forum writing tips/prompts for beginners
Started by @ihavenocluewhatshappeningrightnow
tune

people_alt 13 followers

@Masterkey

Hey! I've been writing ever since I was little, and I read ALL the time. I don't consider myself an expert of course, but I'd be happy to give you my opinions and advice. :P Anything specific you wanted?

It's great that you want to be a writer. Writing is such a cool creative hobby (or job). But you have to be prepared to do a lot of hard work, especially if you want to publish someday. Motivation won't always be there, but you have to push through anyway (the hard truth for basically anything in life).

@Masterkey

I'll just tell you what I do, then. :)

I usually just live my life to the fullest (if I can), work hard at whatever I'm supposed to do (when I'm not being lazy), and try new things and experiences. When I go through life, every so often, I'll just think of or say something random, or my friend will, that I really like. I just write down whatever I think of onto my phone. You have to start observing the things around you, see a person with a quirk you think is interesting, see a tree you think is extra ugly, WHATEVER, and just log it always! Song lyrics, cool outfits, conflicts you've witnessed, scenery you like, whatever pops into your brain. I have a huge list of a bunch of stuff now.

Then I just start creating random characters that are pretty basic, imagine their likes, dislikes, flaws, and dreams, and figure out the best scenarios or worlds that would make their likes, dislikes, flaws, and dreams very apparent. Ask yourself questions like, "What kind of conflict can I put in the way of this character's dream? What world would best accomplish that?" And your mind will start forming a story. You can draw inspiration from the list you made on your phone.

I also especially like thinking about "the moral of the story." Ask yourself, "What do I want readers to come away with?" For example, some of the "morals" I really like and want to write about are: little guys can do big things too, sacrificial love is the greatest love, do the right thing even if no one will see you do it (or even if they hate you for it), true friendship/true love, "take my hand so I can pull you off your high horse," etc. Just think about something you think is important, create a scenario about it, and then turn that into a story!

Then the REALLY hard work comes, when you have to build a detailed plot with a world and many characters, so if you want your book to turn out good, you probably have to like doing that sort of thing. :P

Hope this helps!