#write and learn

yoooo my writing fellas!

Iceland Writers Retreat is accepting subscriptions! 

As far I’ve read about it, anyone can participate as far you’re older than 18 until April, you have to submit two samples of your writing and answer their form and done! You’re up to be one of the participants.

I think it might be a great opportunity to any kind of writer out there, even if you’re writing a comic, script, roleplay or whatever, it’s a good opportunity! 

I’ll probably be applying (I need to finish some doctors checkups first, and then I’ll know if I can be applying or not), but please everyone out there, if you got what they ask, please try! The worse it could happen is you not getting through this time, but don’t waste the opportunity, even if you don’t believe you’re that good as a writer like I do.

Let’s all give our best!

[...]

Would this work for any other discipline? Do mechanical engineers “just build stuff”? Do programmers “just code”? Do martial artists “just fight”? To master any skill you have to understand the technical aspects of it and have a plan to get better.

To be a better writer, you do need to write, but you also need to deepen your understanding of the craft of writing. If you just write without knowing what you’re making, you might eventually stumble into a decent level of craft (the same way you might learn to play piano by ear if you have a lot of natural musical talent), but it’s going to be a lot easier for you and a lot faster with the basics of craft down and a strong technical idea of what this thing is that you’re trying to create.

This means you need to learn about narrative structure, grammar, pacing, voice, character arcs, and any number of other topics that can’t be explained in two words. If you do happen to have a well-rounded and highly developed writing skillset and you still can’t produce, then perhaps you need to work on your motivation or identify the specific things that are getting in the way of your writing. In either case, “Just write” is completely unhelpful as an actionable piece of advice.