Learning to write

Reading is a great way to build up your writing foundation but the only way to become a great writer is to write. Write, write, write. To more you write, honestly, you more you'll find that you're improving. Just because your end product isn't the one you started out to write doesn't mean you're not improve upon your craft.

Read with a critical eye and think about the things you intend to write. Commit techniques to memory but in the end, trust your instincts. When your end product doesn't exactly match your original intent, that's often your passion/creativity speaking. If you NEED to write exactly what you intended (research, reports, etc) then focus, concentrate and bear down.

But really... let your creativity flow. You can always edit later. In fact, you SHOULD re-write later. That's what writing is all about. Most successful writers are actually skillful RE-writers.

Write. Enjoy.

You'll still be learning 20 years from now. The fact is, no matter how much you know and how much you study, there will always be something else to learn and something else to incorporate in your writing. You shouldn't look at it as you're behind, you should look at it as tools that make your writing better. Even published and successful authors don't know everything there is to know about the craft.

Feeling overwhelmed is very natural, it happens to me on those off days, and I'm sure it happens to just about everyone at some point. The trick is really to just write. I know it has been said a million times before but that's just how it is. If you let the fear of not knowing enough, or thinking your behind stop you from finishing a book, or if you have finished, make your revision process seem endless because of all the possibilities, then you won't ever get something finished.

It's okay to feel that way once in a while, but what it comes down to is the will to push through and the confidence to stand behind your work knowing that you've put all you can into it. Having writing partners or fellow authors look over your work to help you out can also make things feel a little less daunting.

So to some this all up, will you ever fully know everything there is to know about the craft? I doubt it, but learning and discovering is half the fun. It's something to embrace, not something to fear. At least, that's my opinion anyway.

I've often felt the same way. For a while, I thought my writing was pretty good. Then I got on this forum and realized just how much I have left to learn. The journey is fun, though. I love writing, and I'm even starting to accept rewriting.

celticroots said:

It feels like I still produce crap after 10 years of writing.

Will I be able to learn the craft? Have you ever felt like this?

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You could be too hard on yourself.

It's healthy to have a dose of self-criticism. After all, if you think you're perfect, then you'll never improve. And few people are so great that they don't need to improve at all.

Sometimes I look at my writing and I think it's good. Sometimes I think it's the most embarrassing drivel in the universe. So, yeah, I get your feeling.

Keep learning, but maybe just try not to worry *too* much about learning the craft. Do you still enjoy writing? If you do, then that's all that matters. Even if you never "master" the craft, who cares? As long as you're happy while you're writing, then I say, keep going.

To answer thy question: Nope, I never felt like you.

I felt like, at age six, I knew everything I'd ever need to know about writing. I could write better than my sisters at that age, and better than most of my teachers by age 12 or 13. Conceited much?

I didn't know, or realize, however, that every book I read and every grammar lesson I was taught, was improving my writing ability. And when I joined AW ...

Omg the things I learned! I was obviously doing a lot wrong, but also a lot which was very right. I also learned I was conceited about my writing and had to take myself down a peg or two (or twenty.) An old dog can learn new tricks.

You, the op, are more modest than I ever was, and more willing to learn, improve, and assess yourself honestly. Bravo to you and keep working - and reading.

(One cannot over-emphasize the importance of reading-reading-reading!)

I HIGHLY recommend you check out the SYW forum. I have becomes obsessed with that place. Yes, reading is essential to becoming a better writer. However I've been reading since I was a zygote: necessary, but not the end all be all of writing prose.

Actually writing is essential too, however, like bicycles, you will screw up at first.

Enter SYW, the people on there tell you why you fall. It is amazing. You need guts and skin 10 feet thick, but they have the best of intentions, and are probably nicer than the editors and whatnot when you try to sub stuff or get published/reviewed.

As a budding writer, such as I, you won't learn much using your own perspective on your own work, because that's all you'll experience. But on these forums I have learned so much showing and telling, narrative distance, POV, head hopping, purple prose, grammatical aspect, deus ex machina, etc., the list goes on. Point is, through this question forum, and the SYW forum, I feel like my writing skills has increased more than any other time frame in my life.

I also recommend you try critiquing other pieces in SYW, because that's where I learned on my detection skills. For some reason, detecting flaws in your own work is the trickiest. When I read other peoples stuff, the errors are easier to see. I got a lot of "you're telling here, and here, and there" in my critiques. I knew *what* telling was, I've read, like you, books, and blogs by authors, but the only way I could recognize it is if I read someone else's work, and then I went, "so THAT'S what telling looks like."

And then, I starting detecting it as I wrote.

I'm no telling and showing master yet by all means, but you learn something new with every post you write or read, so I am much better off now than before.

Point is, learning from here gives you ever tool needed to be mentally equipped for success. You have the drive, you have the modesty, you are set really, all you need to do is put in them 10,000 hours of mastery

And, to fully answer your question, I did feel that way. I read my writing, and knew something was off but didn't know what. I felt it was hopeless. I was angry at college for taking up every drop of free time, I was frustrated how I never fulfilled my own time demands, rose to my expectations. But this website is such a confidence booster, because for me, my confidence comes in my skill. And when I first made this account, I really didn't participate. Then I did, and I even asked this exact question I think half a year ago. I learned more after I each question I posted or read. Then, I finally submitted something to SYW. I specifically asked for a rough crit, since those are the most honest, and I got one haha. But I'm glad I did, because I learned. It's all history from there, I just got better. I think it would be silly to say I'm "good," but now I know how to achieve "good writer" status.

happy growing, happy writing

Langadune said:

Most successful writers are actually skillful RE-writers.

