How to be a better/more prolific/stronger writer
Because a lot of people have asked me how I write so much and so fast
Write every day. Deadass. Not a joke. Not a throwaway tip. One sentence. One paragraph. One page. You have to work the writing muscle every day or it gets weak. You lose it. Use it or lose it. This is non-negotiable. Literally one sentence. It will trigger another one every time so just write one. Even if you delete it later, getting the practice in helps. It's all about repitition.
No idea is a bad idea. It's just not fully formed yet. No sentence is a bad sentence. It just hasn't been revised yet. Never tell yourself something is bad. Shift the mindset to everything can be improved. I find myself getting better with every fic and every draft.
Get used to writing on your phone. You have to be able to write whenever the ideas strike you if you want to write a lot and write well. So use your notes app or Google Docs or whatever. But get used to writing on your phone. Your thumbs will hurt. That's okay. Write waiting for the doctor. Write in line at the bank. Write on the bus. Write literally anywhere. Stop waiting for the perfect mood to strike or the perfect time or the perfect environment. Write when you think of something.
Always be thinking about it. And in tandem, let yourself be bored. Stop doom scrolling. Take a walk. Listen to music and think about your next scene. I'm literally ALWAYS planning a scene if I'm not actively focusing on another task.
Read. Read all the time. And don't just read. Think about it. Analyze scenes that work. Analyze why they work. How characters are developed. Do this with all forms of storytelling. Movies. TV shows. Graphic design even. Why did it hit so hard? How did they manage to so efficiently convey character traits?
Observe people. Your friends. Screenshot text conversations—use them later. Coworkers. Family. Strangers. Analyze different personality types and how they play off each other. Become trauma informed. Understand how people's pasts affect their behavior now. If you write romance, learn about how different parenting styles affect how people approach romance. Look into attachment theory. I'm not joking. Make psychology a hobby. Read about it. Take a class. Understand how people behave and WHY. This will make your character interactions more realistic. Also, go outside. Touch grass and talk to people.
Understand yourself and your own biases. Journal. Deconstruct your own personality. Figure out what's bleeding onto the page. Keep it or discard it.
Talk to people you know about their jobs and hobbies. Learn about them. Keep a list. A bank of stuff like this to use for side characters. It helps flesh them out and build out your world. It's okay to steal traits from people you know. It will always be more genuine to give characters hobbies and jobs you know about than try and make them up. If you have to make them up, utilize Tiktok and search "day in the life" videos for the type of person you're writing about.
Know that you're never going to feel good enough. You will always want to be better. It will always feel like someone is better than you. This is good. Every writer can improve. The moment you stop being hungry to get better is the moment you lose. You'll never be perfect but you can always chase it. But also, take people at their word when they tell you they loved your writing. They mean it. You are a good writer. But you can never stop getting better. <3
