Things You Wish You'd Known When You Started Writing

[WhovianMadman]

I was thinking about the things I would tell my younger self in regards to writing, if given the chance.

If I could travel back in time to visit my ten year old self, my most important points would be:

* Work on your grammar and punctuation. Dammit, kid, that's not how a comma works!

* Read more books. Barbie Magazine doesn't count as literature and it sure as hell isn't going to help you get published.

* Writing is extremely hard, so be prepared to edit a lot and face rejection over and over.

What would you say to yourself if you had the chance? Is there anything you would change or improve?

[Rym Ember]

I would say...

Start younger. You'll love it.

[sad letters from up north]

i was on a pretty good road when i was a kid. it's only now that i'm not doin' so hot, man.

[LoperDoper]

You stick out like a sore thumb on the internet. Trust me, they can tell you're 11 without you telling them.

[I_Write_Ivre]

Rewriting is not a bad thing.

[Symphony of Magic]

Learn to love critiques.

Develop a tough skin when you're young.

Rewriting and editing are part of the process.

Don't be ashamed if your first draft is terrible. Just make the next drafts better.

[Pseudo-Onkelos]

• Don't be concerned about the length of paragraphs, nor the length of chapters.
  
• Don't worry about using "said".
  
• Don't be a perfectionist, it slows you down.

[kdke]

- Not everyone will like your stories. Get over it and move forward.

- You might not ever make a masterpiece, but you can certainly make something very good one day. Strive for that.

- Seek out constructive criticism, and ignore everything else, both positive and negative. Negative comments are meant to put you down and/or stop you from doing what you love; positive comments are meant to make you feel good, but can make you feel like you don't need to improve. Put the latter comments away for a rainy day.

- Rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite some more! Sometimes stories improve through subtle or big changes. Don't be afraid of changing details.

- You can't please everyone.

- Writing is a lifelong learning experience if you want to accomplish something good.

- For god's sake, stop making your characters so damned perfect. It's not endearing.

[I_Write_Ivre]

arrow Spelling and grammar mistakes, sues, nonsensical plots, and no clue what you're doing are fine for a rough draft.

arrow You WILL have a rough draft

arrow You will screw up

[marshmallowcreampie]

- Make a chapter by chapter outline before you write the story. WAY easier than trying to make things up as you go along.

[oh vvhail]

I used to love rewriting. It's like writing the same story with a little more "umph" to it. Oh wait, that's exactly what it it.

[justadarling]

Don't let yourself quit because someone reads your work and laughs in your face. (My sister and friend stole my journal when I was gone and started laughing and quoting lines to me when I came back. I was 11 and it really hurt at the time)

It's okay if you read it again and realize it was stupid sounding. Just make it better next time.

Don't throw away the writings that you are embarrassed of. Keep them so you can see how far you've come.

[Kita-Ysabell]

- Writing means writing, not planning. Even if it would make an awesome videogame.

- Your early writing will suck. Yes, even yours. The poems/descriptions/short stories that everyone said were awesome were actually only decent for your inexperience. In the long run, they sucked.

- Your first plot will suck. Write it anyways. Ditch it when it stops working. Wash, rinse, repeat. Don't worry about writing a classic until you can actually write.

- Don't show your work to your mom. She's a terrible critic, even though she likes to think otherwise.

[Klaark]

Not a damn thing. Learning and getting better was half the enjoyment. It's not like I had a limited time in which to write or that by writing badly I damaged my knees.

Now, could I go back in time and whip my lazy a** for not writing when I could have been? Yes.

[Tsuki Z]

Just because a story doesn't work the first time, doesn't mean you have to scrap it entirely.
You can still shelf the idea for later.