So, I'm thinking about becoming a writer...

[Leemaster777]

As the title suggests, I'm thinking about becoming a writer.

I've been out of high school for some time now, but until now, I haven't really had any sort of direction in my life. I work at a hospital, but I don't really see myself making a career out of it.

Recently, I got the notion in my head that I should become a writer. I've always been a bit of a reader, and I feel like becoming a professional writer is something I would really like to do.

I know that getting a bachelors in creative writing would be a good place to start, but for various personal reasons, it'll be awhile before I can actually pursue it.

To any professional writers on the Escapist here, I ask, can any of you give any tips or advice to a budding writer? I haven't decided what kind of writer I want to be yet, but any help that any of you can offer would be appreciated.

 

[XzarTheMad]

Just write. The more you do it, the more you know which areas you're good at and which you aren't. Experience is all that really matters. Nothing you do in your first try will be good. But don't let that get to ya. Just keep trying. That's all I can tell ya. Good luck.

 

[smearyllama]

Hey, I'm no writer, but try getting into game writing. There's been a bit of a shortage in creativity in that department lately. Go in there and make me a story that ties together Chrono Trigger and HL2.

 

[ZiggyE]

Practise makes perfect. Write and write. Not necessarily to get something published, just for the enjoyment and feel of writing. Also, don't be afraid of critique. If you won't let people see your work and tell you what they think, you won't get anywhere.

 

[Lt_Bromhead]

I don't know if I count as `professional` exactly, but I've finished two books (nearly knocked the third on the head) and am just waiting around until I'm a little less busy to locate some means of third party proof-reading and publishing.

My advice if you don't know what "kind" of writer you want to become would be to choose your genre first. Taking your favourite genre of reading material and starting there is a good way to get creative juices flowing, but don't worry if it doesn't stick. Despite being a massive history nut who reads a billion historical novels, my scribblings are fantasy based. Evidently I'm more of a novellist, so feel free to ignore what I'm saying if that's not your thing.

Finding that niche is the first step - don't worry too much about your writing yet. You can improve that once you've got some words down on paper. Absorb your brain in the task and don't overwork yourself, otherwise you'll get bored and won't want to continue.
In essence: Have fun. Until you know exactly what you want to write, go bananas!
Write some experimental texts to see how you like the feel of a particular setting. Seriously, I've got like twelve or so works that didn't make it past chapter 1/2, but they were all useful experiments.

A rough plan; Find a genre, generate a basic concept, develop your writing style, create a plot, write some experimental text in that setting, fine-tune plot to the very minute details, write.

Like a school essay; ALWAYS plan things before writing. Have an idea of a story before you start, even if you're just experimenting. Leap head-first into it and it'll be a mess. Take the calm, considered approach.


Hope I've been useful. Feel free to ask for clarification of anything or to tell me I'm an idiot.

Good luck!

 

[TheLaofKazi]

Well... how do you get good at doing something?

You do it. And do it in a way you feel comfortable. Whether that involves writing in tons of different genres, styles, context, ect. to figure out what you are comfortable with, or really immersing yourself in a particular genre and exploring every inch of it, or anything else.

Don't just sit down and go "Ok, I'm going to write a book now. Creativity activate!" That's not how creativity works. Creative and intellectual growth is a very complex, rich and beautiful process. I'm working on writing songs right now, and I have tons, and tons of songs that I've left unfinished. Sometimes I'll start something and then trash the idea immediately, sometimes I'll come back to it later, under a different mindset, with time for the idea and project to breath, sometimes I start something, and I finish it with one complete process. I've even had songs I tried writing a year or two before that I couldn't feel going anywhere, but now are finally becoming useful to me because of my improved skills as a musician.

The correct process is whatever you feel comfortable with. Just be curious and open minded, don't be afraid of failure, for that is the barrier to creativity. Just go for it. If you succeed in whatever you set out to do, whether that be writing a particular idea for a story you had, or developing a certain character, ect., then that's great. And if you fail, you've learned something.

When and where you are going to get your creative writing bachelor, what type of writer you are going to be, how you will market your books, all of that is irrelevant.

 

[Lt_Bromhead]

4. This one should be self evident, but spelling, grammar, punctuation. When you're trying to get your ideas across to other people, make sure to use language conventions that they know, not ones you've just randomly made up. The most important part of a book is that it can be read.

Crap - I forgot that one. Probably the most important!

A point well made, good sir!
*Applause*

 

[MikailCaboose]

Just keep writing. It takes a lot of time and toil, and you'll have more scripts that you will tear apart than full ones. But don't just focus only on writing, because there is a very good possibility that you will screw yourself over that way.

 

[Dastardly]

1) Write. Write a lot.

2) Don't try to write your novel. Start small, with short stories and scenes.

3) Decide whether your goal is to be "a writer," or if it's to be "a published writer," or if it's to be "a famous writer." This can do a lot to determine what your goals should be.

4) Do not be afraid to take classes, as available. These do not consist of people "telling you how to write." They consist of people showing you some of the methods you can use, which will help to expand your "tool kit" as a writer. They will have you do things that seem very limited and strict and formulaic. Do them.

Creativity doesn't come from freedom. If you're given endless freedom, you'll invariably choose the same few familiar paths every time. But when you're forced to work within strict limits, that's when you're able to see what you can bring to the table. Seriously, take a class where everyone is basically told to write the "same" story... and no one's stories will be exactly the same.

You'll find that "writing" is more than just picking a setting and telling an interesting story. Different tones, different points of view, different styles, all of these can do a lot to shape how your story and characters are received--just like the camera work in a movie has a HUGE impact on the story and characters, not just the script and the acting. As a writer, you are the actors, and the script, but also the sound engineer, director, gaffer, stuntman... and too many writers ignore those roles.

