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

[Evil_Spoon]

I'll bite. Maybe someone will find it interesting.

​

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

I have many points where I'd say my journey started. I've been writing for 30+ years. I was in third grade when I "wrote" and "published" my first series of books. Five books I wrote and assembled using construction paper at school. Nothing but a few paragraphs and badly drawn illustrations about my friends and I becoming superheroes like the Justice League.

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

For many years, I just wrote whatever. I had no understanding of story structure. No understanding of the craft itself. I read a lot and would try to mimic what I read, and as the years went on, I learned more and more until I could write actual stories that people liked to read.

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 started and abandoned over 100 books before I finally finished one, but I wrote 100s of short stories during that time. I posted the works-in-progress, completed short stories, etc., everywhere I could. Writing forums in the old days. Reddit once that became a thing. Then across the various story hubs, like this one. I was mainly just looking for feedback, and I got a lot of it. Plenty of it was cruel and demeaning, which made me question whether I should even share my stuff, but I kept learning. Kept writing. Kept posting.

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

When posting, I tried to write what the audience wanted to read. I did lots of Writing Prompts on Reddit. I wrote lots more stuff just for myself to practice my craft that I never felt was worth sharing.

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

I just posted. Feedback came, whether asked for it tor not.

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

Almost entirely self-taught. By the time I started college, I was pretty decent at it. I always got A+ grades on my writing assignments. Multiple professors told me I should become an author.

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)?

While writing the first book I finished. I posted it chapter-by-chapter and learned a lot doing that.

How do you convey a story effectively to the reader?

By making them want more. If they don't want more, it doesn't matter what you are trying to convey or how effective it is.

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.

Well said!

 

[Feudyn]

I had many phases of wanting to be an author or even just writing, but it was always just that. I never went to commit and write the stories out or publish them online etc.

Only recently did I actually go out of my way to write down the story that I had in my mind, as well as writing notes down (both on my computer and physically), character descriptions and notes and even a wiki for the world.

But i dont know, I guess I just finally found a good place to post and publish my work online for others to read and/or follow. Writing almost feels cathartic for me now.

 

[AllenL]

I had ideas in mind since ～15 years ago. the worldbuilding, some interesting lores etc and the system. but as lazy as i could be (and also no such urge to do it) i never do it. until recently the thought pop up again. family stuff, work stuff. so i began writing to shift my focus. plus I'm having more free time starting this year.
i wouldn't really call myself old but i had seen, heard and also read enough that my friend always joked that 'if we write down the stories, as absurd as they were, we could easily write numerous volumes'.
due to my experience and the analytical nature? i unintentionally wrote a 'slightly' dark fantasy story. kinda shocked me, really, because idk those considered as 'dark' lol. probably my mind a bit twisted compared to the norm.
writing is like a new hobby, something else to look forward to in mundane, stressful daily life, and to create an epic story sounds great.
I'm still figuring out my own style, the pace, the plot progression etc. It's fun to see the world unveiled from 'beginning town' and go on a long adventure, just like a classic rpg game.

it's not hard to write a story, really. the harder part is getting started, and don't quit halfway. you'll improve, and you'll notice the changes yourself.

 

[just_darkjazz]

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

My first writing project started very early in my life, I wanna say 2012 but at this point its kinda hard to remember. It was a silly little fanfiction of a game I really really liked (and still play 14 years later, funny how life works some times ) that didn't really go anywhere, although I have been thinking of looking up for my old notes (scribbled down with pen and paper in my attrocious hand writing) and rekindling it, just for the lolz of it. I didn't get serious about writing my own fiction until I read Eragon as a teen (I believe I've shared this here before) and the ending miffed me so hard it galvanized me into creating my own fantasy series. With blackjack and hookers!

