Writing How to learn to write?

[GPTWriter]

So, I want to learn to write, but I don't know how... And want tips on how to write a fanfic.

So, let's begin with some context:

I like to read a lot, mainly webnovels, and sometimes I start to think about how some stories could go. That moment before sleeping where you create a story with five seasons in your mind.

This is where I got the idea, "why don't I just write it?" And then, I wrote my first novel on ScribbleHub. It went for two chapters, and then I got stuck. The idea was a LitRPG where the character would gain skills and upgrade and more, but I started writing without planning anything. I just had an initial idea, and when I first introduced the system, I started to try to create everything during writing the chapter: the XP required for each level, how X thing would give X XP, the skills the MC had, and I got so confused with the skills and XP and power levels that I just gave up. And after thinking for some more weeks, I deleted the novel.

Then some time passed, and I got interested in it again. I remember I tried to create a fanfic this time. I thought, "I am writing about something that already exists, so it must be easier," and then I remember getting stuck again, reading a lot about the characters and plot. How would this character talk with this one, what would he do in this situation... And then I looked at everything I wrote and: omg, I spent so many hours and only wrote so little.

Then I gave up again and deleted the novel again. At this point I got a little angry. I don't believe I can't write something. I started searching on YT and Google about how to write, and that I have to plan and draft, and I started doing it: searching characters, the MC powers, motivations, how the plot will go. But then the ideas started to pop up, and after hours thinking I had a giant doc file full of confusing things, with many ideas that don't match each other, many story trees for a single story, and even different novel ideas. And this is where I gave up writing.

Some years passed and the famous GPT was launched, and I again thought about writing. Maybe the AI, like a Jarvis, could make all my ideas become a perfect book. This is about when this account was created... And as everyone knows, the first versions of the AI were not so intelligent, so this idea was again archived.

Some more time passed, and the AI really got better. I started talking with it about some ideas I had in my mind, and after many "try again", "improve it", "change it", "X character shouldn't react this way, change it", I got a simple fanfic. Not really good, but I really enjoyed that some random idea in my mind was put together in a readable way.

At this point, I remembered I had this account on ScribbleHub, and then I published the novel here, with a large warning in the description and first chapter: "[Fanfic written with assistance from AI (ChatGPT).]"

And time once more passed, some more time, and I got a new fanfic idea. I wrote some character sheets, abilities, and a basic structure of how the story would go on, and with the help of ChatGPT and Claude, I started writing it. At this point I had no idea that the "Content Guidelines" had prohibited "AI Generated Stories". I again added the warning to the description and first chapter, as I know there are people that hate and dislike AI, and I started publishing the chapters as I wrote.

And then, on the second chapter, both the novels disappeared from the site, the one I was writing and the old one that already existed for months (Jul 12, 2025).

Then I started searching and noticed the guidelines... But I really want to write, so I sent an email to ScribbleHub, asking about the situation, why it got removed, and what is considered a "mostly AI-written" story. How much I could and could not use AI for... And here I am, after waiting for more than a month, no response...

So I thought of asking in this forum: tips for writing, tools that can help, can I use AI, how much, how to use AI in an "allowed way". How to write a fanfic. I tried watching YT videos, I understand every word, but don't know how to do it.

For example:
I am learning programming. I watch tutorials, I pay for a course, I "exercise" it, like creating a basic program, a basic website, a game, and so on.

I am learning to draw. I watch tutorials, and I do it, learning colors, learning lines, drawing boxes, drawing lines, characters, eyes, mouth, and so on.

I am learning to write. I watch a tutorial, and I get stuck. I can't see a progression in it. For others, I learn something basic, use it to do things, and improve what I learn.

For writing, I don't know how to do it. Write the story, the drafts, HOW? To learn to write, I need to write, but then I get back to the point that to write I need to know what to write. I did not manage to get the divisions of how to learn to write, what are the steps, is it just writing? Is there something I can get better at?

I don't know if the above got confusing, but I mean something like the steps to learn something:

Programming has different languages, algorithms, basic structures like loops, conditions, functions.

