How did you start writing fiction in your early journey as a new author?

[Eldoria]

Journey of A New Author...​

Every author begins writing fiction with the first ink stroke (or finger tap). Even best-selling authors... began their journey by learning to write fiction.

Therefore, what differentiates between stablished authors and new authors is simply "experience."

When it comes to fiction writing experience... each author may have a different path:

How did you start writing fiction in your early journey as a new author?

Did you just write a story that you want or did you write a story that communicates effectively to readers (storytelling)?

Did you release your story while learning to refine your narrative or did you release your fiction after you had finished a story and perfected the storytelling?

Were you writing fiction for yourself or others or for a wider audience? What did you hope for from your early fiction?

Were you proactive in asking for feedback or did you get organic feedback from your readers?

Did you learn to write fiction yourself or did you learn to write fiction from a mentor or creative writing books?

When did you realize that a good story isn't just about a complex story (premise, theme, characters, worldbuilding, plot and conflict) but also about effectively conveying the story to the readers (pacing, hook, emotion, POV, foreshadowing, prose, grammar, etc)?

How do you convey a story effectively to the reader?

Well, the questions are already too long... I feel guilty interrogating you. Lol.

In short, every author may have a different initial journey. You are the one who determines your journey.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

Journey of A New Author...​

Every author begins writing fiction with the first ink stroke (or finger tap). Even best-selling authors... began their journey by learning to write fiction.

Therefore, what differentiates between stablished authors and new authors is simply "experience."

When it comes to fiction writing experience... each author may have a different path:

How did you start writing fiction in your early journey as a new author?

Did you just write a story that you want or did you write a story that communicates effectively to readers (storytelling)?

Did you release your story while learning to refine your narrative or did you release your fiction after you had finished a story and perfected the storytelling?

Were you writing fiction for yourself or others or for a wider audience? What did you hope for from your early fiction?

Were you proactive in asking for feedback or did you get organic feedback from your readers?

Did you learn to write fiction yourself or did you learn to write fiction from a mentor or creative writing books?

When did you realize that a good story isn't just about a complex story (premise, theme, characters, worldbuilding, plot, and conflict) but also about effectively conveying the story to the readers (pacing, hook, emotion, POV, foreshadowing, prose, grammar, etc)?

How do you convey a story effectively to the reader?

Well, the questions are already too long... I feel guilty interrogating you. Lol.

Every author may have a different initial journey. You are the one who determines your journey.

My first work is the fanfic that I wrote and that you can find here on scribble, and I started quite late. The reason was that I did not find a story that suited my taste, so I decided to write it myself. The rest happened along.

 

[AstreiaNyx]

How did you start writing fiction in your early journey as a new author?

A dear friend of mine excitedly told me about the origin of elements, and I wrote an excerpt inspired by it. Then I created a character who questioned it and built the world around her.

Did you just write a story that you want or did you write a story that communicates effectively to readers (storytelling)?

Did you release your story while learning to refine your narrative or did you release your fiction after you had finished a story and perfected the storytelling?

I didn’t plan at all, had no idea about craft, the story was all over the place. It started as a straight romance, but halfway through the story I decided to give my MC a better love interest—and the story became GL.

Were you writing fiction for yourself or others or for a wider audience? What did you hope for from your early fiction?

For myself. I was bored.

Were you proactive in asking for feedback or did you get organic feedback from your readers?

I did. Here on shf.
My readers were so doting that they never left anything negative, at least not to my face.

 

[Nolff]

Journey of A New Author...​

Every author begins writing fiction with the first ink stroke (or finger tap). Even best-selling authors... began their journey by learning to write fiction.

Therefore, what differentiates between stablished authors and new authors is simply "experience."

When it comes to fiction writing experience... each author may have a different path:

How did you start writing fiction in your early journey as a new author?

Did you just write a story that you want or did you write a story that communicates effectively to readers (storytelling)?

Did you release your story while learning to refine your narrative or did you release your fiction after you had finished a story and perfected the storytelling?

