across_ledges

In the early days, you may feel discouraged at not writing amazing stuff. But don't be so harsh on yourself. Think about your favourite book. Do you think it came out as amazing and perfect as it is when you read it? I can tell you for a fact it wasn't.

It came out with glaring flaws and huge issues and grammar problems and all the rest of it--just as yours will. They then spend months, even years polishing it, redrafting, revising, editing, using feedback... to turn it into something that looks like it just "came out that way" effortlessly.

Think of what you first write as a first draft, not the final version you'd see on the shelves for the world to see. When you start writing a new story, your job is to throw down messy blobs of clay--simply getting raw material on the table so you can work with it. Later you'll shape it into something pleasing to the eye... something that looks like it just fell out of the sky fully formed, painted, and glazed into its beautiful final form.

You don't know how to shape it yet. You will, over time. But for now...

All your focus should be on throwing down messy clay.

And by that, I mean, get used to writing new stuff. You don't need it to be good, you don't need it to be the next hit, you don't need it to be long. You don't even need others to see it! You just need to be able to write words.

Writing short pieces or short stories is a great thing to aim for at the start. Nothing fancy. That way when you want to improve later down the line, you'll at least be able to write something new to try out what you've learned. You could even make a new draft of something old you wrote with your new understanding.

But then... even knowing how to begin that stage can be daunting. How do people write? It varies.

Every writer has their own process, their own methods, their own style. There are generally considered two extreme ends to the method of writing:

Discovery writers make stuff up as they write the story. If you don't yet know what your preference is, I'd recommend starting here.

Just sit down, put pen to paper, and write what pops into your head. Find out what comes next as you write it.

Note, you don't have to put literal pen to literal paper. But "pen-or-pencil-to-paper, or finger-to-key, or voice-to-dictation-software" isn't nearly so pithy. However you like to record words, record them! XD Don't worry about what medium to use, what equipment, what software... use whatever is easiest to get out of the way and get on with writing!

A good way of getting started with this is an exercise: Freewriting Exercise to Stretch the Writing Muscles This gives you a short challenge that forces you to stop worrying about what comes next and if it's good and how to publish it and stuff like that... put all those aside, and get into the flow! Just start writing!

Give it a good try at least. Even if you don't turn out to be a discovery writer, being able to get into the flow of writing is still going to be a valuable skill as you progress.

And you may come up with new ideas for full stories, and start on those!

If you're finding you lock up in the face of the infinite possibilities of making-it-up-as-you-go... you may want to try a little outlining.

Outline writers make stuff up before they write the story.

So... they still sit down, they still put pen to paper, and they still write what pops into their head. But they don't do it in prose form. They do it in outline form. Then they turn their outline into prose form later.

This might be bullet points of important plot beats. It may include summaries of various characters and world elements.

I'd recommend just dipping your toe in before going full-bore into being an outliner. Somewhere else, just write a short line for something that will happen in the scene after the one you're writing. Or a short line about what happens at the end. You don't need to stick to that plan. It's simply a little pointer to give you just enough direction to not feel lost while writing.

Outlining can be a lot of fun by itself though! You can spend hours, days... years noodling with worldbuilding and moving plot points around, and never actually writing any of the story at all!

The problem is, it can be too fun. You can feel productive while actually spinning your wheels in worldbuilding-land. Getting stuck like this is referred to as (thunder sound effect) "WORLDBUILDER'S DISEASE!!!" (evil laugh)

Remember that writing isn't worldbuilding. Writing isn't outlining. Those can be part of your process. But...

A writer is a storyteller

You can do all the worldbuilding and outlining you want to and still be unable to write that story, because you have no practise writing.

So please, please, practise writing. Whether you're an ouliner or a discovery-writer, you still need to actually write to get started as a writer.

It can even happen that you have great fun outlining a story, but when you try to sit down and put pen to paper all that drive and fun has left you.

You may think, "How could I do such a grand vision justice?" Or, "Writing the story just isn't as fun as inventing the world and what happens!" "Am I destined to only make up worlds and outline things but never write a real story?"

These are telltale signs your brain enjoys discovering new things the most. That's probably what made outlining and worldbuilding so fun! But it also means that when you come to writing the story itself, you're no longer discovering anything, no longer imagining new things on a blank map of possibility...

Now you're following a very narrow route you've set for yourself and feel like you can't put a foot out of place because it's so carefully constructed that it could ruin everything if you do!

If you recognise that feeling, back off from outlining. You're probably a discovery writer. Sure, you can just worldbuild and outline for fun. Nothing wrong with that if you enjoy it. If your goal is to write stories, however, you've got to dial in that balance of planning and improvising that your brain likes.

This is why every writer has their own way of writing. Their own routines, their own process... it's whatever method their brain likes that also lets them get a story down.

So this is how to get started writing. To write stories. To figure out how you like to write.

When you've got past that point, and you're comfortably writing new stories... still try to hold off from wanting to become the next hit author and write the next epic fantasy or 5-book series. You can get to those if you want to, later down the line.

To even get published in the first place, you'll need to not just be a writer, but a good writer. So next, focus on becoming a good writer.

A good writer isn't publishing. A good writer isn't success. A good writer isn't making money. Those things do not define who is a good writer and who is not.

A good writer crafts the experience of the reader

You can only do that if you a) know what experience you want the reader to have, and b) know how to use language to shape the reader's experience into what you want it to be.

How can you do that? It's actually fairly simple. I have another article about the different things you should be doing to reach this next step: How to Become a Better Writer