Drawing has colors, lines, perspective, body anatomy, background, eyes, face, poses, art styles.

Writing has... writing? I did not manage to separate what I need to learn for writing.

I do not really like AI-written novels. There are even some webnovels I read where I can clearly see it is AI. Some dialogues seem dumb or without depth. I don't know how to explain, but it feels bad. There are even some novels that, as chapters go on, also get confusing, like forgetting previously established things or events.

So if possible, I want to write what I want to write, not an AI-generated one with my ideas... But I also don't know how to write. I am not a person that likes to talk, so my dialogue writing is also terrible. And English is not my main language, making it even worse.

Now this is my context about me with writing.

What I want here is to learn to write without having to use AI to generate it for me. My focus is fanfic. I don't really want to write an original book to sell, I just want to be able to write the ideas that appear in my mind.

Things I want:

• Tips on how your writing process is.
• YT channels, blogs, Instagrams, or others that I can follow.
• Tools that you use for writing.
• Steps or "exercises" I can use to improve my writing.

And yeah, after I wrote everything I had to write, I threw it into ChatGPT and asked it to "fix grammar for me". So... is it allowed in novel creation?

I hope you guys can help me, and I am already thankful for anyone that decides to help me

 

[NotProudofmySmut]

This might sound really, really disencouraging, but as someone with I´d say 15 years of consistent writing experience, one published Novel IRL and multiple full length books collecting dust on my hard drive:

Just write. You´ll get better over time. Took my like 3 full length novels and multiple short stories (or about 2000 standard pages) to feel good and proud of my writing.
Most important advice: Don´t use more words than necessary, never write a sentence, which entire purpose is to just lead to the next sentence and never be afraid to try a style because you might think, that it´s just not "like a real writer would do it".
If you ever want to feel good about your writing, it has to be your writing. But don´t use that as an excuse to sleep on the basics.

P.S.: Grammar check is fine (atleast in my opinion): english so my second language, so i also do a grammar check before I upload stories in english.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

First, you need to develop your fine motor skills.

 

[Eldoria]

Try to write a short story before writing a series!

When Should You Create Short Stories -- The Five Problems Short Stories Solve

Newest entry in all this work I've been doing focused on shortform, regarding when it should be done. With webnovelist types, this is particularly useful given stuff I plan to discuss soon with series and serials. Regardless, hopefully this helps and adds to what I've been doing lately.

www.scribblehubforum.com

 

[greyblob]

I'd recommend reading more traditional novels and destructuring their chapters. What is the purpose of the paragraph? What is the point of this scene? whats the oversll purpose of the whole chapter? what are arcs?

then try to write your own without ai assitance. think of a start, middle, and end then just wing.


i wrote this a while back. could help

[Introspection] Developing The Scene

This is an attempt at deconstructing the scene and creating a formula for it. The objective is not to discard or marginalise the creative process but to reinforce and guide it. Any scene consists of a bunch of properties. I only want to focus on Purpose Structure and vision Perspective...

www.scribblehubforum.com

 

[just_darkjazz]

First of all let me just say that I am not a profesional in any way, just a schmuck with a keyboard therefore take everything I say with a grain of salt. I'll give you the advice I wish I got when I first started.

First of all, try not to get bogged down with things like tutorials, tools, exercises and advice (how ironic). The best way to get better, bar none, is to actually write. To get words into the paper(or word processor?). Write now, worry about it being good later. Edit, rewrite, re edit, re rewrite as many times as you need, but you can worry about all that later. Get your ideas out of your head and into the page first, the rest can wait.

Second of all, try to improve the grasp of your language of choice. Expand your vocubulary, learn grammar, and, probably the most overlooked thing, punctuation. One of the most difficult and defeating prts of my early writing days was having an idea in my head and having trouble translating it into words. Then I read Dune, by Frank Herbert. I've brought up this example before. I don't like acting like its the perfect book, or that Herbert is a writing genius. But he did manage to describe a room in a single sentence, something that would take me a whole paragraph. A handyman should have the right tools for the job, and writing is the same.