Were you writing fiction for yourself or others or for a wider audience? What did you hope for from your early fiction?

Were you proactive in asking for feedback or did you get organic feedback from your readers?

Did you learn to write fiction yourself or did you learn to write fiction from a mentor or creative writing books?

When did you realize that a good story isn't just about a complex story (premise, theme, characters, worldbuilding, plot and conflict) but also about effectively conveying the story to the readers (pacing, hook, emotion, POV, foreshadowing, prose, grammar, etc)?

How do you convey a story effectively to the reader?

Well, the questions are already too long... I feel guilty interrogating you. Lol.

In short, every author may have a different initial journey. You are the one who determines your journey.

I will gladly answer all of that.

I started writing back in 2023, making my first fanfic and my first novel, that has been hiatus'd and will be rebooted.
I wrote it because I was infuriated by the fanfics of all the fandoms I love being made with quite the not-so-good quality. Other times, because these fanfics' ideas were not what I was looking for. So, I made myself one. A multiversal fanfic, a crossover, purely made for myself.

I released my stories and learning along the way, which is the reason why I felt so disgusted one day in 2025 when I was looking back at my first fanfic. It's rubbish beyond disgusting. Now I know why my english teacher said my writing was incomprehensible.

At first, I write for myself, because fanfics of course. But now, I write because I have ideas and stories to tell people. Whether or not they like it, doesn't matter. As long as someone read it, I'm good.

I was proactive when asking feedbacks, especially because no one gives a goddamn about all my fics.

While yes, I receive basic understanding of English, that does not mean I was taught about how to write fics. I taught myself how to write, all from the experience I get and tips and tricks scattered all over the internet. I never read creative books, ever, nor do I get someone to teach me about this.

I always know that stories has to have something good for it to be worthy of being read, which I focused a lot on my fics by fixing my grammars. Though, one day, I realized that my brain has grown bigger than my past 2023 self to the point I felt that my past fics ideas are dumb and has no purposes at all for it to exist. Hence why the rebooting fanfics.

To convey a story is to read the story and understanding it from the reader's view, the people you expected to read. If I felt like I'm reading a script written by a damn professor from the college, I'd rephrase the wording until I see myself able to think how a reader should imagine the scene I was telling them. This works really well, especially because I tend to forget stories that I put in my short-term memory (not that I can put them there literally). And whenever I forget the chapter of my own fic, reading it makes me feel like a lost lamb following a trail left by a guide, actually trying to understand my own story based off the words I had typed.

 

[Omarfaruq]

Journey of A New Author...​

Every author begins writing fiction with the first ink stroke (or finger tap). Even best-selling authors... began their journey by learning to write fiction.

Therefore, what differentiates between stablished authors and new authors is simply "experience."

When it comes to fiction writing experience... each author may have a different path:

How did you start writing fiction in your early journey as a new author?

Did you just write a story that you want or did you write a story that communicates effectively to readers (storytelling)?

Did you release your story while learning to refine your narrative or did you release your fiction after you had finished a story and perfected the storytelling?

Were you writing fiction for yourself or others or for a wider audience? What did you hope for from your early fiction?

Were you proactive in asking for feedback or did you get organic feedback from your readers?

Did you learn to write fiction yourself or did you learn to write fiction from a mentor or creative writing books?

When did you realize that a good story isn't just about a complex story (premise, theme, characters, worldbuilding, plot and conflict) but also about effectively conveying the story to the readers (pacing, hook, emotion, POV, foreshadowing, prose, grammar, etc)?

How do you convey a story effectively to the reader?

Well, the questions are already too long... I feel guilty interrogating you. Lol.

In short, every author may have a different initial journey. You are the one who determines your journey.

I’m afraid I can’t answer this, as I’m a new author. I’ll come back when I’m famous.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Journey of A New Author...​

Every author begins writing fiction with the first ink stroke (or finger tap). Even best-selling authors... began their journey by learning to write fiction.

Therefore, what differentiates between stablished authors and new authors is simply "experience."

