Post by Site Administrator on Nov 26, 2009 21:10:54 GMT
...Mostly because I worry that everything I write sounds too much like something that has already been done, or isn't any good. What suggestions do you have to help me finish writing something?
Question asked by "Chris" via Yahoo! Answers.
If it's already been done, the don't write it. Write everything down in note form, like a checklist of significant events or in chapters. Do the same for your characters and their appearance, stories and backgrounds. If you've seen even the smallest detail elsewhere, change it. Once you've changed everything to something you haven't seen before (not just things you HAVE seen before in different combinations) then you'll have something original.
Don't worry about the quality of the writing. If you do, you won't get anywhere and you'll never get anything written. To get better at writing, you have to write. Take your time, but don't get hung up on particular lines or scenes. Always keep moving - just make sure you have it well thought out before hand.
When you've finished, read it a few times and improve it where you can. Then leave it for a few weeks to write something completely unrelated, a different story entirely. Then come back to it with fresh eyes and go over it again. You'll soon have a big portfolio of work, and you'll see how much your writing's improved over time. Then you'll see how earlier stuff was unoriginal or roughly written and, if you want to, you can rewrite it from scratch. Just keep writing!
People will say this all the time, but the best thing to do for quality of writing is reading. Read lots, make sure you're always at least partway through a book, but never between books. People will say to read books from every genre, but it's not neccessary; just read different authors writing in whatever genre you're interested in reading, and this will give you all the variety you'll need to improve your own work without even realising it.
Good luck!
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Question asked by "Chris" via Yahoo! Answers.
If it's already been done, the don't write it. Write everything down in note form, like a checklist of significant events or in chapters. Do the same for your characters and their appearance, stories and backgrounds. If you've seen even the smallest detail elsewhere, change it. Once you've changed everything to something you haven't seen before (not just things you HAVE seen before in different combinations) then you'll have something original.
Don't worry about the quality of the writing. If you do, you won't get anywhere and you'll never get anything written. To get better at writing, you have to write. Take your time, but don't get hung up on particular lines or scenes. Always keep moving - just make sure you have it well thought out before hand.
When you've finished, read it a few times and improve it where you can. Then leave it for a few weeks to write something completely unrelated, a different story entirely. Then come back to it with fresh eyes and go over it again. You'll soon have a big portfolio of work, and you'll see how much your writing's improved over time. Then you'll see how earlier stuff was unoriginal or roughly written and, if you want to, you can rewrite it from scratch. Just keep writing!
People will say this all the time, but the best thing to do for quality of writing is reading. Read lots, make sure you're always at least partway through a book, but never between books. People will say to read books from every genre, but it's not neccessary; just read different authors writing in whatever genre you're interested in reading, and this will give you all the variety you'll need to improve your own work without even realising it.
Good luck!
What do you think of this answer? Disagree? Have something to add? Did it help at all? Post your message below!
