Full disclaimer: I have never published any writing. So this is going on all personal stuff of fanfiction, the original novel I wrote one NaNo and then never touched again, the short stories I’ve written for my writing minor in college, and the stuff I do as an English teacher. If that’s okay, then continue on. In short, I only have two bits of advice: write and read constantly.1. Write constantly. The earlier a person can start, the better. I started out “roleplaying” our Harry Potter Mary Sue characters with my friends in sixth or seventh grade. Then I was into yahoo messenger chatroom roleplaying for Trigun (I’m definitely dating myself with that sentence.) that moved on to Lord of the Flies fanfiction, Xiolin Showdown fanfiction, Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, Yuri on Ice fanfiction. I notice I pretty much write one drug-heavy story in every fandom I’m in. But pick something you love and write about it. Step one is just to practice.Some days, I’m really good at sitting down and writing. Two weeks ago, I wrote like 16k in a week. Not bad for having a full-time job and other responsibilities. Then life picked up again and I haven’t written since. But the more often I write the better. WFL was written nearly daily over the course of a year. A blank page turns into thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of words pretty quickly as long as you sit down to write (even when you don’t feel inspired) and don’t force yourself to make something “great.” I tell my seventh grade kids during the creative writing unit that for 15 minutes a day, they should just write: “words on a page.” You can make them better words later, but at first, “words on a page.”Oh, save everything! Not sentence level changes to drafts but don’t delete old stories because you think it’s not good. That stuff is GOLD. 2. Read constantly.I loved reading as a teenager. I’d read nearly anything, and I always had a novel on me. Even better, I always enjoyed fanfics because it’s the characters I know in all sorts of situations. I think reading that (and writing that) builds versatility in an author. After I finished Red Dead 2, I started reading some fics, then I was inspired to write my own (well, a YoI OutlawAU). I think seeing other styles also helps develop our own style, too. Similarly, I think movies/tv/video games are great for variety too, but to really get a knack for writing, you have to read. That’s the only way to build in format and grammar stuff sort of naturally. For example, one person speaks per paragraph. If a new character speaks, they need a new paragraph. I don’t think anyone taught me that. It’s just the format nearly every novel has. (Disclaimer: grammar “rules” can be broken, but for specific reasons. And if it’s over done, it’s so distracting that others will have a hard time reading it. Make sure your grammar is on point as much as possible. I am a typo queen and I can’t always see my own mistakes until years later, so that’s why I try to have someone beta anything I want to put online. But the big “rules,” especially with dialogue, are so distracting to me as a reader that I’ve been known to quit fics that have great ideas because reading it is too frustrating.) Final thoughts: When you’re first starting out, don’t worry if it’s good, especially at the beginning. I can’t read much of anything I write without cringing (including WFL) at myself. So instead, write what YOU want to write. Write what you want to read. Don’t sit down and think you’re going to write a masterpiece. Sit down and write something that’s fun for you to write. Find a “think” place. I *can* write without my think place, but if I can sit outside on my front porch with some music and get lost in my thoughts, I can dream up a story. I wrote most of WFL at night because I would plan what I would write earlier that day on my porch. I didn’t often write anything down more than a handful of notes of where I wanted the story to go. I can kind of do it while walking, so try taking a walk and letting yourself get lost in the story. (I’m not great at not tripping though) but find what works for you. If I don’t have an idea going in, I’ll stare at a blank page and get mad. Always have an idea before you attack (even 11% of a plan). Take feedback as graciously as possible (which I find harder in the fanfic world than I do with my original stories mostly). Better yet, find someone you love and who loves you to share your stories with. That way, someone you trust is giving you feedback before any other eyes get to see it. I use this as a double-positive because I can use my buddy to keep me honest and send her what I finished that night. While it’s raw and gross and unedited, she still sees I wrote a bit that night, so I’m not slacking on my own goals. I like to do that when I’m really struggling to get words on a page. (And in the summer, when neither of us teachers have work every single day, just a couple of times a week). And last, don’t do it if it isn’t fun. You’re allowed to put down books or fics if you don’t like them. You’re allowed to abandon ideas halfway through when no one saw it. Reading is exhausting for me. I grade papers for a living, so I don’t always (or hardly ever) want to read in my spare time. So I try to read a little bit before bed at night and I like to read for an hour or so before I get out of bed on the weekends. Some time when it’s enjoyable.Keep a similar attitude with writing. Every bit of writing I do is “practice,” so even if nobody reads it, I’m a thousand words stronger today than I was yesterday, even if it wasn’t great or it never turns into a story that anyone sees but me. I never sit down and think “today is the day I’m going to write a book that will change the world.” And that takes serious pressure off of me. Some day, I may write that book. But it won’t be today or tomorrow, so I’m just practicing until then.So overall, listen to your body. If reading or writing makes you miserable and you dread sitting down to do it... don’t do it. True, “words on a page” can’t happen if you don’t sit down and write, but there are many days when I know it wouldn’t be good to force myself. Finding that balance is an art that may not be able to be mastered, but it’s one we have to try for nevertheless.
