Prophetic Writer

I don't really have an exact answer to this question.

1. Drink some water, please

2. Remember that even if you aren’t out in the heat that it can still make you tired and make it harder to think coherently. Go easy on yourself.

This is such a fun ask. I totally have parts where my characters are silly (maybe too many). I usually leave it if it fits the tone of the scene but sometimes I'll tweak it a bit to make it less lighthearted. I'm a big supporter of people including silly/humorous moments in their writing.

This is a fantastic question!

Unfortunately, the reason why some much of beginner's writing advice is so vague is because every writer is really different. You absolutely should not be discouraged, though.

The reason why everyone tells you to "read a lot" or "just write" is because the easiest way to pick up the basics is through imitating works you know really well. The structure of storytelling, as well as the basic grammatical and formatting patterns of creative writing, are all best learned through example. As someone with a degree in this, I'm a little biased, but these things are genuinely good advice (just maybe not when said in a vacuum).

My advice is to pick up a book you already know. This might be something you've read recently or something from your childhood. Your first goal is to figure out what you like about it. This might be relatively vague (plot, specific characters, a specific line, etc.). Then, figure out why you like that thing. If you were to write something of your own, would you want to emulate that?

The next step is to figure out how that thing works. That's a pretty broad statement but basically what I mean is why is this thing good/effective? What technique is being used? How does this thing draw me in as a reader?

The general idea is really just to familiarize yourself with your medium. The more you know, the more you'll be able to build on existing techniques and the better you will (inevitably) get. The goal is simply to learn.

I hope this helps! Good luck and happy writing!

I personally read a lot of translated webnovels which gave me the "double negatives" curse. It's everywhere in my draft rip

Honestly my reading style is all over the place, which is probably reflected in my writing lol. For the past few years I've read a lot of medieval/early modern texts so that's definitely bled into my fantasy a little bit. I have been reading a lot of Chekov lately. I wouldn't be the first person to copy his pacing and form, that's for sure.

I think in general I learn so much from what I read, it's hard to pinpoint exact influences on my writing. I do draw on a lot of non-literature texts for my writing, though, which might be a little unconventional. I study architecture a bit, so academic writing tends to bleed into my work (which happens to be okay for my specific WIP but in general I wouldn't advise people draw writing inspiration from academic journals, lol).

Personally I always hate going through and trying to pick out the points where I forgot to capitalize something that should be capitalized. But I love outlining.

I love this question!

I think that the accomplishments (or at least the sense of accomplishment) that comes with writing is sometimes what people desire the most about becoming a writer. And yes, it’s undeniably cool to get to say you’re a writer, or an author, or a poet and point to what you’ve written or accomplished.

To me, that is a perspective that will inevitably lead to burnout. You’re not always going to succeed. Most of the things you write will never see the light of day. But that’s okay because accomplishment is not the point of writing. Writing is the point of writing.

You have to love the process because the process is all there is.

1st Draft (complete): Write the story out from start to finish with absolutely no editing allowed.

2nd Draft (complete): Re-type the first draft and make structural changes. Editing is allowed. (Receive outside feedback between second and third drafts)

3rd Draft (current draft): Edit the second draft. Add new passages and re-write chapters as necessary.

4th Draft (not started): Retype the third draft and make minor adjustments.