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

The closest thing I've come to releasing my earliest of writing was reading it to my friends. I didn't get internet in my house until I was sixteen, give or take, reading online still feels new to me. I would have probably dropped what I wrote though, and lived with that embarassment weighing me down

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 don't think I actually ever learned how to do narratives. I've just read a crapload of books, and have written a bunch. I've mostly just practiced until I learned how to do stories intuitively, and for the most part it has worked out I think. Also perfected storytelling is a sham, never let your shrink convince you are good enough!!!11! (/s)

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

I've always been an attention whore, so writing was kind of a social thing for me at first. I wanted to be recognized as different. and better than the other kids my age. And it worked, even though I wasnt really doing much writing. But at some point I started enjoying writing, so now I'd say I write mostly for myself. Something like 80% self, 20% numbers.

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

I was very proactively seeking feedback at first, scrolling reddits, joining discords and so on. At some point I realised that all that time I wasted seeking feedback I could have spent writing instead. Plus none of the feedback I got I could use. The harsh truth is that a lot of people are kind hearted enough to give your story a chance, but very few of them have the know-how to actually give anythign except "I like this/I don't like this." And unfortunatley there is a lot more people offering feedback just so they can get some in return, putting minimum effort just to get the obligation out the way. I never truly improved until I stopped caring about what throwaways on reddit had to say about me. Oh, and until I started paying more attnetion to my language, my grammar, vocabulary, punctuation and so on.

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

I am 100% self taught, I got to where I am simply reading and writing. Even the language I write in I had to mostly learn by myself. English is not my first language, and while I've had a semi formal education it never got past the fundamentals, and I never really put any effort in it. And, while we are at it, I'm taking a principled stance against writing books. Read what you like, write what you read, read outside of your comofrt zone to get inspired, simply write write write until it becomes second nature. In my opinion at least

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)?

Too fucking late, to tell you the truth. I still get too caught up in the particulars some itmes, the deprograming is in process. The realization came last year, when I read Dune for the first time. The second book, Messiah, in particular. There was a passage where the author described a room in a single sentence, while I would have taken me an entire paragraph to do the same. He named things I didn't even know had names, and I would have to describe them. And his narrative flew so much better than mine because of it.

How do you convey a story effectively to the reader?

Peper in enough smut to keep them hooked but never give them too much. Leave them high and dry!

Joking, of course. To tell you the truth I don't know. I simply write, and hope the reader's brain is wired like mine


Also, side note, I don't recall you ever answering your questions. So, I'm putting you in the hot seat. How did you start writing your fiction?

 

[Rhaps]

My journey start with a youtube called Comicstorian (rip Benny), his style of storytelling and narration inspired me a lot to start my writing journey.

Then came Fate, I got into the deep end of it and thought that, out of spite, no way I am wasting all of that time. And so, I wrote a terrible Fate fanfic on Wattpad that was pretty successful for how niche it was.

Then I abandoned writing until 4 years ago, when I start writing again. My novels now all start with a question, and the task of the novel is to answer that question (or things derailed enough).

 

[Corty]

I remember finishing another xianxia book, and getting angry about another shitty ending.

So I said to myself:

Fuck it, I can do it better. And I did.

 

[Yubel]

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

Back to 2013 (when I was 13 years old), I got my first smartphone. During that time, watching Lets Play *insert game name* videos were my main type of hobby. Then my favourite youtuber back then had a video about Touhou and I felt in love with this verse. Soon, I started to find its doujins but due to my novice Englishs and how horrible Google translate back then, I would only waited fanpage in Facebook to translate them. So I took the matter with my own hand and wrote my own fanfics in my notebooks.

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

I just write what I want since most of my fiction (both the ones I finish and the countless ones I abandon midway) basically boil down to: "I want to see this exact situation / emotional beat / atmosphere / tiny interaction exist in other medias." :v

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 used to just post my works in Wattap and Hako (a LN/WN in my native language site) then edit it later (although my works in Hako got nuked due to the site has harsh set of quality checks for original novel :v).

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

Mostly it was only for myself but during grade 11th, I made a few online friends in my Arknight fandom so I want to write somes to share with them.

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

Literally every posts/short stories/chapters has a saying at the end like this: "Please comment and write your thought about my work".