When it comes to fiction writing experience... each author may have a different path:

How did you start writing fiction in your early journey as a new author?

My earliest attempt in writing fiction was when I was in 3rd Grade. My classmates were reading my works then. By 5th Grade, I realized I could draw anime-style characters, so I decided to become a manga artist. However, by 2019, when I was already a teacher, I did seriously try to create a short manga series, which is titled "Paulina Rex". The 8 months I spent creating a single chapter and the speed of how fast it was read (15 minutes max) eventually convinced me to switch to novels.

However, I did seriously write a novel back in 2008, which was titled "Zodiac Wars," then "DECK." May 2019 when I started writing The Saint Series (The Human Saint is Bored), and ended it by December 2024 @ Volume 21. After that, I restarted DECK, which eventually became "OyasumiSe7en."

Did you just write a story that you want or did you write a story that communicates effectively to readers (storytelling)?

I found myself unable to cater to other people's taste, even in drawings, so I wrote a story I want to read. I really don't like it when I'm dictated as to what to do. Problem is, I want it to become popular before...so my author's journey is full of pain and contradictions. lol

Did you release your story while learning to refine your narrative or did you release your fiction after you had finished a story and perfected the storytelling?

The first one. Heh, earliest versions of DECK and The Human Saint is Bored are a pain in the ass to read. I mean, it still is a pain in the ass to read now, but with significant improvements, particularly in the area of switching tenses. Learned to improve the hard way, and it's safe to say there are time I nearly quit writing because of discouragements.

Good thing I didn't. My story can now serve as a cautionary tale for future authors.

Were you writing fiction for yourself or others or for a wider audience? What did you hope for from your early fiction?

My hope is that I write something I and my readers enjoy, not just one side. However, reality is different, so I eventually learned to not give a damn about others' opinions as long as it doesn't align with my vision for my story.

Were you proactive in asking for feedback or did you get organic feedback from your readers?

Before, I'm pro-active. But, I'm an onion-skinned asshole who can't accept that he's a subpar author, so after receiving ugly criticism (like as in with name-calling), I learned to just write to finish and always expect the worst out from everything I do.

Did you learn to write fiction yourself or did you learn to write fiction from a mentor or creative writing books?

I'm just going blind here, having been inspired by the JPLNs I loved. I tried looking for mentors before, but found no one willing to help. And, as someone who won't force others to give time to him, I just went in with whatever I learned/observed online.

When did you realize that a good story isn't just about a complex story (premise, theme, characters, worldbuilding, plot and conflict) but also about effectively conveying the story to the readers (pacing, hook, emotion, POV, foreshadowing, prose, grammar, etc)?

My stories suck, so I can't answer this.

How do you convey a story effectively to the reader?

I dunno. For some reason, I got a few readers.

Well, the questions are already too long... I feel guilty interrogating you. Lol.

In short, every author may have a different initial journey. You are the one who determines your journey.

I'm just answering this to help new authors gain confidence in their journey. I mean, my stories suck, and I still write because I want to tell a story. Technically, they are better than me, so what's stopping them from realizing their potential?

If I can say anything at the end of this 'interview,' it is "HARDWORK DOESN'T SUBTITUTE FOR TALENT AND LUCK." I thought otherwise before, but I eventually ended up hurting myself for hoping. We all mature at some point in our lives. lol

 

[Nolff]

I’m afraid I can’t answer this, as I’m a new author. I’ll come back when I’m famous.

I estimate that to be 3 years. But if you're like me, then six years.

 

[Omarfaruq]

I estimate that to be 3 years. But if you're like me, then six years.

It's a long way to go.

 

[L1aei]

How did you start writing fiction in your early journey as a new author?

Honestly, I started really young. My real first published material was actually a cheat; it was a roleplay session with others. I played a lot on mIRC and was a member of several roleplay communities centered around medieval fantasy or modern sci-fi with a sprinkle of fantasy in it. They had a forum I could post the sessions there, but I'd go through them to clean them up. I think back then I was somewhere around sixteen and kept doing stuff like that until... twenty something?

