Writing The things I learned as an Author

[gaylolis]

Kinda started writing since grade school and started posting my stories on the net since 2010, just casually though. So take my words with a grain of salt, if you want to go pro.

There are several things I realize along the way.

Just because people like others' work better, doesn't mean yours are bad or inferior. It's just a matter of personal taste, after you get the basics like grammar or so.

...but if you think your story is bad or inferior, it's probably going to be. Though usually, I don't really care if my work is bad to others, I just want to write what I like.

If a lot of people didn't like your work, it's probably not your fault. Rather than molding yourself to the masses, sometimes it's better to find a place that accepts you as you are. While it's good to improve, it's best to take it at your own pace, and cut off everyone who forced you to become something you're not.

Making a living as an Author isn't for everyone. Writing itself isn't for everyone either. You're free to quit at any time. You'd know it was for you, if you naturally find yourself coming back to it.

It's good to write at your own pace, take several breaks and get to it, when you get your juices up.

Though the most important part, was to assume I'm going to be the only dedicated reader. I kinda write, since I wanted to read something really specific, and I couldn't find it everywhere else.

...and yeah, I had fun, lots of fun. Especially since I don't have to force myself, if I don't want to.

if I were to name the best thing about writing, like any other art: it's an entertainment for extremely picky people. you could have every single detail to cater to your needs. but well, i have to admit, i get most of my inspirations from somewhere else--only a small amount was my own.

to sum it up, for me, it's best to just chill and enjoy life, while keeping myself open to new ideas. although it doesn't mean i should accept everything, i'll at least do so to stuff that interest me :D /

that would be all.

 

[Maple-Leaf]

It’s fun being god huh? All those tireless nights spent agonizing about plot development and cliffhangers. You cast them on others now.

But seriously it’s pretty cool to know what’s going to happen. It’s like having a book of spoilers that everyone else wants to read.

 

[Deleted member 29316]

Just because people like others' work better, doesn't mean yours are bad or inferior. It's just a matter of personal taste, after you get the basics like grammar or so.

...but if you think your story is bad or inferior, it's probably going to be. Though usually, I don't really care if my work is bad to others, I just want to write what I like.

If a lot of people didn't like your work, it's probably not your fault. Rather than molding yourself to the masses, sometimes it's better to find a place that accepts you as you are. While it's good to improve, it's best to take it at your own pace, and cut off everyone who forced you to become something you're not.

Making a living as an Author isn't for everyone. Writing itself isn't for everyone either. You're free to quit at any time.

It's good to write at your own pace, take several breaks and get to it, when you get your juices up.

These are actually good pieces of advise as well. New writer's tend to get really competitive when it comes to writing to the point that they forget why they've been writing for in the first place.

Just chill and write. That's a good idea.

 

[gaylolis]

It’s fun being god huh? All those tireless nights spent agonizing about plot development and cliffhangers. You cast them on others now.

But seriously it’s pretty cool to know what’s going to happen. It’s like having a book of spoilers that everyone else wants to read.

i can say all the effort is worth it, just like how you're struggling in a hard stage in games, but eventually beat it :D

These are actually good pieces of advise as well. New writer's tend to get really competitive when it comes to writing to the point that they forget why they've been writing for in the first place.

Just chill and write. That's a good idea.

that's exactly how I was, when I'm just starting out.

it's one of the things I regret the most in writing. if not for my friend who told me, it's all just personal preference, i'd probably down in that hole for longer.

 

[Maple-Leaf]

Meh, at the end of the day, my taste in literature is pretty trash. Naturally, my stories can be intensely unappealing to many, for more reasons than that. I write because it’s the next step, and one I want to take.

 

[Deleted member 29316]

It’s fun being god huh? All those tireless nights spent agonizing about plot development and cliffhangers. You cast them on others now.

But seriously it’s pretty cool to know what’s going to happen. It’s like having a book of spoilers that everyone else wants to read.

Nah, I'm sure he didn't mean something bad about his post thread. He was just reminding us to chill and write what we want to write in our pace.

It's actually good. You don't have to stress yourself because of other people. You write because you wanted to bring out a good story, not for readers, but mostly because for yourself...you find it fun.