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

Mostly myself, but during my time with Hako, the admin, who is in charge of quality control, pointed out many flaws in my work and gave me rough yet very insightful criticisms.

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)?

When I got a delete notifications from Hako's admin :v

 

[Rachel_Leia_Cole]

I’m going to answer these one by one:


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

*So I grew up reading a lot of epic fantasy as a kid. I kind of learned what worked and what didn’t from them. But I didn’t follow the usual tropes. So I wrote a story I wanted to see. But hopefully made it so it effectively communicates what it needs

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 spent 20 years working on and off on the book that is posted here. I went through many revisions and rewrites, until I had in my mind perfected it.

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

*I was totally writing for myself as a teen. I used writing as an outlet for my emotions. I couldn’t be strong so I wrote about someone who was. That sort of thing

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

*I prefer organic feedback, and I did get a bit.

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

*I read tons as a kid. Everything from the Hobbit to the Xanth series. So I drew inspiration from others but didn’t actually have a mentor or anything.

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)?

*i kind of always new that from the books I read. I try for a good balance though, of complex story that can be conveyed well. I don’t know if I pull it off or

How do you convey a story effectively to the reader?

*There are a lot of heavy elements in my writing. Redemption, hope, despair. I always try to make each main scene I write drive the character forward. We learn what motivates them over the story. I do my best to edit prose and grammar, I never had any beta readers so I’m basically pantsing the whole thing. ?

 

[MFontana]

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.

That's a lot of questions, El.

As for how I started,
Role-playing (badly) in a couple of fandoms that interested me at the time. I was barely a teenager at the time, and it feels like a few lifetimes ago, but that's how I started.

Went on to playing, and running TTRPG games for my friends and one of them started writing some fiction (based on our characters) and reading what he shared inspired me to try the same.

The story was shared in bits and chapters on DeviantArt over the years that followed, but it admittedly wasn't any good. Not really, and I didn't get much of an audience but it was fun, and helped me through a particularly rough patch in my life.

As for my hopes; I didn't really have any back then. Just writing and sharing the story.

I did casually ask for feedback, from time to time, and from people who I hoped could give me solid feedback and critiques; though only a few were forthcoming.

Primarily, I learned on my own. My "mentors" were the authors whose books I'd read, and some of the partners that I used to roleplay with over the years.

As for when I realized what mattered, I couldn't say really. To me it is, and has always been, intuitive. I just write the stories I've got bouncing around in my head, and hone the craft on the technical side. Every individual element must come together to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, and that whole, is what we call a story.

As for how I convey the stories I write to my audience, Trust.
I trust in them to infer the deeper layers of my narratives, and let every element and narrative beat breathe on the page by pouring everything I can into the story. Everything matters. Every word. Everything said, and everything left unsaid.

Whether I've reached the heights I aim for, well that ultimately isn't for me to decide. All I can do is keep striving, and pushing forwards.

After all, my journey isn't at its end. Not yet. It has been a long road, with still so much further yet to go.

 

[Fairemont]

I wrote my first book in a little writing competition back in third grade. It is a memory that has stuck with me for a long, long time.

Ive been writing ever since.

It was a rather ambitious project by my young self, especially considering the content I chose. For some reason, I wrote about a plague in Egypt that had to be solved by a group of intrepid youths.

I used the old 1999 Pharoah game from Impression Games for some information, inspiration, and names.

I got a blue ribbon.

 

[DismaiNaim]

I'd always wanted to write a book. Then one day, I sat my ass down and wrote.

 

[Envylope]

I wanted to write a certain kind of vampire fiction that I never see. I was writing for myself and for readers, but I had a concept that was attractive enough to get nearly 2k readers on SH.

After I realized how bad the writing was and readers told me, I started learning all I could with internet resources. I took creative writing in college for a while too but realized school is not for me. Also, the professor shill their books and still get less readers. I realized the truth of that saying, "those who can't do, teach."

