17 writing tips for the newbie (or anyone feeling stuck)

sleepyempress:

{My younger cousin is a budding writer (!!!), and I wanted to make a list of tips as a going-away present. Tumblr seems to like these things, and I thought I’d put it up here to see what you all think.}

1. Do NOT sit around and wait for inspiration. If you do, you won’t have your first draft done until you’re eighty. I hear people all the time complaining about how “they have no muse” and the like. Too bad. It’s better to actually write something down, even if it’s dull and hackneyed, than to make no progress at all.
2. Write every day until you’re fluent. Go to the drugstore and get an eight and a half by eleven inch notebook. Challenge yourself to write two, three, five pages every day, about whatever you want-descriptions of your family and friends, observations, conspiracy theories. You’re not allowed to go back and read any of the things you’ve written. By the end of a week, you’ll find yourself looking at the world in a different way. Do it long enough, and you’ll be able to write anywhere, anytime, on any subject. 
3. Proper mechanics, spelling, and grammar are vital. Learn them and use them. It’s the foundation of good, clean writing and the easiest way to make yourself stand out. (I once won a writing contest based in no small part on my grammatical correctness!) If you struggle in this area, dictionary.com and Google are your friend. And, for the love of God, if you are not writing in a very specific style, punctuation marks are NOT decorations! 
4. On that note, take the most challenging English classes you can. IGNORE the siren song of those ~creative writing~ classes. You’ll get all that you’d learn in that class and more by taking courses on literature and rhetoric, even if you’re not intent on writing the Great American Novel or anything literary. These classes push you to write a lot, often under pressure, and to read a variety of works you’d probably never look at otherwise.You’ll also learn a whole lot about literary analysis and the things that still compel us to read books that were written centuries ago.
5. If you’re not in school, get thee to a library! Books are some of the best teachers in the world. Push yourself to read EVERYTHING: manga, Shakespeare, legal decisions, the back of cereal boxes, fanfiction, poetry, coffee table books… If you’re still lost, look into the “how to write books,” but reading a variety of material should help sharpen your skills and help you find new inspiration.
6. Write about what you want to write about. Ignore people who say your subject matter is too superficial or complicated. You’re only going to stick with your projects and really enjoy yourself if you’re passionate about it. It’s a cliche that bears repeating: write the material you’d want to read.
7. DO NOT overload your attributive clauses! An attributive clause is the “she said” that appears all the time in written dialogue. It IS NOT THE PLACE to include “she said as she opened the fridge to get a platter of aged cheeses that she had selected from the nearest Whole Foods after much deliberation that caused her to be late for lunch that day.” The only noun that should be in that clause is the speaker’s name, and the only verb should be “said” or “asked.” (Maybe “replied” if you’re feeling devilish.) If you feel like saying anything else, it goes into another sentence. Also, if you have one of those lists titled “five billion synonyms for said,” rid yourself of it now. Your readers should be able to figure out tone, volume, and emotion from context. You know where all those mutters, mumbles, and murmurs got Stephanie Meyer…. 
8. There are no rules about where, when, how, or how often you should write. In the beginning, try a lot of different things to figure out what works best for you. Try working in different places at different times of day. See how long it takes to get in the zone and how long you can stay focused. Decide how quickly you want to finish your first draft. If you find yourself getting bored, change things again.
9. Character development is key. I don’t care how fantastic your setting is or how sweeping a plot you’ve concocted. Your world will be dull and flat until you create that emotional connection through your characters. (Fantasy and sci-fi are most prone to this problem.)They’re the bridge between your audience and the story you’re telling. Make them complex and interesting, and the most fantastic and absurd situations will become much more relatable. After all, you don’t see legions of obsessive fans crying over someone’s use of semicolons, do you?
10. Challenge yourself. If you don’t feel scared from time to time, you’re doing it wrong. Don’t talk yourself out of a great idea because it feels beyond your abilities. You’ll develop the skills you need to realize it as you go along. Don’t sacrifice you vision for anything.
11. Research in moderation. It’s a great way to find new ideas and feel more confident about your work, but don’t get sucked into it! No matter how much time you spend reading and gathering information, your first draft isn’t going to be perfect. I like to do bouts of research when I’m taking a break from writing/editing. It helps keep your work at the forefront of your mind all the time.
12. Real life offers the best stories. We’ve all heard or seen things just too bizarre to make up. Manipulate, collect, and use them. 
13. Love and respect your unconscious. Writing for me has been just as (if not more so) emotional as it is intellectual. If something feels right, do it! Don’t censor or judge yourself as you write. You can always go back and change it later. (Easier said than done.) Eventually, your characters will take on lives of their own, but until they do, you have to trust your instincts. Also, I’d encourage you to work on recalling and exploring your dreams. Lots of writers have used their dreams as inspiration for their work, and it’s free material if there ever was some.
14. Find someone whose opinion you absolutely trust and who will be completely honest with you. This should not be someone to whom you’re related or romantically involved with! (It can be an easy way to wreck those relationships.) Believe me, when you find this person, you’ll know. (Mine is my dear friend Lisa, whom I like to call my Brain Twin.) This is the person who first gets to see and comment on your work. If you get the go-ahead from him/her/zim/zer/them, show it to someone else you trust. I’m a big fan of expanding your sharing circle slowly, but I know not everyone is that way.
15. Find some other people to cry to. Writer-friends are great in this respect. If you write on the computer, get a Skype or instant messenger account and befriend people who always seem to be online. Really, they don’t even have to be online when you bother them. Complaining to someone for a few minutes can make you feel instantly better. Bonus points if these people are supportive.
16. If you’ve ever considered writing longer fiction (or nonfiction!) check out National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo.org). It’s an annual challenge to write 50,000 words in a month. I’ve done it three times and grew immensely as a writer each time. It’s also the best kick in the pants ever.
17. Don’t worry about ~finding your style~. Don’t worry about creating an audience. Don’t worry about whether your work is good or bad. Just write. The rest will come later.