Did you just write a story that you want or did you write a story that communicates effectively to readers (storytelling)?

Sort of? I made quite a few people laugh at how absurd the situations we got in were. Like, one was entirely focused on one of the members experiencing butt cramps.

Did you release your story while learning to refine your narrative or did you release your fiction after you had finished a story and perfected the storytelling?

Over the years? Totally. I mean, I was exposed to so many people that were good, bad, and really ugly (even disgusting) with what they wrote. I learned a lot from those environments.

Were you writing fiction for yourself or others or for a wider audience? What did you hope for from your early fiction?

Just having fun.

Actually... now that I think about it. Near the end of roleplaying with them, I was in a community that had a job system mechanic. The bot there would monitor how much we'd roleplay for however long, and if we documented the time, we'd be paid in the in-world currency for the "shift" we had. Sometimes I had to do this alone because one of my characters simply patrolled a border. It was there that I started seeing that I didn't need anyone else around to have fun writing.

So I had an epiphany moment; I should just start writing stories.

Were you proactive in asking for feedback or did you get organic feedback from your readers?

It was all organic. The only ones that should've been actively interested were those who had been a part of the roleplay sessions. But, like I said earlier, when I started doing that by myself, that's when I realized that wasn't the right place for me to be publishing anymore.

Did you learn to write fiction yourself or did you learn to write fiction from a mentor or creative writing books?

A shit ton of others. No mentoring, but a lot of observation over decades.

When did you realize that a good story isn't just about a complex story (premise, theme, characters, worldbuilding, plot and conflict) but also about effectively conveying the story to the readers (pacing, hook, emotion, POV, foreshadowing, prose, grammar, etc)?

Whenever the other roleplayers didn't understand what I was doing? I mean, that takes communication, so I worked really hard for me to be clear on my intent and actions. That translated into my novels.

How do you convey a story effectively to the reader?

Either by asking, reading whatever complaints they had, or simply sitting on my stuff and rereading it to see if I still comprehend what's going on. Pretty basic stuff.

Well, the questions are already too long... I feel guilty interrogating you. Lol.

In short, every author may have a different initial journey. You are the one who determines your journey.

Thanks for asking!

 

[Nolff]

My stories suck, so I can't answer this.

Reading this answer had given me morale boost I had never expected to get today.

You see, I have this theory of mine about writing techniques and writing philosophy. How an author should think about their novels.

It isn't just about what ideas you have in mind, or what message you want the readers to receive. It is also about being on the receiving end of your own stories.

You know scenes you write needs to be understood according to the context your mind has. As such, you will try to find ways for it to be understood by the readers the same way you understand them. And you should take into account about what kind of people are going to read your stories. If you know someone with a hobby the same as you would read it, then you know what to do. If you cater to general audience, have fun making the paragraph simpler. A broader audience will harden your journey to make fine chaps. If you aim for them, then every single grammar mistakes will get you to mistook them as fatal error, thinking that this could confuse readers.

Yes, I've been in this bullshit position five times when I introduced my short stories I write back in the boarding school. I'm on the yearly day off now, so I'm free at home. Doesn't mean I won't go back to the school, tho.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Reading this answer had given me morale boost I had never expected to get today.

You see, I have this theory of mine about writing techniques and writing philosophy. How an author should think about their novels.

It isn't just about what ideas you have in mind, or what message you want the readers to receive. It is also about being on the receiving end of your own stories.

You know scenes you write needs to be understood according to the context your mind has. As such, you will try to find ways for it to be understood by the readers the same way you understand them. And you should take into account about what kind of people are going to read your stories. If you know someone with a hobby the same as you would read it, then you know what to do. If you cater to general audience, have fun making the paragraph simpler. A broader audience will harden your journey to make fine chaps. If you aim for them, then every single grammar mistakes will get you to mistook them as fatal error, thinking that this could confuse readers.

