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Tips for Aspiring Writers
I'm in no way or form a professional writer although I absolutely love to dribble in the art of story telling. In fact, if someone told me I had 3 minutes left to live, I wouldn't grief, I'd type a little faster.
Anyways, I do have some friends who write as a profession and they've agreed that what I'm about to say can be quite useful for any aspiring writer, and I know that a lot of our talented PMC members are aspiring be writers so I though I'd share.
Please read and tell me what you think!
Writing and Story Telling.
What I imagine a visual representation of writing without a set goal in mind is like
The first thing I'd like to say is something that is incredibly obvious and yet at the same time, something that remains generally unknown. It's actually something that helped me write quicker and more fluidly!
Writing and story telling go together hand in hand. If you're a story based writer, you're a story teller, there's no debate.
Although some people may claim to type away without a set story or message in mind, the truth is that most of us can't. No matter what you're writing, it's always good to know what you want to say or get across in advance.
This seems obvious enough, right? But there's more to that.
Most of us will already know this, we might even say that we do in fact plan our writing but that doesn't necessarily mean we're doing it well. I certainly wasn't.
When I wrote I always had a general idea of the plot line but I never planned or cared about specific events leading to the conflict or resolution. In my mind that didn't seem like a problem, I knew how the story would end and I knew the major conflict that the characters would encounter. Who cares what happens in between? It'll come along as it comes along, right?
But this is a horrible way to write and I found that out quickly enough: With this mindset I'd get stuck with writer's block, and it quickly became a curse which put me off writing completely.
To be fair, no one is ever going to know the exact way the story will pan out and it's impossible to plan everything specific little thing, but make life a little easier for yourself as a writer and try.
Know the story so well that you can tell it to anyone that comes across you without pausing to think about what happens next. Be so confident in your storyline that it writes itself.
Write About What You Know
Ekk, I hope this isn't based on experience!
Simply writing about what you think or scenarios you come up with can result in very artificial and mediocre writing. Which is fine, but as you get older, you'll probably want to write something that inspires, something that is shaped around who you are.
The bestselling books (and other types of writing) out there usually carry a little piece of the writer's soul. The words inside are usually humble and based on some variety of their experiences.
Writing about your experiences (no matter how close or loosely) isn't difficult, but it's not something everyone is too comfortable with. Putting your fears, feelings, ambitions and everything else that makes you unique, especially your past memories puts you in a vulnerable position. But it makes for great writing.
My advice? Give it a go, make a great book with pieces of your soul and pieces of your mind (did I mention that good books are well researched? No? Well, it should go without saying.)
Write a happy ending to that relationship that didn't last, write about that summer job you had! Be brave and use those hurtful words that one bullied said to bring your audience to tears.
Make your story believable by bringing your pain and happiness into the writing and watch them fall in love with your characters.
Need help with that? Why don't you try writing to music?
Write to Music
And while you're at it, do a little dance!
Personally, I find that I write best to wordless music or absolute silence, but absolute silence can drive a person crazy (if you can find actual silence to begin with, that is) so music has become a key aspect to my writing process (as it is for many amateur and professional writers).
Music tends to encourage focus to most of us, something that I think is largely due to the fact that we tend to step out of the house with headphones firmly placed in our ears to tune out all unwanted noise. But instead of looking at this as a "introverted sin" that our tech-savvy generation indulge in, I like to look at it as an asset. For a large majority of us, turning on music will automatically put us in a focused and productive mood! How's that for a "life hack"!
Anyways, music also enhance moods. Ever watched a horror movie without sound on? I have, and it's absolutely....boring. Ever watched that Rocky montage without the inspirational music? Yeah... it looks kind of silly, doesn't it?
The point is, music is a great tool to help us get into particular mindsets that our characters may have, which translates well in writing. How do you expect to write something truly heartbreaking if you're happy?
So turn on your ipod, make a playlist and loop it until you're done writing. I like to use soundtracks from movies to write my fiction, especially those composed of nothing but classical instruments :)
Find out what Motivates You
Maybe one day I'll write and design for Disney!
There are a lot of great quizes out there to figure out what motivates you (if you don't already know).
For me, praise (or in this case, diamonds) motivates me to do more of what I love. Some find deadlines motivating, they do everything in the last minute (and they do it well!). Others find that they're always motivated to do side projects despite any difficulties that may arise in their lives.