 

[Deleted member 29316]

Meh, at the end of the day, my taste in literature is pretty trash. Naturally, my stories can be intensely unappealing to many, for more reasons than that. I write because it’s the next step, and one I want to take.

And uh, don't think your preference in Lit is trash. Likes are subjective. What may be popular now, may not be popular later.

Just continue to write. Someday you'll find your audience. ? Just like me. My story in RoyalRoad got ugly reviews I was forced to take it down before...while here in SH, it's all good.

P.S.: I uploaded my story again in RRL, reviews be damned. ?

 

[NotaNuffian]

I will be frank, I only started writing last year because I had been bored on the updates in NU, RRL and so on. So to me, writing is just me bringing my 30 year old childish imagination into life, which the online people can feel free to judge.

Ps. I had written yaoi porn when I was younger, I love it when I cause mental breakdowns to my male readers, because I specifically used their names and paired them with BBMs.

 

[ChubbyLiv]

Also being an author helped me to grow as a person. The amount of research and all that stuff we invest in our work can make us a little bit smarter and knowledgeable. ?

 

[NotYourTypicalMan]

I learned how to be a procrastinator and yeah it feels good man. ===

 

[ArcadiaBlade]

I learn the writing can be tiring to do on a long run and sometimes, finding an excuse to procrastinate can be even harder. Do i want to laze around? Is writing more fun than sleeping? Hmn... While i do have another chapter prepared but the bed is pretty sexy today...

 

[TLCsDestiny]

In author mode I feel like the world is brighter, more colourful and full of possibilities. The people are easier to accept and predicaments can be solved...Then I come back to the real world...
The real world is full of grey, black and white, which is confusing. The real world feels like it is on a train, heading in one direction, I know for you that might be confusing but this is what I see (I can go deeper there but I figured I better not.)
Then problems in the real world? Where do I start?
I've learnt that the real world is needed for my author mode to become so luscious in the first place!
*rubs hands together* what tragedy can I write about that'll make even a full adult man cry like a little girl?!?!
Bwahaha.

That was weird but so normal of me, myself and I. Have a nice day!

 

[Aleth08]

Just because people like others' work better, doesn't mean yours are bad or inferior. It's just a matter of personal taste, after you get the basics like grammar or so.

Just wanted to add my personal experience here; in case someone empathizes or identifies with the same. I started writing because of mostly the same reason, the stuff I was reading wasnt satisfying me; I wanted something specific, so I decided to create it myself. At first, I had zero knowledge about novel writing [my structure was especially bad since my first language is not english]. Even so, I continued and then posted it on RR. Got mixed reviews but it was mostly positive [I think].

It all started getting real at this point; because regardless of how many positive comments or reviews you get, just that one super negative one can put you down[and I got several]. Your motivation and self confidence is shattered time and time again. At this point, if you still want to continue writing, you will only have one thing you can depend on; and it is this that can make you continue even with all the dislikes, criticism, negative reviews, etc. It is that you yourself like, or even love, your own novel; or at least your main character if your novel is character driven like mine. I was one of those who liked their novels, so I continued [and am still continuing]. After all this time, I've already fallen for writing novels, it is what I want as my career. From my early chs to latest ones, I thought I had improved a lot ; this helped with my confidence too.

But still, I knew my writing was very much at the amateurish level. So, I wanted to improve and decided to watch vids of published writers, for tips on what I was doing wrong or how I should move forward. It was just yesterday, and after watching them, my confidence was once again shattered. I found out I was doing so many things wrong; things that I never paid any attention to before. At this point, I am slightly lost, but I still dont want to give up. I love writing, and I thnk I can improve with more practice.

Also, one thing I found in those vids that helped me the most I think was that all of them, without any exceptions, said that your first draft [or your first novel, if you're posting already], is going to SUCK; big time. I always had this notion in my head that all those top novels on RR or SH were the first novel of those authors and they did so well; and I compared mine to theirs. This always killed my confidence. I dont know if they're really that good that they could simply chuck out that good a novel on their first try, but I would like to believe its not so [for my mental health and motivation].

Anyway, just wanted to share my 2 cents with you guys. I still want to improve but its hard. And dont let anyone say that writing is easy. Bad writing is easy, good writing is very hard. But if you enjoy what you write and the process itself, I thnk you can improve.