Third, try to identify specific things about your writing that need improvement. Try to figure out your strengths, your weaknesses, and ask specific feedback because vague questions usually net you vague answers.

Fourth, don't use AI. Try to find a friend, or, ideally, a group of friends that you can write with and ask for feedback. Try to give feedback as well, the kind of feedback you'd like to receive. It's helpful to work both sides of the isle, and its important to find a safe space to practice in. AI is made to tell you what you want to hear. It will validate you reagardless on whether you have an inferiority complex or delusions of grandeur. It can't give an objective opinion, just an average of every subjective one out there. And if you are worried about your grammar or whatever, don't. The average reader can't tell good from bad grammar, within reason. And even if they can, it is my ardent belief that its better for your story to be junky and have character than be sterile AI slop.

Fifth should probably have been number 1, but it is what it is. Try to figure out how serious you want to take your writing. If you don't want to take it too seriously, don't worry about getting good or hitting quotas. Just have fun. If you want to take it seriously try to establish healthy long term habbits. Try to do some progress every day. Start with small attainable goals, get comfortable, progressively ramp up to your desired routine. Work resarch and breaks in. Don't be afraid of burnout, it's not a matter of "if" it will come, but a matter of "when". Try not to let failure get to your head, simply learn and do better next time. And try to stick things out. You learn nothing by giving up. There is no shame in failing, especially if its your first, or close enough to it, attempt at writing. But if you want to imrpove you are gonna have to make a lot of mistakes.

Sixth, READ. Reading is as important to writing as actually writing. But don't jutt read for the shake of reading. Try to pick up things from your reading. Try to branch out and read all kinds of things, anything you can get your hands on. Webnovels are a good start, but try books, comics, anything you can find writing in. Don't be afraid to read outside of your comfort zone. Don't be afraid to read things you dislike. Try to figure out what you like and what you dislike. Try to pick up things you like, words, phrases, plot points, the works. Try to cut out things you dislike. And don't be afraid to give it time. Even if you just ape things off stuff you read, steal enough and eventually you'll end up with your style.

Reallistically I genuinly think you can improve by just focusing on the second and sixth piece of advice. Either way, this is what I have to offer. Best of luck with your writing!

 

[MFontana]

So, I want to learn to write, but I don't know how... And want tips on how to write a fanfic.

So, let's begin with some context:

I like to read a lot, mainly webnovels, and sometimes I start to think about how some stories could go. That moment before sleeping where you create a story with five seasons in your mind.

This is where I got the idea, "why don't I just write it?" And then, I wrote my first novel on ScribbleHub. It went for two chapters, and then I got stuck. The idea was a LitRPG where the character would gain skills and upgrade and more, but I started writing without planning anything. I just had an initial idea, and when I first introduced the system, I started to try to create everything during writing the chapter: the XP required for each level, how X thing would give X XP, the skills the MC had, and I got so confused with the skills and XP and power levels that I just gave up. And after thinking for some more weeks, I deleted the novel.

Then some time passed, and I got interested in it again. I remember I tried to create a fanfic this time. I thought, "I am writing about something that already exists, so it must be easier," and then I remember getting stuck again, reading a lot about the characters and plot. How would this character talk with this one, what would he do in this situation... And then I looked at everything I wrote and: omg, I spent so many hours and only wrote so little.

Then I gave up again and deleted the novel again. At this point I got a little angry. I don't believe I can't write something. I started searching on YT and Google about how to write, and that I have to plan and draft, and I started doing it: searching characters, the MC powers, motivations, how the plot will go. But then the ideas started to pop up, and after hours thinking I had a giant doc file full of confusing things, with many ideas that don't match each other, many story trees for a single story, and even different novel ideas. And this is where I gave up writing.

Some years passed and the famous GPT was launched, and I again thought about writing. Maybe the AI, like a Jarvis, could make all my ideas become a perfect book. This is about when this account was created... And as everyone knows, the first versions of the AI were not so intelligent, so this idea was again archived.