Write. Enjoy.

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This right here! There's a quote from Finding Forrester that I like to go by: "Write with your heart, then write with your head."

If you're basing your writing skills on your first draft, cut it out. The first draft is getting the idea down. The second, third, maybe fourth? drafts are where it's at.

Read your work, re-write your work, love your work. Good luck!

Writing is the most essential way to learn how to write.
Write 1000 words a day, no matter what. If it'd be for part of a novel, a prompt or just a journal piece.
Write, write, write.

Reading can better writing, but you need to learn how to "read like a writer", which takes time.
If you're reading and simply following things, you're not inspecting and thus not learning from it.

Then we move onto writing and critiquing your writing.
If you learn to critique your own writing, you'll start to critique others that you read.
As you learn this, you learn to "read like a writer" and this can better your writing massively.


I advise to pick up a couple books:
The Elements of Style - read this religiously.
Webster's pocket Grammar, Usage and Punctuation - my buddy with quick tips and such.
WordWeb - free program that you can look up words with ctrl+Rightclick and view definitions and such. Helps with meaning and usage.


Quick tips to avoid newbie mistakes:
Look up Telling vs Showing. You need to show far more than tell. - Start this early.
Stay away from Adjectives and Adverbs for a bit. Learn how to use them.
Characters = Story.
Stick to clarity, over anything else. Clarity is key.


Hope this helps.

celticroots said:

I read a lot. Everything from writing how-tos to novels. ( I write a lot too). I look at how much I have to learn, how far behind my writing seems and I get frustrated. It feels like I still produce crap after 10 years of writing.

Or when I feel like I have one thing about writing down, another comes up. Will I be able to learn the craft? Have you ever felt like this?

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Reading much and writing often is about all you can do. How good you eventually become is impossible to predict. Writing well is a combination of talent, skill, dedication, self-discipline, and common sense.

I don't know which of these things is most important, but I do think some of each is required. Not everyone can go the same distance, and sometimes you just have to start the journey with no guarantee of your final destination.

LAgrunion said:

You could be too hard on yourself.

It's healthy to have a dose of self-criticism. After all, if you think you're perfect, then you'll never improve. And few people are so great that they don't need to improve at all.

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This is a good point. To see if you are being too hard on yourself, the best thing you can do is show others your writing. Others' honest feedback speaks volumes, whether positive or negative.

WillSauger said:

Writing is the most essential way to learn how to write.
Write 1000 words a day, no matter what. If it'd be for part of a novel, a prompt or just a journal piece.
Write, write, write.

Reading can better writing, but you need to learn how to "read like a writer", which takes time.
If you're reading and simply following things, you're not inspecting and thus not learning from it.

Then we move onto writing and critiquing your writing.
If you learn to critique your own writing, you'll start to critique others that you read.
As you learn this, you learn to "read like a writer" and this can better your writing massively.


I advise to pick up a couple books:
The Elements of Style - read this religiously.
Webster's pocket Grammar, Usage and Punctuation - my buddy with quick tips and such.
WordWeb - free program that you can look up words with ctrl+Rightclick and view definitions and such. Helps with meaning and usage.


Quick tips to avoid newbie mistakes:
Look up Telling vs Showing. You need to show far more than tell. - Start this early.
Stay away from Adjectives and Adverbs for a bit. Learn how to use them.
Characters = Story.
Stick to clarity, over anything else. Clarity is key.


Hope this helps.

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Well, its certainly helpful to me!
Particularly the advice to "read like a writer".
I still have trouble with that, especially when I just want to enjoy the book.

Everyone here has some really good advice. Write write write--don't ever stop writing. And believe it or not, I'm sure these seasoned authors can back me up, you're never done learning how to write. Everyday you'll find something new, some new way on how to write something. You'll never master the art but you WILL someday find your style. Just don't give up. I've been writing for over 25yrs and I've gone through dozens of different styles. I think I finally found the one that works. Don't give up.

Erin Kassikay said:

I'm sure these seasoned authors can back me up, you're never done learning how to write..

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I've been asked countless time sif writing gets easier over teh years. If it does, I think it means you've stopped taking chances, stopped stretching your writing muscles. For me, it's harder to write well now than it was thirty years ago.

Allana said:

Well, its certainly helpful to me!
Particularly the advice to "read like a writer".
I still have trouble with that, especially when I just want to enjoy the book.

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I think reading as a writer is important, but never on the first pass. It's story and character that matter. If a novel can't involve you so much that you forget you're a writer on the first read, you probably need to find a different novel.

Read once for pleasure, and if you really love the novel, read again for dissection, to see how the writer managed to sweep you away.

Everytime I read something, I also look at the way it's been written. How was it structured? How was the plot handed to you in the beginning? How does the plot unfurl throughout the book? Take all that you see and figure out a way to do that in your own. That's what works. But also try to find out what works for you. Not everyone should write the same.

... going back and editing a story after you've finished is a good way to improve. Rework entire scenes and even substitute them with new ones. And if you aren't happy with the results you can always go back to your previous draft. The important thing is to experiment and try new things. That's an important key to learning and getting better imo.