 

[shiopan]

This reminds me, I used to own a fanfic blog back when I was a hardcore kpop fan. It was only for fun and my friends ended up posting their fanfic in that blog too. Then, one fanfic from my friend suddenly got popular and the blog had so many visitors. I was happy at first, but seeing the difference in views and comments only making me down. The worst thing is, I am the one who built that blog ?

I didn't write much after that and just recently started to write again. Though, I mainly was busy with my part-time job and school too. It was a long time ago but I learned that I don't need to be petty and enjoy whatever I write. Looking back at that blog..... it was so cringy I wanna die. I promise myself I won't write fanfic of real people again. It sounds awkward when I realize that I am letting them know how I thirst for them so bad. At least anime character won't know lol.

Anyways, thanks for the reminder. Didn't know I need that :)

 

[Saileri]

There was so much already said that makes me completely agree that I have nothing more to write than "Tru."

 

[Maple-Leaf]

I feel like my writing is basically just the same as me reading, except I can tailor the events to be exactly how I want them. Due to this, I sometimes get distracted when it comes to telling the reader a story, and focus more on telling me a story. So I’m snickering because I know what’s going to happen and how this and that are connected, and the reader is just Like: ???

Also, I don’t know a lot of things one would deem important to writing. Whether it’s just common knowledge, or an occupation I’m well versed in so that I can build a realistic story around it. I’m too paranoid I’ll get something wrong, either too lazy to research, or unsure the research is valid, and self conscious about other, more knowledgeable people, cringing at how unrealistic it is. Because of this, I fear it will take forever to shift to genres other than fantasy or comedy, where I can pass mistakes off as a joke or make up things I don’t know, simply because the preparation I would make myself go through would be incredibly extensive, and boring compared to just writing what I want.

Hopefully, one day I will gain the knowledge to write confidently, and gain the confidence to write knowledgeably.

 

[gaylolis]

I feel like my writing is basically just the same as me reading, except I can tailor the events to be exactly how I want them. Due to this, I sometimes get distracted when it comes to telling the reader a story, and focus more on telling me a story. So I’m snickering because I know what’s going to happen and how this and that are connected, and the reader is just Like: ???

Also, I don’t know a lot of things one would deem important to writing. Whether it’s just common knowledge, or an occupation I’m well versed in so that I can build a realistic story around it. I’m too paranoid I’ll get something wrong, either too lazy to research, or unsure the research is valid, and self conscious about other, more knowledgeable people, cringing at how unrealistic it is. Because of this, I fear it will take forever to shift to genres other than fantasy or comedy, where I can pass mistakes off as a joke or make up things I don’t know, simply because the preparation I would make myself go through would be incredibly extensive, and boring compared to just writing what I want.

Hopefully, one day I will gain the knowledge to write confidently, and gain the confidence to write knowledgeably.

never bothered with research unless i have interest in it, like video games or yuri.

i just look them up as a hobby, and incorporate them to my writings.

 

[iamaducklingwriter]

It's honestly a good advice. I don't think we should get competitive (unless that's your driving force or writing is your career). But, I flinched when I saw the 'take breaks' cause I took break for half a year (as my longest hiatus) and a week as the least, and now I'm currently hiding under my cave for a month now because I already drained my MP. I need mana lol

I'm a pro...
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procrastinator.

 

[DubstheDuke]

The one thing as an author which I will never understand is how I can enjoy my own story so much but then the actual public rating of it is so bad. Like, I admit my story isn't good. I know that there are much better stories out there, and that they deserve much better ratings and publicity than mine. However, this doesn't change the fact that I enjoy my story a ton whenever I read or write it. It's fun. It's not meant to be this literary Shakespear level gem. It's meant to be enjoyable to read. When I read a story, I first and foremost look for it to be enjoyable. And I suppose as an author, my own definition of enjoyable is very different than that of most people. So what do I do? Well, I could try and write something that is enjoyable for others, but that would mean making it not enjoyable for myself, which I cannot come to terms with. Therefore, I will continue to write what I enjoy, and hope that a few people out there will enjoy it too.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Many writers have "imposter syndrome" and it can be a difficult beast to slay.