Some more time passed, and the AI really got better. I started talking with it about some ideas I had in my mind, and after many "try again", "improve it", "change it", "X character shouldn't react this way, change it", I got a simple fanfic. Not really good, but I really enjoyed that some random idea in my mind was put together in a readable way.

At this point, I remembered I had this account on ScribbleHub, and then I published the novel here, with a large warning in the description and first chapter: "[Fanfic written with assistance from AI (ChatGPT).]"

And time once more passed, some more time, and I got a new fanfic idea. I wrote some character sheets, abilities, and a basic structure of how the story would go on, and with the help of ChatGPT and Claude, I started writing it. At this point I had no idea that the "Content Guidelines" had prohibited "AI Generated Stories". I again added the warning to the description and first chapter, as I know there are people that hate and dislike AI, and I started publishing the chapters as I wrote.

And then, on the second chapter, both the novels disappeared from the site, the one I was writing and the old one that already existed for months (Jul 12, 2025).

Then I started searching and noticed the guidelines... But I really want to write, so I sent an email to ScribbleHub, asking about the situation, why it got removed, and what is considered a "mostly AI-written" story. How much I could and could not use AI for... And here I am, after waiting for more than a month, no response...

So I thought of asking in this forum: tips for writing, tools that can help, can I use AI, how much, how to use AI in an "allowed way". How to write a fanfic. I tried watching YT videos, I understand every word, but don't know how to do it.

For example:
I am learning programming. I watch tutorials, I pay for a course, I "exercise" it, like creating a basic program, a basic website, a game, and so on.

I am learning to draw. I watch tutorials, and I do it, learning colors, learning lines, drawing boxes, drawing lines, characters, eyes, mouth, and so on.

I am learning to write. I watch a tutorial, and I get stuck. I can't see a progression in it. For others, I learn something basic, use it to do things, and improve what I learn.

For writing, I don't know how to do it. Write the story, the drafts, HOW? To learn to write, I need to write, but then I get back to the point that to write I need to know what to write. I did not manage to get the divisions of how to learn to write, what are the steps, is it just writing? Is there something I can get better at?

I don't know if the above got confusing, but I mean something like the steps to learn something:

Programming has different languages, algorithms, basic structures like loops, conditions, functions.

Drawing has colors, lines, perspective, body anatomy, background, eyes, face, poses, art styles.

Writing has... writing? I did not manage to separate what I need to learn for writing.

I do not really like AI-written novels. There are even some webnovels I read where I can clearly see it is AI. Some dialogues seem dumb or without depth. I don't know how to explain, but it feels bad. There are even some novels that, as chapters go on, also get confusing, like forgetting previously established things or events.

So if possible, I want to write what I want to write, not an AI-generated one with my ideas... But I also don't know how to write. I am not a person that likes to talk, so my dialogue writing is also terrible. And English is not my main language, making it even worse.

Now this is my context about me with writing.

What I want here is to learn to write without having to use AI to generate it for me. My focus is fanfic. I don't really want to write an original book to sell, I just want to be able to write the ideas that appear in my mind.

Things I want:

• Tips on how your writing process is.
• YT channels, blogs, Instagrams, or others that I can follow.
• Tools that you use for writing.
• Steps or "exercises" I can use to improve my writing.

And yeah, after I wrote everything I had to write, I threw it into ChatGPT and asked it to "fix grammar for me". So... is it allowed in novel creation?

I hope you guys can help me, and I am already thankful for anyone that decides to help me

Tools that I use for writing:

1. Notebooks
2. Pens
3. Pencils
4. Wordpad (Word-processor free on all windows PC's)
5. Google-Docs (secure backups)

Exercise / Tips for writing and improving your writing.
This first set is something called "Drafting". It starts with accepting that your rough draft is going to suck. They all do, and that's fine.

