying to replace their fangs with knitting needles.
However, do not underestimate the importance of writing exercises and prompts! Look up prompts that may inspire short stories! Get involved with little contests that involve little writing exercises!
Instead of relying on one giant project to help learn how to write, try to do little writing exercises and activities so that you can consistently grow and experiment alongside your big projects!
Friend #10: Living Life!
The most important thing about writing is to be passionate and love what you are writing. And one very important way to do that is to find things you love in your own life!
The cool thing about our stories is that, no matter how fantastical or crazy it is, there will always be parts of our stories that are just fragments of our lives pieced together in every page. Characters who are loosely inspired on people we've seen, or settings inspired by beautiful places we have been.
It's true--books can transport us to magical places. But the world around us is also pretty magical. We have love, laughter, music, and people who joke about dancing noodles. We have gorgeous lakes and mountains and oceans that are full of mystery and adventure. We have complex relationships, crazy beliefs, stunning dresses, ice-cream, and dogs. Adorable dogs.
Love your life, and spend time each day looking for at least five things that either may you smile or make you feel inspired. Channel that energy and remember those warm fuzzy feelings when you do your writing.
I promise. As much as life can suck sometimes, it can be pretty freaking beautiful. Find places and people that remind you of that.
And now... onto our...
YOUR NOT FRIENDS:
Not Friend #1: Second Guessing
If you are a beginner writer, please take this piece of advice with love: your first work will not be your best work. Whatever your first draft is, it is going to need editing and revising. It will maybe even need a rewrite, and parts of the world/plot will have to be changed once you go over it.
One of the hardest parts about writing is usually staring at a page, ideas swimming in your brain, but feeling like the words you are typing out just aren't translating those ideas well enough. And so you sit there for hours, agonising over each word, trying to make it perfect.
You need to pull an Elsa and let it go.
You need to allow yourself to write badly. You need to allow yourself to just type without agonising over every word. You will, I promise, find some gems in your writing. You will also go back and need to change a few things.
And that is okay. You need to allow yourself to just write freely.
And that's literally the only not friend for beginner writers!
But wait! There is one more category...
YOUR NEITHER FRIEND NOR NOT FRIENDS:
Neither Friend Nor Not Friend #1: Planning
I possibly could have done Friend vs Foe vs Neither Friend Nor Foe. But I like the chaos of 'Not Friend'.
Anyways, planning! I'm going to stick this in its own category.
Planning can be your friend. It can help ground yourself and add some cohesion to the plethora of ideas bubbling in your brain. But it can also be a not friend--it can make the writing process feel rigid and can put off a lot of new writers who are overwhelmed with the idea of planning every single moment in their story.
So, see what you like best! If planning works for you, great! Plan it all out! Blueprint it!
But if that doesn't work for you, that is totally okay--just write freely and have fun! Go with the flow, see where the story goes, and you can revise and fix things up after!
...and that's all for this chapter!
I hope this list of tips helped anyone at the beginning of their writing journey! If you are someone who has been writing for a while, I hope a tip or two resonated with you as well.
The next chapter is an interesting one! Someone posted the questions: "Do characters need to be attractive?"
So I will be doing a little quiz next time! It will be a "How attractive is your character?" -- this will also be followed by a short opinion rant from me about the topic. I hope you're excited for it! And, as always, I would love to hear your thoughts about this topic too! Do you think characters need to be attractive?
That's all! Hopefully, once my thesis is over, I will be posting a lot more regularly! I miss you guys!