 

[RayVer]

My first piece of writing was a Naruto fanfic centered around an OC who replaced Zabuza; I just thought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were cool and underdeveloped back then and went along with my imagination. Thankfully, it has been scrubbed from the internet, I don't know what I'd do if I came across it. Looking back, it’s fair to say it was steamy garbage. That was seven years ago.

After a two-year hiatus, I discovered Royal Road and Webnovel and posted my next story, Adventures of a Cicada. It was losely inspired by Reincarnated as a Slime, Epic of a Caterpillar and Chrysalis. This was during my reading era. Surprisingly, I don’t actually hate this one, which is a good sign! It was a fun experience, and Webnovel even featured me on the collection rankings and offered me a contract. Since I wasn’t of age at the time, I couldn't sign, which ultimately saved me from entering a slave contract of doom.

Following that in late 2021, I wrote a vampire story. It's where I got my well-known author tag from, but despite that I still consider it hot garbage. Actually extra hot garbage. For reasons that completely elude me, it did incredibly well on Scribble Hub despite only having 13 chapters. Then again, I used the 'Four Horsemen' tags of Scribble Hub: GL, Ecchi, GB, and LitRPG. Now, I’m working on my next novel with no goal in mind other than simply finishing the story. And yeah, that’s the journey so far. Let's hope I don't hate this one as well.

 

[Rachel_Leia_Cole]

I wanted to write a certain kind of vampire fiction that I never see. I was writing for myself and for readers, but I had a concept that was attractive enough to get nearly 2k readers on SH

That was me with my Goblins. I wanted to tell a story that was largely told from their viewpoint. I wanted them to be actual people, not caricatures or monsters. But a misunderstood race who had a long history and deep culture.

 

[Failnot]

Ah, I'll get back to this thread after like three years. My answer to this question doesn't yet exist

 

[Nevafrost]

As 5th graders, I and my best friends thought that a kidnapping story is so damn cool. We started writing one where we were all sisters (like, three same age but not triplet sisters getting kidnapped is very very normal) and yeah, I'm rewriting that one till now. (It kinda became a BL lol)

 

[Rezcore]

I started with poetry, won a few awards. Then quit, became a literal hobo, was an extra on numerous early 2010 shows in the US, around 2016 the urge to write a novel exploded. But I needed practice, so I wrote half a chapter on Fanfiction site, real life imploded, then in 2019, life stabilized again, soon after I discovered scribblehub. Realized I can't pants a book, so I read and began planning. I built a web app to help me write better. Now I plan to write a fanfic as a primer, then build the Ravenwood Ranch ip, which I paid $150 for the ownership of, out into a oc story

 

[Joyager2]

When I first really got into the weeds, I wrote whatever I wanted, regardless of audience or purpose. It took a while to realize I was writing for someone and that I might need to be less obtuse. It helped that I was 'publishing' as I went, so I got feedback as I wrote and was able to realize, chapter-by-chapter, what was working and what wasn't and adapt accordingly. Eventually, after a long stretch of being unsuccessful, I started to think more critically about what I was writing and what I was reading, so that I could emulate what other authors were doing. I'm still working on it, but most of what I know came from studying the authors I like and very poorly trying to imitate them. Very little of what I've learned has come from readers, who I find often have little to say unless prompted (and then, when prompted, try to think of things to say, which leads to bad feedback).

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Got my start writing (badly) illustrated short "graphic novels' (of one to four pages in length - I was six or seven). From there, I moved on to try to write more word-based stuff and kind of and kind of stalled until, at age eleven, I was introduced to Dungeons and Dragons...

 

[Tetrahedron]

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.

starting as a fanfiction author in 2014 while finding the the platform FanFiction.net way back in 2013 (yep, roughly 13 years ago).

And yes, given the time frame, I'm what I call myself an unrefined veteran writer because I've once made cringe fanfiction smut and rather unrealistic shock factor tragedy whatever it is ? along with occasional broken English (because it's my 3rd language) But I always learned my lessons and sought to refine it more and more.

Though, when it comes to releasing my very first story debut in Scribble Hub, I still need some more time because I had a civil service basic training to be done.