1. Don't rely on LLM's to write, or fix things for you. Ever. They aren't reliable for anything like that.
2. Write your story.
3. Read your story while asking "How can I have written this better?"
4. Write it better.
5. Read it again while asking "How can I have written this better?"
6. Rinse and Repeat a few more times.
7. Share with Beta-Readers and ask for feedback and critique.
8. Re-write again, while taking those critiques to heart.
9. Accept that you'll almost never be happy with your work, even though others may praise it.

Do this plenty of times, and be sure to ask for targeted feedback on the technical aspects of your writing when you're asking for critiques.
Beyond that, read. A lot. (Published works and Best-Sellers. Not web-novels)
Primarily in the genre you intend to write in, but it is a good idea to branch out as well.
Incorporate your own higher education background into your narrative and world-building.

 

[thegingernut]

If you don't like to talk then why do you write? What is writing if not a whole load of talking? I know personally that I use the same neural circuitry to write as I use to socialize. In fact, most of what I write by volume is probably social media posts. Before I decided to write my grand magnum opus first novel, I cut my teeth on r/writingprompts on reddit. Short stories were a format that served my ADHD ass well, and allowed me to make lots of low effort stories with a high level of feedback and to see what works and what garners no attention. This in addition to a lot of arguing with trolls is what taught me to write, or more to the point to write with purpose.

There's one other thing I'd like to note. A story an English teacher once told me. My first day of… I want to say middle school English, my country has a slightly different system… he put a writing prompt on the board. "Write a story called a day at the beach". And apparently there was this famous writer who's teacher when he was our age gave him this assignment and upon reading his response declared "You will be a great writer one day". Apparently this story was about going to the beach and getting caught in the rain and being in this damp arcade and people who had been soaked kept walking in. My story was nothing like that, it was a very by the books day at the beach story with typical beach activities like swimming and building sand castles.

And I thought for a while that because my answer wasn't like that. Because my answer was not creative and was too by the books that I could never be a famous writer. It was only much much later that I internalized the moral of that story. Not that great writers are contrarians, but that they dance to their own tune.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

Sounds like you figured out the pieces of writing but not the glue.

First step:
Make a mess. Write a horrible mis-mash of barely legible script that you can call a story.

Second:
Edit it. Edit it to the point that it is legible enough that a make-a-wish sponsor can feel good about themselves lying to you that it is good and passable.

Third:
Internalize the mess as missing the glue. Yes this is the third step. Because you need to show yourself that you can at least make something, anything at all in the first place.

Fourth:
Storytelling. The glue you are missing. The way to make things flow into one another. You can figure this out by doing what you have been doing with the other components.

 

[Makimaam]

If you asked any wn writers here on this forum what their first story was like, they would probably tell you it was crap.

Tutorials are helpful if you truly understand what they’re saying otherwise, it just goes in one ear and out the other.

So just write, ask for feedback, then take a step back and review it objectively. What works for you and what doesn’t. But in a serial story, you have to rely on yourself for overall pacing and story progression, since feedback givers aren’t always willing to read all of your chapters. Read extensively. Not everyone has the natural talent to craft a story without understanding the basics.

You’ll make mistakes, but how you move forward is what matters most. Will you give up, or will you improve?

 

[OokamiKasumi]

So, I want to learn to write, but I don't know how...

Writing [Tutorial] From Idea to STORY​

How do you build a Story from an Idea?

Writing [Tutorial] Tricks to Tight 'Sneaky' DESCRIPTION
A handful of well-placed descriptive words sprinkled here and there, really enriches an otherwise blank blue-screen imagination -- without beating the reader over the head.

Writing [Tutorial] How to Make THE END​

Okay, so you got this GREAT Idea for a story! This Great Idea...that births chapter after chapter-- This Great Idea...that you can't seem to finish. (WTF?) What do you do now? How do you make THE END?

Writing [Tutorial] The Secret to Proper Paragraphing and Dialogue​

Want to Know the Biggest Secret in the Fiction Writing Industry? It's not the Plotting they use, the Characters, the Theme, the Settings, or anything else like that. It's the Sentence Structure.


~~~~~~~~~~~~
Want to read my other Writing tutorials?