Yes, I've been in this bullshit position five times when I introduced my short stories I write back in the boarding school. I'm on the yearly day off now, so I'm free at home. Doesn't mean I won't go back to the school, tho.

Glad my shitty career as an author and stories are helping peeps.

Not gonna lie, at least, my life has some meaning. lol

 

[Bald-san]

Journey of A New Author...​

Every author begins writing fiction with the first ink stroke (or finger tap). Even best-selling authors... began their journey by learning to write fiction.

Therefore, what differentiates between stablished authors and new authors is simply "experience."

When it comes to fiction writing experience... each author may have a different path:

How did you start writing fiction in your early journey as a new author?

Did you just write a story that you want or did you write a story that communicates effectively to readers (storytelling)?

Did you release your story while learning to refine your narrative or did you release your fiction after you had finished a story and perfected the storytelling?

Were you writing fiction for yourself or others or for a wider audience? What did you hope for from your early fiction?

Were you proactive in asking for feedback or did you get organic feedback from your readers?

Did you learn to write fiction yourself or did you learn to write fiction from a mentor or creative writing books?

When did you realize that a good story isn't just about a complex story (premise, theme, characters, worldbuilding, plot and conflict) but also about effectively conveying the story to the readers (pacing, hook, emotion, POV, foreshadowing, prose, grammar, etc)?

How do you convey a story effectively to the reader?

Well, the questions are already too long... I feel guilty interrogating you. Lol.

In short, every author may have a different initial journey. You are the one who determines your journey.

I had a very vivid dream and wrote it down my notes, I think it was about me finding a pencil case of mine (I was in elementary at this point) and shit happened, this made me realize that I can write things out that I have dreamt of or imagined at my free time. I shifted to poem for a little bit and then in my Senior High School, I started Sophia Demiurge, a project that somehow became mildly popular despite having a questionable first chapter

 

[Nolff]

Glad my shitty career as an author is helping peeps.

I find your life experience to be interesting and funny to imagine happening before me.

I still remember that one time where you told me about the two problematic students that almost got you arrested.

Lmao. You'd actually make a fun teacher to play around. And I could see myself being your most problematic yet clever but underperforming student.

Regardless, I respect your profession.

Salutation to you, Teacher Hans!

I had a very vivid dream and wrote it down my notes, I think it was about me finding a pencil case of mine (I was in elementary at this point) and shit happened, this made me realize that I can write things out that I have dreamt of or imagined at my free time. I shifted to poem for a little bit and then in my Senior High School, I started Sophia Demiurge, a project that somehow became mildly popular despite having a questionable first chapter

Bro actually got people to listen to what he dreamed.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

I find your life experience to be interesting and funny to imagine happening before me.

I still remember that one time where you told me about the two problematic students that almost got you arrested.

Lmao. You'd actually make a fun teacher to play around. And I could see myself being your most problematic yet clever but underperforming student.

Regardless, I respect your profession.

Salutation to you, Teacher Hans!

I always failed at my life, hence I don't think one can fault me for always ready to give a significant part of me, see?

I'm always looking to find meaning in my existence, so even if doing so will destroy me, the important thing is this life I was given had meaning until the end.

That includes helping my students. Or beating myself to the insults. You can call it 'suicide' but benefitting others.

 

[Nolff]

I always failed at my life, hence I don't think one can fault me for always ready to give a significant part of me, see?

I'm always looking to find meaning in my existence, so even if doing so will destroy me, the important thing is this life I was given had meaning until the end.

That includes helping my students. Or beating myself to the insults. You can call it 'suicide' but benefitting others.

I may not be the best to hear this, but... I can see where you come from.

Also, what the fuck is that last line?

That's terrifying. The fact that the line isn't visible on your post added numbers to the scare factor.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

I may not be the best to hear this, but... I can see where you come from.

Also, what the fuck is that last line?

That's terrifying. The fact that the line isn't visible on your post added numbers to the scare factor.

Eh, we all gonna die someday. Like I always say, I cope by expecting the worst. But I'll make sure this life has meaning by giving to others.

