I love your writing so much!! I’d love some tips on how to get into writing, I have so many ideas but I’m just so scared my writing will be BAD because I haven’t written any fanfic since I was like 12 😭 Any dos and don’ts for fanfic writing or just general advice would be much appreciated <3
This question seemed simpler than it ended up being, I think! I didn't expect trying to come up with a few suggestions would feel so much like trying to explain to someone how to walk only with words, so I hope you find this at least somewhat helpful, Anon...
My number one tip for other writers is to kill the part of yourself that gets embarrassed by your writing being "bad". For one, it really hinders your ability to improve at ANY creative skill if you're too afraid to fail in any way. Besides, you will always be your own worst critic, since you have the ideal version of whatever you're writing in your head. You'll improve with time as long as you're making genuine effort, so don't sweat feeling like you're not as good as you want to be right out of the gate.
Don't drag your feet getting started. Just start. You can always make the perfect version later, but it won't ever exist if you never start on the "mediocre" version.
Read, read, read. Seriously, reading will improve your skills as a writer just as much (if not more) than just sitting down and pouring a bunch of hours into practicing will. Of course, I'm not telling you DON'T practice; like I said before, your writing will improve with time. That process will be even faster, though, if you're reading often and reading a variety of materials. Fiction and nonfiction, poetry, editorials, manga/comics. Make your taste eclectic and you'll have more tools on your belt as a writer.
Try writing on prompts or topics you might not typically gravitate towards. If you typically write romance, try horror some time. If you mostly write fiction, try doing some editorial or nonfiction writing. Prose person? Write some poetry. Doesn't have to be any good, doesn't have to be seen by anyone if you decide you don't like it. Different genres have their own tropes and features that can be fun/helpful to take back to what you usually write.
Hone your individual voice. This is definitely the hardest tip to articulate, since even the concept of a "writer's voice" is really abstract, but I'll try my best. If you have pieces you've written previously, or drafts you're working on now, you can look through them and see if anything sticks out about it to you. If you don't have older works to look over (or you don't think those old works reflect who you are now), my suggestion would be to try journaling every day for a week or two—just describing what your day is like, happenings, etc.—and then reading over what you wrote. What about your writing sounds inherently you? Are there habits you notice, creative choices you consistently make? Can you tell that YOU, specifically, wrote it, or would you believe any random person off the street did? Once you identify the things that make your writing yours, it's much easier to work on refining the techniques you use. It's definitely a long-term exercise, as I think even the most practiced writers struggle with describing their voice, but it's a very useful one.
Just a dumb little extra: I keep a mini composition notebook (3.75 x 4.5 inches / 8.3 x 11.4 centimeters) and a pen in my purse/pocket when I go out to jot down ideas/lines/anything else I think of. You could 100% do this with your phone, which is also fine, but you're more likely to remember things if you physically write them down. You never know when you're gonna see something out and about that'll inspire you, and I think being ready to jot them down sort of sharpens your eye.
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