“I want to write, but I don’t know where to start!”
Well… this is what I usually reply when I hear people say that…
It’s best to start at the beginning of writing, one thing every writer, every author, will tell you. Write what you know as it makes you comfortable and you automatically write differently. Of course, a little research here and there can’t hurt, but as long as you write what you know and keep on writing, you’ll slowly start to improve your flow.
Read inside your preferred genre and outside of your preferred genre, just read books. Read a lot of books, soak up stories written by different authors, look at the way they’re writing and how they’re sustaining the flow of their stories. Take note of what you like and don’t like about how they write and implement it to your own writing.
Don’t copy but find your own voice. Stay true to yourself and be aware of your capabilities and shortcomings. Don’t get jealous at other writers who seem to do better than you, or seem to write better stories. Don’t get jealous of how great they are at writing in a certain genre with words you can’t even begin to comprehend – that’s their voice, that’s what they’re good at. Find your own little corner and start carving it out. Find out what you’re good at, even if it’s sappy romance stories or medical drama or even science.
Know where you’re going. Have a solid idea of what to write and make a step by step list of how you want your story to play out. Knowing what you’re writing and what the goal is will improve your flow as well, because you know what you’re writing about.
Take a journal with you. Or, in this day and age, download the google drive app to your smartphone or tablet and take it with you. Write a sentence or so when you’re on the road, travelling or taking a break. Write, write, write.
Challenge yourself. Some writers work better under pressure. Writeordie.com is a great website to do this. You don’t have to write with a goal in mind, it could simply be a few lines of observing people but it’s a writing exercise to train yourself.
Sentence structure. Don’t stick to one particular kind of sentence structure. Use long sentences, short sentences, use commas, use your voice. Read your sentences back to yourself and see if it flows easily. If it doesn’t, change it. Don’t just read your sentences back to yourself, but use your physical voice. Do not fall into the pit that’s called ‘shopping list writing’. It will ruin your flow. You’re not writing your outline, you’re writing a story. An example of shopping list writing: Amber picked up her axe and walked to the tree. Amber lifted her axe and started to chop. She then screamed. The axe had hit her leg. It was bleeding. The tree needed to be chopped. Amber kept on chopping while the blood was spurting out of her leg. She’d hit an artery.
Find out what works best for you. Do you write better when you’re listening to music? Do you write better when you’re not just focused on writing but have other things to do as well? Find a place where you feel comfortable to write in, create a situation where you’re on your own little island, writing without any disturbance (or if you want to, disturbance). If your head is clogged with non-writing stuff, find a way of getting it out of there. I usually open up a new document and spill my heart all over that document and then I feel like I can write again.
Jealous of other people who seem to be banging out a chapter a day? Don’t be! Everyone works on their own pace, in their own time! Some people just have more time on their hands than others…
Stuck on something? Write something else that you want to put in your story and add it in later. Stuck on your story without any chance of getting further? Stop what you’re doing and do something else. Write something else if you feel the need to. (I might expand on this in another blog.)
Do not hesitate to ask for help. Find yourself a beta-reader, someone who can help you with perfecting your writing in specific ways. You can have several beta-readers, one for the flow, one for the grammar, etc. Often other writers have different ideas about writing and maybe come up with an idea or two for your story as well. You can learn from your beta if you find a good one.
What’s a good beta? Well, one who doesn’t mince her words and tell you that that sentence is just wrong but if you do it like this, it will convey the same thing you want to achieve and it sounds better.
I’m here for you to answer questions or to help out. Leave me a comment or catch me on facebook