That's the benefit of some of these classes and exercises. Anyone who comes to me asking about writing songs, the first project I send them to do? Pick one subject and write twenty haiku about it. Now you've got to learn to say exactly what you want to say about that topic with as few words as possible, rather than just worrying about meter and rhyme. The good students are the ones that at least try it.

5) If no classes are available, make games for yourself. I'm sure you could find thousands of ideas online. Maybe write a story using only metaphors. Maybe no sentence can be longer than three words. Maybe it has to be set in the Old West, but can't involve any guns. Maybe it has to be from the first-person perspective, but the main character is dead. Whatever. Put yourself in a box and then write your way out of it--the genre doesn't matter at this point, it's your craft that you're refining.

Otherwise, even with the best setting, it'd be like a three-year-old using Monet's paint set. Yeah, he's got the tools somewhere in there, but he doesn't know how to use them all yet.

6) Seriously, don't set out to write an epic from day one. Start small, find your flavor.

 

[blankedboy]

I attempted a novel a couple years back, expectably my work ethic died slowly over time, but it was a good run nonetheless. I gave up once my HD got wiped by a virus... luckily a friend on Skype had a backup, but I didn't care by that time.

My advice is, if you want to be a writer, you have to be unbelievably dedicated. It takes ages to get something of any quality, don't think that it's an easy job.

But if you do decide to, good luck

EDIT: Erm, the guy above me has great advice. Listen to him.

 

[Something Amyss]

As the title suggests, I'm thinking about becoming a writer.

I've been out of high school for some time now, but until now, I haven't really had any sort of direction in my life. I work at a hospital, but I don't really see myself making a career out of it.

Recently, I got the notion in my head that I should become a writer. I've always been a bit of a reader, and I feel like becoming a professional writer is something I would really like to do.

I know that getting a bachelors in creative writing would be a good place to start, but for various personal reasons, it'll be awhile before I can actually pursue it.

To any professional writers on the Escapist here, I ask, can any of you give any tips or advice to a budding writer? I haven't decided what kind of writer I want to be yet, but any help that any of you can offer would be appreciated.

Write every day. Doesn't matter much what you write at first. Practice. Fifteen minutes is okay, half an hour or more is better. If you take no other step, getting practice writing is probably the best thing you can do.

There are workshops and writers' circles all around. If you want feedback and support, this is a good way to get it.

Getting a degree in writing is probably good, but being realistic is probably better. There's no straight line to getting published.

 

[SimuLord]

I don't know that I'd call myself a professional, but here are some tips from someone who's been published a couple of times:

1) Don't get your degree in creative writing. One, you're gonna need a fallback in case writing doesn't work out---very few people make a living as writers that could remotely qualify as "a good-paying job." Get your degree in what you want to write ABOUT. If you want to write about computers, get a CS degree. If you like money and finance, by all means go to business school. Courtroom/legal writers do well with criminal justice, political science, or pre-law degrees. And so forth.

2) Write, write, write. Keep a blog and update it. Practice makes perfect. I'm a big believer in the Malcolm Gladwell "10,000 hours to master something" school of thought on this.

3) Networking is absolutely critical. If you know a lot of editors, and furthermore if those editors think you're a good writer, you're more likely to get a proposal accepted.

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER! MISS A DEADLINE. You might as well just tell the entire industry "I never want to work again."

 

[BrassButtons]

First and foremost, write as much as you can. It's good practice, and also a good way to see if this is really something you want to do. Writing sounds fun, but like many jobs what you expect it to be like isn't always the reality. Spend some time getting a feel for what its like before you make any serious sacrifices for this.

And while your writing, read as well. Find out what kind of writing interests you (both from the standpoint of a reader, and from the standpoint of wanting to write similar stuff) and then study it. Why do you like this particular work? How is it different from works you don't like, or like less? Identifying these things will come with practice, and with knowledge.

Speaking of knowledge, learn as much as you can in relation to writing (well, in relation to everything really--the more you know the better you can write, in my opinion), but let's focus on writing). Spelling, grammar, diction, style, plot, theme, etc. There are plenty of books and probably online resources on this, so no need to wait until you're taking classes to start learning. Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style" is an excellent book to start with.

Find someone to critique your work. Find a group of writers who are willing to give you honest criticism and advice. Again, there are online resources for this.

And of course, have fun

 

[Leemaster777]

Thanks for all the responses, guys.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Simple : http://www.nanowrimo.org

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

What sort of writer do you want to be? It's all very well and good to say 'I want to be a writer,' but we can't really give you good advice until we know what you want to write.

If you want to be a journalist then you're going to need contacts and people that you can rely on basically to be a source of information. Add to that you're going to start out on the very bottom rung of a very competitive field. You'll probably also need a degree specically in journalism

If you want to be a game writer again it's more who you know than what, Extra Credits had quite a nice piece on this a few weeks ago.

If you want to be a novel writer then I'm sorry but there's very little chance you'll make a career out of it, same for short stories and poetry writers. Most of my university tutors are published authors but only one of them has any degree of fame (George Green, who wrote 'Writing a Novel and Getting it Published for Dummies) Writing is a competitive career, without an agent you have a 99.8 chance of rejection (according to the A&B Black Writers Handbook) and even with an agent it's only a 40% chance of success.

You'll need another job and you'll proabbly need it for the rest of your life because at best writing will only be a second source of very fluctuating income, and at worst you may never get published.

 

[HT_Black]

All I can say is that when you stop hating everything you've ever written, you should stop writing. You can always do better, and do so by miles. As soon as you forget that, you can say good-bye to quality.