Tips For A Beginner

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allybongo
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Tips For A Beginner

Post by allybongo »

I have wanted to write for a very long time. However every time I try my mind goes blank and I get frustrated, all my ideas become as reachable as forgotten dreams. Anytime I attempt to be deep its as though I've splatted my brains on a shallow pool floor, after an enthusiastic swan dive. How do I keep the ideas flowing without losing any semblance of direction? Any beginner tips, in general, are much-appreciated thank you.
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Post by Helen_Combe »

I’d advise you to join a writing club. They usually set topics to write to and are fantastic for making you knuckle down and focus your brain. Also, when you’ve heard seven people read seven completely different interpretations of one topic, you’ll find how inspirational other people can be.
A thesaurus is necessary, essential, indispensable, vital, crucial and fundamental.
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revna01
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Post by revna01 »

Read a lot in the genre you wish to write, by an author you enjoy reading. Keep something handy for jotting down ideas if inspiration does strike. Perhaps most importantly: don't stress about it. Part of the problem currently may be from self-induced pressure. Just relax and wait if needed.
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Post by Jmteachmom »

As a beginner as well I have found that reading other author's work is the best way to learn. By reading other works you not only increase your vocabulary but you can see how styles of writing are different. My biggest tip is to read other works and I absolutely love to read the editor comments when I post a review. Those tips have increased my editor score and helped me to craft a work in a positive way.
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Tangier1
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Post by Tangier1 »

SABRADLEY wrote: 26 Mar 2018, 16:49 Read a lot in the genre you wish to write, by an author you enjoy reading. Keep something handy for jotting down ideas if inspiration does strike. Perhaps most importantly: don't stress about it. Part of the problem currently may be from self-induced pressure. Just relax and wait if needed.
I have started this process by reading the books of Nicholas Sparks. I have read many of them before, but never from the perspective of one day writing my own novel. When you suggest jotting down notes do you mean as I read? Do you mean in general as I go about my life? If I jot notes as I am reading how would I avoid any later question of plagiarism? Thank you so much for taking the time to view and answer my questions.
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revna01
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Post by revna01 »

Jotting down notes: just in general. If you are at a park and get a little flash of inspiration for a concept or for a character. It's amazing how quickly we can forget our great ideas haha
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Tangier1
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Post by Tangier1 »

Thank you for the timely response. I think it is a super idea ad will begin immediately.
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Post by Positiveminds7 »

Writing саn sound likе аn idуlliс job, but in reality it iѕ hugеlу ѕtrеѕѕful; раrtiсulаrlу if уоu аrе trуing to bаlаnсе your love fоr writing with аnоthеr раid jоb, family commitments, housework аnd social arrangements.

It is important thаt as a writеr you kеер уоur еmоtiоnаl аnd mental wеllbеing lооkеd аftеr. Keeping yourself fit in bоth bоdу аnd mind will not оnlу hеlр уоu stay fосuѕеd аnd роѕitivе, but it will аlѕо hеlр you sleep bеttеr, and imрrоvе thе оvеrаll реrfоrmаnсе of уоur writing. Stау focused and оrgаnizе yourself, jоt down nоtеѕ, rеliеvе уоurѕеlf оf ѕtrеѕѕ аnd сrеаtе timе to mеditаtе. Alѕо, rеmеmbеr tо еаt wеll, еxеrсiѕе аnd find timе to sleep bеttеr.
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Post by NRoach »

allybongo wrote: 24 Mar 2018, 15:14 I have wanted to write for a very long time. However every time I try my mind goes blank and I get frustrated, all my ideas become as reachable as forgotten dreams. Anytime I attempt to be deep its as though I've splatted my brains on a shallow pool floor, after an enthusiastic swan dive. How do I keep the ideas flowing without losing any semblance of direction? Any beginner tips, in general, are much-appreciated thank you.
The two parts I've bolded are, I sense, part of the problem. You know what the single most common identifier of new writers is? It's trying to sound like a writer. People read these beautiful passages in their favourite books and decide they want to be just as scintillating, so they sit down and try to write something just as good. And it basically never works.
The amazing stuff you read in your favourite books is, first of all, written by well established authors with long careers. Secondly, it's been edited over and over and over. No one sits down an pens genius a priori.

