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 Iāve written for my writing minor in college, and the stuff I do as an English teacher. If thatās 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 āroleplayingā our Harry Potter Mary Sue characters with my friends in sixth or seventh grade. Then I was into yahoo messenger chatroom roleplaying for Trigun (Iām 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 Iām in. But pick something you love and write about it. Step one is just to practice.Some days, Iām 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 havenāt 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 donāt feel inspired) and donāt force yourself to make something āgreat.ā I tell my seventh grade kids during the creative writing unit that for 15 minutes a day, they should just write: āwords on a page.ā You can make them better words later, but at first, āwords on a page.āOh, save everything! Not sentence level changes to drafts but donāt delete old stories because you think itās not good. That stuff is GOLD. 2. Read constantly.I loved reading as a teenager. Iād read nearly anything, and I always had a novel on me. Even better, I always enjoyed fanfics because itās 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. Thatās 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 donāt think anyone taught me that. Itās just the format nearly every novel has. (Disclaimer: grammar ārulesā can be broken, but for specific reasons. And if itās over done, itās 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 canāt always see my own mistakes until years later, so thatās why I try to have someone beta anything I want to put online. But the big ārules,ā especially with dialogue, are so distracting to me as a reader that Iāve been known to quit fics that have great ideas because reading it is too frustrating.) Final thoughts: When youāre first starting out, donāt worry if itās good, especially at the beginning. I canāt 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. Donāt sit down and think youāre going to write a masterpiece. Sit down and write something thatās fun for you to write. Find a āthinkā 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 didnāt 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. (Iām not great at not tripping though) but find what works for you. If I donāt have an idea going in, Iāll 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 itās raw and gross and unedited, she still sees I wrote a bit that night, so Iām not slacking on my own goals. I like to do that when Iām 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, donāt do it if it isnāt fun. Youāre allowed to put down books or fics if you donāt like them. Youāre allowed to abandon ideas halfway through when no one saw it. Reading is exhausting for me. I grade papers for a living, so I donāt 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 itās enjoyable.Keep a similar attitude with writing. Every bit of writing I do is āpractice,ā so even if nobody reads it, Iām a thousand words stronger today than I was yesterday, even if it wasnāt great or it never turns into a story that anyone sees but me. I never sit down and think ātoday is the day Iām going to write a book that will change the world.ā And that takes serious pressure off of me. Some day, I may write that book. But it wonāt be today or tomorrow, so Iām 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... donāt do it. True, āwords on a pageā canāt happen if you donāt sit down and write, but there are many days when I know it wouldnāt be good to force myself. Finding that balance is an art that may not be able to be mastered, but itās one we have to try for nevertheless.
