Prophetic Writer

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.

Thank you for asking one of my favorite questions.

For context, I started writing a novel (which I'm still writing lol) when I was in high school and then decided to actually pursue creative writing after I began that project.

When you write your first novel, whether you're 16 (like I was) or 60, there's obviously a learning curve. So, my initial writing skills and background knowledge all came from trial and error, most of which centered more around the writing process and trying to increase creative productivity than it did around producing actually solid, publishable work (which isn't a bad way to start, of course).

I always say that what my degree has taught me is how to learn about writing. In creative writing courses, you do a fair amount of writing but not nearly as much writing as three drafts of a novel entails. So, in my experience, the most informative parts of my creative writing classes came from the reading and discussion. Breaking down different pieces and figuring out how they function, how different techniques affect a piece, and where those techniques originate are all super helpful for understanding writing better.

I can read a book or watch a movie and understand it as a functional process now. It's like taking apart a clock and figuring out where each wheel and cog goes and why it goes there. Sometimes this ruins books and movies for me, because I'm not just thinking about what they're doing but how and why. But now when I'm having a BIG problem with a piece (like the novel) I can take it apart and figure out which cog isn't where I need it to be.

I definitely don't know everything I need to know about writing but my degree has given me the tools to figure things out when I don't know them, if that makes sense.

Thanks for the ask! I usually don't get too much into the meta of how I come across the kinds of things I share on this blog so it's fun to get a chance to talk about that a bit. Ultimately I think that writing is a process of learning and unlearning and learning again. It might be a cliché way to talk about a writing degree but truthfully I think the most valuable skill it's given me is the ability to continue learning about writing on my own.

Thanks! Luckily, food poisoning isn't forever.

So, funny story -- I sort of didn't decide on it as a major? Let me explain:

When I transferred schools, I was deciding between History and English (Creative Writing track) as my major but I put down English on the application. When signed up for classes, I wanted to switch it to History but my advisor (chair of the english department) convinced me to keep English as my major for the first semester.

Well, many semesters later and I'm graduating. I never changed it because my advisor was right and I really loved my English courses.

The reason that I initially hesitated about majoring in Creative Writing is that I wasn't sure I'd learn anything that I couldn't reasonably teach myself. But it's really hard to teach yourself what you don't know that you don't know.

I'm also the most annoying English major of all time so I could drone on and on about why English and Creative Writing are fantastic things to study. Genuinely, I think that my degree has been the most enriching experience of my life. I've become a much better writer and reader because of it and I've really gotten a lot out of it.

At the same time, I also know people who don't really care about the major and are graduating pretty much unchanged by the experience. So, it's not really the degree, it's how you relate to it. If you wholeheartedly throw yourself into writing and learning, that experience will be worthwhile (but definitely demanding).

If you can, I'd recommend getting involved in some kind of Creative Writing workshop (whether that's a college class or just a local writers group) to get a feel of whether you enjoy working alongside other writers in that context, since most creative writing degrees are structured around workshop courses.

I'm not sure if I really answered your question effectively so definitely feel free to send a follow-up ask if you want! Good luck and happy writing (especially if you decide to pursue that degree)!

Criticism vs. Disrespect

As writers, it's very, VERY important to learn how to take criticism. A lot of newer writers find that idea very intimidating because people don't often take the time to explain what that actually means.

Good writers are receptive to criticism. At the same time, they also do not have to tolerate disrespect. In my experience, I've ended up tolerating some very rude and hurtful behavior because I didn't want to be seen as unreceptive to criticism. But here's the thing: there's a big difference between constructive criticism and critical disrespect.

Here are some examples of constructive criticism:

"I think you could do _____ differently."

"I found ___ confusing."

or even

"I think you should cut this line/character/scene."

Here are some examples of critical disrespect:

"Your work is really cringey."

"I don't think this story is that serious."

"I would be embarrassed to have written this."

All of these comments are critical but not all of them are constructive. When people talk about learning to accept criticism, they are generally talking about constructive criticism. Constructive criticism is criticism with direction. These sorts of comments are meant to help, not hurt. That doesn't mean that they will always be easy to hear, but it does mean that they are well-intended and are meant to help you develop your work and make it better.

Critical disrespect is remarks that both hurt and do not help. These remarks are critical, but not constructive. They are not intended to develop your work, they are intended to make you feel bad.

If you get intimidated when people talk about accepting criticism as a writer, know that they almost always mean constructive criticism, not critical disrespect. You will probably encounter the latter at some point, but not all that frequently.

I've been a writer for 5+ years and I've done a Bachelors in Creative Writing. Through all of that experience sharing my work, I can count on one hand the number of people who have responded to my work with critical disrespect. (That doesn't mean my work is good! It just means that even if your work is still in a very rough phase, people are very nice and helpful about it 99% of the time.)

So, when someone gives you truly constructive criticism, they're doing you a kindness and trying to be helpful (even if their feedback can feel painful to hear). But when someone gives you feedback that is neither helpful nor kind, remember that you do not have to tolerate that. You're not just a writer, you are a person and if someone doesn't like your work, that is okay, but they still have to be respectful about it.

Good luck and happy writing!