Writing tips and advice you wish you would have known about when you first started out

[TheBryceKrispy]

I thought it would be fun to list writing tips and advice you wish you would have known about when you first started writing.

[fleohr]

Hmm so far I've noticed that LW readers don't like slow paced stories, too deep stories, and too many characters in the same story as well

I guess, if you want to reach many readers you'd have to write something simple and easy to follow, the mass seems to also like memes and tropes

And when you start a story, don't reveal everything up front, let the readers get a feeling of what the story is about, but not totally (something like when you go to a restaurant and eat a couvert before getting to the main dish), a cliché example would be "girl meets a childhood friend or maybe a boy she used to study with at school after many years" then the readers would ship then or something, but then you add another dude there to make a triangle love (not trying to make fun of this trope ahem)

[GesuGesu]

Plan ahead. Do some initial designs before you start writing that first chapter.

By doing that, I could have started in the middle of the conflict and reveal stuff in a flashback, instead of having to explain everything from the beginning. 1

I could draw a map of the world I wanted before describing their travelling days.

I could pre design the characters on a sheet so I knew how to describe them without wracking my head for descriptions

[fattackycats]

2 things:

The actual importance of "kill your darlings". You might love that one weird character who doesn't play a vital role in the story or that one scene that looks super cool but brings the story to a screeching halt. You gotta be okay with nixing things when they aren't working out in the story. It hurts, but it's necessary.

And taking critique from a stranger waaay sooner than I did. I wished I knew the value in getting solid critiques early on that way I would be tougher skinned later, and could see the value in them rather than taking them personally. A good critique isn't personal!

[Pan]

All new writers:

Take a Mary Sue test.

I'm not even kidding, take a Mary Sue test, and if your results tell you to kill it with fire, kill your character, with fire. If someone has too many interesting things going on in their lives, they come off as juvenile and annoying. It sounds harsh, but I had to learn this the hard way

[ZoeBlessing]

• Don't endlessly edit the first few chapters to death, or you'll never finish the story. All first drafts will need revisions, so keep plowing forward until you get to the end. THEN you can start revising.

• Like @fattackycats said, don't take critiques personally. They will sting (especially at first) but give yourself a few days to pout about it, then reread the critiques. They'll seem more objective once you get used to the fact that our early drafts are part of the road to improvement, and feedback is the only way to improve past our own proofreading.

• Don't listen to ALL the feedback you get. Readers each have personal preferences and skill levels, and some suggestions may make things worse. Try to get feedback from multiple sources, and then address the issues pointed out by multiple people. If many readers say your character is whiny, then it's something you need to address. If only one person complained about it and everyone else thought it was realistic, then you can probably ignore that one outlier. In the end you should listen to your gut and remain true to yourself, or writing won't be so enjoyable anymore.

[MariMontoya]

Writing is hard work! Practice, practice, practice. Always be read to improve and take other people's (helpful ofc) advice.
Writing at least every day whether it's just a sentence or a paragraph helps.
Plan out your story--it doesn't have to be a complex outline but you need at least a beginning, middle, and end. Most people get stuck in the middle because they don't know where they're going or how to get there.

[Pablo.C.S]

Make sure that your first story matches your ability to write it. Aka: don't bite off more than you can chew, with it.

My advice is to start of with something that isn't too complicated, that has a small cast, or that loosely follows a tried structure or genre. Avoid a grand scale fantasy story, with dozens of plot threads and character perspectives, as this can easily be overwhelming.

That doesn't necessarily mean that your first story can't be emotionally complex or, thought provoking, just something that matches your level of experience.

I say this from my own personal experience, as I chose to make my first published comic be a time travel Sci-Fi with a believable set of rules.

Only after two years have I finally managed to polish most of the time travel related plot holes, and only then with the help of an experienced editor and writing tips from my artist.

I hope that helps in your creative projects,

-Pablo, Author of INTERMINUTE

[HGohwell]

Highschool teachers aren't teaching you how to write like a published author when they teach you creative writing in class. They usually teach to a specific standard curriculum. No matter what they teach you, said is not dead, overly flowery purple writing does not help the story flow and not everything you write has to have a super deep meaning and symbolism. The curtains can be red because you like red. Less is very often more.

Also always proofread again. No matter how many times do it again.

[Lady_DarkStar]

Take a Mary Sue test.

I'll fess up to not knowing what this test is. Link please.

[Lady_DarkStar]

Don't ever show your first draft to anyone. You can do that after the 4th draft.
Editing is for after the first draft is written, not during the writing.
Make it hard for your characters. They are your darlings, but your doing them a big disservice if you make it easy for them. Not to mention, easy is boring.

[ISNEKO]

Things that happen by random chance have very little impact.

I still do this shit.

[Penni]

1. Don't be so hard on yourself

2. it's ok to make mistakes

3. everything you write isn't going to be pure gold and that's ok

4. Be open to feedback and be willing to learn because there is always more to learn

5. someone will always be better than you but it doesn't mean what you do isn't good

6. it's going to be hard but it's worth it

[ble]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[chraered]

I have nothing to contribute yet but I'm learning a lot about writing from everyone, thank you <3

[Pan]

This one is pretty good: there’s different tests depending on if your character is from your own original content, a fanfic, an OC, etc.

http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm

Very detailed questionnaire, worth a few minutes!

[Lady_DarkStar]

Okay, that type of character was just called bad characterization back when I took writing classes, it didn't have a specific name, it was just an example of what not to do. The names of the characters in the examples were Jane or John Doe, never Mary Sue.