It's important to know what motivates you to work and do the things you love, especially if you want to be self employed or successful in the future. Motivation is a great fuel for everyone's life and knowing your triggers will help increase your productivity levels and most of all, inspire you to grow in your chosen profession/craft which is great if you want to get high levels of XP in real life.
Don't Get Hung Up on the Little Things
The frustration as an aspiring writer (or anything else) is real.
We all want to make it big. We all want to do what we love and make a living out of it. But the sad truth is, most of us have a long way to go before that happens, so we might as well focus less on the success and go back to having fun doing what we love!
It's so easy to get hung up on our lack of popularity or lack of views or whatever else, but ask yourself...does it really matter?
As aspiring writers, its even easier to get hung up on average chapter counts or word counts in our chosen genre. We might try to drag out our paragraphs with filler phrases because mystery novels usually have X amount of words per chapter. But remember that every writer has a different style, and that you don't have to follow every convention. As long as your story gets told, it doesn't matter if you use 10 words or 100. As the saying goes, quality over quantity.
And maybe your grammar isn't perfect. Mine certainly isn't, but that's why editors exist! They're there to support your writing with technicalities.
Your "job" is to enjoy yourself and tell your story. Don't get hung up on anything else. Don't let anyone get you down. Just keep practicing and doing the best you can and one day you'll get big!
There's a story out there that only you can tell, and it's your responsibility to showcase your talent so the entire world can see.
In Summary
Can you say that in less words? I'm more interested in these cows. Ah, tranquil cows.
In short, to be the best you can as an aspiring writer make sure you practice and simply write. Keep writing and don't stop for anyone, don't get hung up because of something small and significant. Simply write.
Go back to the basics and express your passion through words, put on a little music to really get your creative juices going and remember what motivates you.
Writing should be intimate, you're giving a piece of yourself away. Don't do it just for fame.
Authors Note:
I hope you enjoyed and maybe even got something out of my blog. Please tell me if there's anything I can do to improve, feedback is always welcomed!
I really enjoy writing blogs for this wonderful community and I'd to write anything you'd like to know, so ask away! :)
As always, please leave a diamond or subscribe if you liked what you read!
Stay awesome! x
I'm in no way or form a professional writer although I absolutely love to dribble in the art of story telling. In fact, if someone told me I had 3 minutes left to live, I wouldn't grief, I'd type a little faster.
Anyways, I do have some friends who write as a profession and they've agreed that what I'm about to say can be quite useful for any aspiring writer, and I know that a lot of our talented PMC members are aspiring be writers so I though I'd share.
Please read and tell me what you think!
Writing and Story Telling.
What I imagine a visual representation of writing without a set goal in mind is like
The first thing I'd like to say is something that is incredibly obvious and yet at the same time, something that remains generally unknown. It's actually something that helped me write quicker and more fluidly!
Writing and story telling go together hand in hand. If you're a story based writer, you're a story teller, there's no debate.
Although some people may claim to type away without a set story or message in mind, the truth is that most of us can't. No matter what you're writing, it's always good to know what you want to say or get across in advance.
This seems obvious enough, right? But there's more to that.
Most of us will already know this, we might even say that we do in fact plan our writing but that doesn't necessarily mean we're doing it well. I certainly wasn't.
When I wrote I always had a general idea of the plot line but I never planned or cared about specific events leading to the conflict or resolution. In my mind that didn't seem like a problem, I knew how the story would end and I knew the major conflict that the characters would encounter. Who cares what happens in between? It'll come along as it comes along, right?
But this is a horrible way to write and I found that out quickly enough: With this mindset I'd get stuck with writer's block, and it quickly became a curse which put me off writing completely.
To be fair, no one is ever going to know the exact way the story will pan out and it's impossible to plan everything specific little thing, but make life a little easier for yourself as a writer and try.
Know the story so well that you can tell it to anyone that comes across you without pausing to think about what happens next. Be so confident in your storyline that it writes itself.
Write About What You Know
Ekk, I hope this isn't based on experience!
Simply writing about what you think or scenarios you come up with can result in very artificial and mediocre writing. Which is fine, but as you get older, you'll probably want to write something that inspires, something that is shaped around who you are.
The bestselling books (and other types of writing) out there usually carry a little piece of the writer's soul. The words inside are usually humble and based on some variety of their experiences.
