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/lit/ - Literature

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10913183 No.10913183 [Reply] [Original]

What are your personal writing tips?

>> No.10913596

>>10913183
- write every single day
- do some free-writing and some work on a preexisting project
- write the first couple of drafts of your stories in longhand
- read everyday, preferably before you write to help you get ideas and get into a writing mindset
- even if you want to write fiction, read a lot of poetry. It will help your prose.

>> No.10913607

>>10913183
Just write something. Don't look for excuses why you or your ideas aren't ready. It's easier to get going once you just start.

>> No.10913613

>>10913183
short stories

>> No.10913614

this is a literature board not a faggy writers workshop, offtopic

>> No.10913985

>>10913614
/lit/ is for the discussion of literature, specifically books (fiction & non-fiction), short stories, poetry, creative writing, etc.

seriously, you should consider suicide

>> No.10913986

>>10913596
I like this advice, all of that is good.
also
do your final edit from the physical proof. i thought i was finished. hooooo boy.

>> No.10914000

i posted this in another thread:
you do have something to write about. the problem is you are too timid to let yourself write about it. you must overcome this.

>> No.10914066

watch good films, listened to interesting & peculiar music, read good literature.

always challenge yourself, do rereading the works you're writing, and only write when you're ready.

>> No.10914778

all this is great advice, guys. Writing something is the most important thing, but I find writing tips stimulating sometimes.

>> No.10914783

just do what you do.

I mean....figure out what is you do, then do it.

>> No.10914968

>>10913596
>- write the first couple of drafts of your stories in longhand
are you suggesting to write your more polished and complete drafts in shorthand??

>> No.10915087

>>10913183
Any tips for writing a biography of a person with almost no information about his childhood and teenage years? I am worried I may be turning the work into too historic references, but is the only way I feel his life can be a understood a little bit.

>> No.10915403

>>10915087
Don't write a biography, who is the person?

>> No.10915422

>>10914968

nah typed senpai, but I could see how you are being pedantic

>> No.10915474

do a whole bunch of fuckin drugs

>> No.10915497

>>10913183
>increase sentence variety
>increase verb variety
>learn basic rhetorical devices
Perhaps looking up AP lang material online will help in practicing these techniques.
>keep a pen and journal close at all times
if you have an idea, jot it down real quick. I do bullet points.
>write a lot
it's practice and it's enjoyable if you have something to write.

If you already write a lot and you have ideas in mind, I would tell you to focus on the first three tips(the first three greentexts). Those are the things that so many anons lack whenever they post in critique threads.

>> No.10915595

>>10913183
Just accept that you are shit and give up.

>> No.10916005

>>10913183

-Write simply. Don't use a complex word when the simplest one will do.
-Read poetry to get a feel for rhythmic prose (already mentioned but it bears repeating - Eliot's Four Quartets were invaluable for me).
-Don't be afraid to experiment with your first draft. Most of that experimentation will be deleted, but the bits that stay in subsequent edits are worth it.
-Structure beforehand to avoid writer's block.

>> No.10916021

>>10915595
Urgh, I'm having trouble with that. Any tips?

>> No.10916063

>>10913183
The number one criticism I have after reading critique threads is most people go way too heavy on the adjectives and adverbs especially. You don’t have to be as sparse as Hemingway but only use adjectives when it’s really, really necessary.

>> No.10916077

1. Having trouble getting into the head of your viewpoint characters? Just write in first person in their voice, then convert it to third after the fact. Edit as required.

2. Write short stories before trying anything bigger

3. Know the ending before you begin so you have something to shoot for.

4. First drafts are always shit. Just write. You can come back a day later and fix it if you need to. Give yourself time though - sometimes shit that you think is worthless becomes a precious gem when seen with fresh eyes. Often, precious gems become worthless shit.

>> No.10916084

>>10913183
>What are your personal writing tips?
Don't be like me

>> No.10916089

>>10913183
if you have below a 130 iq you should not even try, if you never were told by your teachers or friends that you are articulate or have a way with words and language, don't even bother.

that is all

>> No.10916097

>>10916089
Gas yourself elitist scum.

>> No.10916100

you need genuine enthusiasm in order to write anything that's any good.

>>10916005
poetry isn't prose

>> No.10916150

>>10916089
idk, Muhammed Ali had a 78 IQ packed a lot of wit in his poems. And he performed them with real gusto; doesn't seem like the type of guy who would proudly dish out garbage and that would be indicated by his high view of himself—for good reason considering he was the greatest boxer.

>> No.10916176

>>10916089
>high IQ, teachers enjoyed his conversation
stock description of a serial killer my friend

>> No.10916857

>>10916150
i hope for your sake this post was ironic

>> No.10916871

>>10913183
try to write drunk and make corrections sober

>> No.10916926

>>10916857
when I thought about it, I was like
>this is not a strong argument at all
>too far in though

>> No.10916931

>>10916021
>>10915497

>> No.10917186

>>10915422
I really wasn't trying to be. The opposite of longhand to me is shorthand. But I agree with the advice.

>> No.10917206

hey /lit/ i was wondering about the themes you guys put in your works, do you prefer to develop a set of similar themes over your body of work as you grow to understand them better, or do you guys consciously choose to work completely different themes (maybe even opposing themes) from one story to the next?

>> No.10917230
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10917230

What do you guys do when you're staring at a blank page and don't have any ideas? I've searched about this topic several times and something often repeated is that you should jot down things that you notice in a notebook and then expand upon them later when you sit down to write. I've tried this, but nothing ever really stood out to me, and when I force myself to write something anyway, it never provides me with any insight; when I try free writing without a set topic, I usually just churn out nonsense. I've only ever been able to write effectively when I had a scene in mind before I sat down to write, but I can't think of anything right now.

>> No.10917317

>>10917206
I pick one or two themes for each work, anything connecting my work over time would be coincidental.

>> No.10917345

>>10913183
BE!
DESCRIPTIVE!
BUT NOT, TOO, DESCRIPTIVE!

>> No.10917346

>>10917230
I don't write unless I want to write some thing. Sounds like you're forcing things.

>> No.10917365

>>10917230
>don't have any ideas
I always have ideas.

>> No.10917475

>>10913596
>write every single day
Absolutely wrong, it'll just burn you out or make you disinterested. Perhaps read or write everyday, but give yourself time to meditate like a potato. I usually come up with new ideas if I'm rhizomatic for a while - then I have bursts of writing thousands of words a day.

>> No.10917794

>>10917365
This. My biggest issue is having more ideas than i have writing skill