for younger/new writers
- i don’t care if you only get a few sentences down, try to write something every day. i find using a prompt generator or list like (x) (x) or (x) can really help – it forces you to be flexible, creative, and usually it’s pretty fun trying to work with the topics. writing is like any sport: you need to practice and keep it up and push yourself.
- i think poetry is a very good way to write something in the spur of the moment, if you can’t think of something to write. lots of times you can connect it to your emotions or surroundings, and since it’s very free and unlimited, there’s less stress to make it conform to something. if you’ve never written poetry before, and you’re not sure you’d like it, i suggest looking up spoken word. if you look up “button poetry” on youtube you can watch performances or you can just google spoken word to read some (i can’t remember if poetry out loud requires an account to read their poems, but it’s free and there are some pretty fun stuff). this is usually what gets people really interested in poetry, from what i’ve found, and there’s something for everyone
- if you have an idea, jot it down. chances are you won’t remember it, and even if you do you might lose the drive to keep it going. try to flesh it out so you have something to go on. i can still remember some old plot ideas from years and years ago, and i’d probably revise them at this point. that’s fine too. but the more ideas you have the easier it will be to write something on a given day, because if you don’t want to work on one thing, then you’ll have something else.
- make a storyboard, make something to organize your plot, characters, ideas, etc. just as long as it makes sense to you, i promise it will be helpful in the end. you may not need to do this for every story but it’s definitely a good habit to get in to. if you like writing fantasy, i can guarantee you’re going to need something to reference, because even if you think you remember something, it’s better to have something to look at to make sure you didn’t mix up small details. if you’re writing a drabble, this obviously isn’t as essential. ultimately, you’re the judge of what you need to know. i started making an outline for essays and it’s helped me out so much, though, so really consider doing this for anything (i only used to make outlines for stories, because i planned my essays mentally, but it’s nice to cross out things or organize your thoughts because sometimes what you end up writing doesn’t seem as good as how your outline had it).
- if you proofread or edit, don’t do it right after you’ve written. this is usually a tip for essays, but it’s true for all forms of writing. either you’ll be overly critical and change something that’s good, or you’ll be too tired to do a thorough job. if you have the time, wait a day. really strop procrastinating, especially if it’s an essay. i can’t count the number of times i got a better grade on a paper because i gave myself enough time to plan, write, relax, edit, and still have some more time before it was due. i know you won’t always have time to space it out, but if you refer back to the first step and write every day i can almost guarantee you’ll be able to write more, rather than sit around for hours trying to think of something. maybe try to keep two different documents (if you’re typing) of your work, so that way you can see an unrevised version and compare it to something you edited.
- don’t think vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and high school classes are the only things that matter. you can be a great writer and not know your grammar. i have a friend who’s dyslexic and she used to think she was a bad writer because she can’t spell things well, but she realized once the vocab tests ended that she was really good. i know it’s very difficult, especially when lots of people are snobs about spelling and grammar, but you need to remind yourself. i get really impatient with people who keep sniffling about their writing when it’s actually fantastic.
- sometimes write something bad. get weird ideas out of the way, or else they’re going to clutter your head. you can write a paragraph that’s terrible and erase it, and it helps because it actually shows you what not to write. it can just get you to write something, too, if you have writer’s block. it’s okay if you start writing and your characters are unoriginal or you make mistakes. that’s natural, and most of us have all gone through that. we have to be bad before we can be good.
- you don’t need to win competitions or awards or even be good at writing essays for school to enjoy writing. i got pretty bad marks in a 7th grade english class, and my teacher hated me, but i tried not to let that hinder my interest in writing stories and poetry. the next year i won a writing contest but i still didn’t necessarily get A’s on every paper in class. you can be great at creative stuff and bad at analyzing, or vice versa. it’s okay. if you love writing then you just gotta keep writing. you gotta write for yourself. you may be an amazing author but never want to share your stories, and that’s cool too. writing can be as personal or as public as you want it to be
- don’t listen to people who say writing will get you nowhere or that it’s pointless or a waste of time. even though i’m not an english major or pursuing a career with my writing, it’s gotten me through some pretty tough times. i know it sucks to hear people discredit what you do, but the personal gain should be enough to remind you that writing is worth something
- adding on to that, you don’t have to be an english major to be good at writing
- you are incredibly smart and talented for being able to write. if you can create a world, a plot, characters, anything, you’re smart. think about it – it’s tough. really tough. why else do we sit in front of a screen (or stare blankly at our notebooks) and bang our heads and rip our hair out trying to think of what to write? how proud do we feel when people actually like what we write? and even if you can’t come up with something – that doesn’t make you dumb. writing is hard as hell. you’re gonna get there, it just takes a ton of practice – a ton of discarded ideas and frustration
- bad reviews don’t mean you can never be a good writer. it’s going to make you better. everyone needs critique to improve. don’t be discouraged. just like the characters we write, we too need to develop and grow and improve. it’s apart of the process
(via flynnlives)