Imagine a painter preparing to paint his masterpiece. What does he do? He plans the scene meticulously. He finds the content, he sketches, and refines the sketches, and perfects the composition, and chooses his colour palette, and a thousand other things, and then he puts brush to canvas.
People tend to think, because they're literate, that writing is somehow different to painting. Wrong. When you plonk yourself down in your desk chair and try to create something profound and deep, you're jumping way ahead of yourself, you're painting before your sketch is finished.

Slow down. Allow yourself to be not deep, just at first. No one's going to see this first draft unless you show it to them, and if you sit around waiting for perfection to arc out of your hands and into the document, you're never going to actually write anything.

99% of writing is editing, after all.

Edited to add: If you'd like, you're welcome to send me some of the stuff you've written. I enjoy critiquing, and trying to help new writers is half the reason for that.
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Post by DreamerSeeker »

I have been a writer for over 2 years. My advice to you and for others who are beginners as well is just to relax. Don't try to think of the words, just let them come out on their own. Let the story or song write itself. Choose a topic you want to write about and surround yourself with it to help get the creative juices flowing.
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WarBabyMoon
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Post by WarBabyMoon »

Write, write, write! And read, read, read! That's the stuff I've always gone by. Read a lot of books, write every single day, and you'll get better. There's a lot that can be learned from other authors such as Stephen King and J. K. Rowling. Oh, and Dean Koontz. But any author's writing can help you. Eventually, from these, you'll develop your own writing style and, heck, can inspire you to write something.

Also, that's another thing. Inspiration can come from anywhere. It's really cool. I have several ideas on the backburners right now. I can't wait to get to those ideas.
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Post by Van112 »

I have been a writer for quite some time now. But not professionally. I write to express my thoughts. And i know that i have various problems with my writing. I have a problem with my tenses. They shift a lot and so on and on. I have always wondered where I can join a writing club.
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Lgs1089
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Post by Lgs1089 »

allybongo wrote: 24 Mar 2018, 15:14 I have wanted to write for a very long time. However every time I try my mind goes blank and I get frustrated, all my ideas become as reachable as forgotten dreams. Anytime I attempt to be deep its as though I've splatted my brains on a shallow pool floor, after an enthusiastic swan dive. How do I keep the ideas flowing without losing any semblance of direction? Any beginner tips, in general, are much-appreciated thank you.
I would begin by keeping a journal. Write in it every day even if you think what you're writing is irrelevant. Go to a restaurant, park, or a theater, and watch people. Jot down your thoughts in your journal, and try to write the stranger's background.

I would begin trying to write a short story. Short stories are a great way to start. It will condition you to become concise and well help with setting scenes. Plus, short stories are easily transitioned into chapters for longer works if that's something you're interested in pursuing. The five elements of a good short story are as follows: character, setting, conflict, plot, and theme. Now I'm going to give you an assignment. I'm not trying to be a weirdo, but I perform better when someone else challenges me. I would consider this a favor. lol I'm going to give you five random words. I want you to take those words and create a short story. The story must include all five words in the list, and you can write anything you want. It doesn't matter how long or how short. It could be a paragraph, or it could be 12 pages. Keep it simple. Think of a problem that has been solved in the past. Think about a person the problem effected. That person is going to be your main character. Now take that character and tell us what happened. It's just a little exercise my college professor, Carolyn Haines, used to tell us to do in Advanced Fictional Writing. Don't worry about grammar or mechanics. Just spit it out like you're telling a story to your b.f.f. I'd be willing to edit for you, or provide feedback if you'd like. Here goes the five words:

1. Necklace
2. Cigarette
3. Map
4. Spaghetti
5. Louisiana

Have fun!
L.G. Stewart
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Morgan Jones
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Post by Morgan Jones »

Read, read and read! Find the books that touched you the most and concentrate on the style the author's used to make you feel this level of emotion. Writing notes of it would be so much better! Expand your vocabulary as much as you can, but don't feel discouraged when you can't recall a lot of different words. That's why a dictionary exists. You can always find a synonym to a word you find yourself repeating.

The most important tip is to never stop writing. Great authors never write a complete story at the first try. There will be many trials and errors, many plots that will fall short before they even develop and that's okay! Keep working, keep thinking of new plots and one day one of them will just bring all the words from you and onto paper.
"Reading is a conversation. All books talk. But a good book listens as well." - Mark Haddon
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