Writing about your experiences (no matter how close or loosely) isn't difficult, but it's not something everyone is too comfortable with. Putting your fears, feelings, ambitions and everything else that makes you unique, especially your past memories puts you in a vulnerable position. But it makes for great writing.
My advice? Give it a go, make a great book with pieces of your soul and pieces of your mind (did I mention that good books are well researched? No? Well, it should go without saying.)
Write a happy ending to that relationship that didn't last, write about that summer job you had! Be brave and use those hurtful words that one bullied said to bring your audience to tears.
Make your story believable by bringing your pain and happiness into the writing and watch them fall in love with your characters.
Need help with that? Why don't you try writing to music?
Write to Music
And while you're at it, do a little dance!
Personally, I find that I write best to wordless music or absolute silence, but absolute silence can drive a person crazy (if you can find actual silence to begin with, that is) so music has become a key aspect to my writing process (as it is for many amateur and professional writers).
Music tends to encourage focus to most of us, something that I think is largely due to the fact that we tend to step out of the house with headphones firmly placed in our ears to tune out all unwanted noise. But instead of looking at this as a "introverted sin" that our tech-savvy generation indulge in, I like to look at it as an asset. For a large majority of us, turning on music will automatically put us in a focused and productive mood! How's that for a "life hack"!
Anyways, music also enhance moods. Ever watched a horror movie without sound on? I have, and it's absolutely....boring. Ever watched that Rocky montage without the inspirational music? Yeah... it looks kind of silly, doesn't it?
The point is, music is a great tool to help us get into particular mindsets that our characters may have, which translates well in writing. How do you expect to write something truly heartbreaking if you're happy?
So turn on your ipod, make a playlist and loop it until you're done writing. I like to use soundtracks from movies to write my fiction, especially those composed of nothing but classical instruments :)
Find out what Motivates You
Maybe one day I'll write and design for Disney!
There are a lot of great quizes out there to figure out what motivates you (if you don't already know).
For me, praise (or in this case, diamonds) motivates me to do more of what I love. Some find deadlines motivating, they do everything in the last minute (and they do it well!). Others find that they're always motivated to do side projects despite any difficulties that may arise in their lives.
It's important to know what motivates you to work and do the things you love, especially if you want to be self employed or successful in the future. Motivation is a great fuel for everyone's life and knowing your triggers will help increase your productivity levels and most of all, inspire you to grow in your chosen profession/craft which is great if you want to get high levels of XP in real life.
Don't Get Hung Up on the Little Things
The frustration as an aspiring writer (or anything else) is real.
We all want to make it big. We all want to do what we love and make a living out of it. But the sad truth is, most of us have a long way to go before that happens, so we might as well focus less on the success and go back to having fun doing what we love!
It's so easy to get hung up on our lack of popularity or lack of views or whatever else, but ask yourself...does it really matter?
As aspiring writers, its even easier to get hung up on average chapter counts or word counts in our chosen genre. We might try to drag out our paragraphs with filler phrases because mystery novels usually have X amount of words per chapter. But remember that every writer has a different style, and that you don't have to follow every convention. As long as your story gets told, it doesn't matter if you use 10 words or 100. As the saying goes, quality over quantity.
And maybe your grammar isn't perfect. Mine certainly isn't, but that's why editors exist! They're there to support your writing with technicalities.
Your "job" is to enjoy yourself and tell your story. Don't get hung up on anything else. Don't let anyone get you down. Just keep practicing and doing the best you can and one day you'll get big!
There's a story out there that only you can tell, and it's your responsibility to showcase your talent so the entire world can see.
In Summary
Can you say that in less words? I'm more interested in these cows. Ah, tranquil cows.
In short, to be the best you can as an aspiring writer make sure you practice and simply write. Keep writing and don't stop for anyone, don't get hung up because of something small and significant. Simply write.
Go back to the basics and express your passion through words, put on a little music to really get your creative juices going and remember what motivates you.
Writing should be intimate, you're giving a piece of yourself away. Don't do it just for fame.
Authors Note:
I hope you enjoyed and maybe even got something out of my blog. Please tell me if there's anything I can do to improve, feedback is always welcomed!
I really enjoy writing blogs for this wonderful community and I'd to write anything you'd like to know, so ask away! :)
As always, please leave a diamond or subscribe if you liked what you read!
Stay awesome! x
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