Anyways, I'm hijacking the thread. My apologies to @Eldoria . Please continue discussing about writing.

 

[Nolff]

Eh, we all gonna die someday. Like I always say, I cope by expecting the worst. But I'll make sure this life has meaning by giving to others.

Mine's probably be at least being useful.

Probably because of all the expectations weighing on my shoulder. Not just from my parents, but almost everyone I met who knows who I am. And there's a lot of people who knows me, even outside of my humble town. Goddammit. Can't even get to act as myself while feeling like to act like how people expected me to act, because of my background. I hate that feeling.

 

[AliceMoonvale]

Been writing various things in secret for the last 20 years.
10 years ago I dabbled in my own big lord of the rings style dark fantasy world.
Engaged in various roleplays with people.
Read a lot of romance slop.

Ran out of reading material of a specific niche sub-genre 4 months ago.
Thought: "Well shit, if I want more, I'll just have to make more myself!"
So here I am.
I learn by myself and I write for myself and it just so happens other people unfortunately bare witness to it.

Then after two months of being here, I write a story in an even more niche style and somehow it's doing well on RR.
I am cringe and I am free, and also decent at writing, apparently.

 

[Nolff]

I am cringe and I am free, and also decent at writing apparently.

I am stealing this and gonna put it on my signature. You're welcome.

 

[Jerynboe]

How did you start writing fiction in your early journey as a new author?

I didn’t start with long form fiction, I started as a dungeon master running campaigns. Met my wife that way

Did you just write a story that you want or did you write a story that communicates effectively to readers (storytelling)?

I always write for myself, but part of what I learned from 8ish years DMing was how to tailor your story for a fairly small audience. There’s a joke in D&D stories that writing a story without any pesky players throwing wrenches in it is called writing a book, but most of the techniques that I used to mind game my players into caring about the plots I wanted them to do are basically the same things I do to get readers invested so… I think that joke is only half true

Did you release your story while learning to refine your narrative or did you release your fiction after you had finished a story and perfected the storytelling?

When I started writing long form fiction I had absolutely zero chill or nerves because I’d already been performing weekly for a small select audience for years. I started cranking out chapters of my first story like a madman and didn’t stop until it was finished 330 chapters later

Were you writing fiction for yourself or others or for a wider audience? What did you hope for from your early fiction?

“Huh I wonder if this is any good. Whelp. I’m having fun so I’ll keep doing it either way, but the only way to get feedback is to share”

Were you proactive in asking for feedback or did you get organic feedback from your readers?

I ended up making the story interactive through polls. It was a story with some kingdom building and strategic elements so I asked the readers to help me determine the MC’s priorities and limits

Did you learn to write fiction yourself or did you learn to write fiction from a mentor or creative writing books?

Uh… I read the dungeon master’s guide which can serve as a very specifically tailored writing book, essentially serving as a guide to how to be a pantser while 3-6 of your main characters are deranged chaos gremlins that actively demand their personal plot lines get enough spotlight and focus and may or may not actually engage with the main plot without you threatening them with a stick

When did you realize that a good story isn't just about a complex story (premise, theme, characters, worldbuilding, plot and conflict) but also about effectively conveying the story to the readers (pacing, hook, emotion, POV, foreshadowing, prose, grammar, etc)?

… sometime in middle school? I mean, seemed pretty obvious. I picked up on that years before I properly started writing for D&D and if I hadn’t the constant feedback loop of 5 of my friends getting bored or annoyed any time I didn’t properly manage them definitely would have taught me.

How do you convey a story effectively to the reader?

Character voice and clear personality. I have very few characters who don’t have a mapped out inner world and conflicts and if those aren’t coming across in their interactions I consider that a fail on my part. It honestly feels like a bit of a cheat at times. If I have at least one person that people give a shit about in every important scene then they’ll care about the plot as if by osmosis. I’ve also been told I’m good at dialogue which is probably just an outgrowth of the deliberately small number of cardboard cutouts in my story.