What are some things you wish you knew when you started writing?

[Tarrow]

The type of things you learn months/years later and kick yourself for not knowing earlier. Just thought it would be interesting to ask.

 

[Envylope]

I wish I knew about keeping things simple. (KISS) Keep it simple, stupid. I made a huge plot with lots of characters for my first novel, and it did turn out quite a number of viewers/readers. The problem was, I was horrible at writing. I couldn't make things connect, and with so many characters, it was hard to make each of them feel unique.

@Assurbanipal_II remembers how bad it was, probably. The writing was terrible, the plot was terrible, and the characters had little amount of depth. If I had stuck to a simple idea and not tried something so ambitious, I might have completed the story.

Though, I don't regret it. If I didn't try something and fail miserably, I would not have learned. So maybe I would say a different advice instead.

Don't be afraid of failing. Embrace the failure, and use it as a learning experience. Take all advice that you receive and try to actually implement it, or do a thought experiment about it. If you have good critical thinking skills, you can arrive at a conclusion based on most advice. If you can't arrive at a conclusion because you don't have the experience to know if something is good, then try it anyway. You will learn what works and doesn't work for you.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

I wish I knew about keeping things simple. (KISS) Keep it simple, stupid. I made a huge plot with lots of characters for my first novel, and it did turn out quite a number of viewers/readers. The problem was, I was horrible at writing. I couldn't make things connect, and with so many characters, it was hard to make each of them feel unique.

@Assurbanipal_II remembers how bad it was, probably. The writing was terrible, the plot was terrible, and the characters had little amount of depth. If I had stuck to a simple idea and not tried something so ambitious, I might have completed the story.

Though, I don't regret it. If I didn't try something and fail miserably, I would not have learned. So maybe I would say a different advice instead.

Don't be afraid of failing. Embrace the failure, and use it as a learning experience. Take all advice that you receive and try to actually implement it, or do a thought experiment about it. If you have good critical thinking skills, you can arrive at a conclusion based on most advice. If you can't arrive at a conclusion because you don't have the experience to know if something is good, then try it anyway. You will learn what works and doesn't work for you.

You are severely exaggerating, I would say.

Anyway, my contribution, KISS is correct, but I would say it is more of a learning thing. The easier at the beginning, the less likely you will make a major error. But will want to expand your writing eventually, It takes for you to find your voice. But eventually, you will.

By my experience, it takes you 500k words before you begin to understand.

 

[Envylope]

You are severely exaggerating, I would say.

Anyway, my contribution, KISS is correct, but I would say it is more of a learning thing. The easier at the beginning, the less likely you will make a major error. But will want to expand your writing eventually, It takes for you to find your voice. But eventually, you will.

By my experience, it takes you 500k words before you begin to understand.

I am not exaggerating. The writing was so bad. Everyone told me that when I got feedback. The difference is, I didn't quit after getting harsh feedback.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

I am not exaggerating. The writing was so bad. Everyone told me that when I got feedback. The difference is, I didn't quit after getting harsh feedback.

Then you got ebil commenters~.

 

[Envylope]

Then you got ebil commenters~.

It was an ebil protagonist, so I attracted that crowd.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

It was an ebil protagonist, so I attracted that crowd.

Was she? Was is not just the classical vampy story? Ebil MC is par for the course.

 

[foxes]

Human language has proven so pernicious. Not only does it have a ton of rules, but even if you take them all into account, it still turns out crap. And no matter how hard you try, it's pointless. A puzzle in an infinite dimension. Every time you fix one detail, everything else falls apart. And rewriting it all over again simply creates a new story with the same problems. If I'd known, I wouldn't have even started writing. And now I'm ashamed to give up.

 

[HellerFeed]

Waiting for the impact... the main conflict... to finally show up...
I regret taking so long to get to the main action and letting the conflict set in. I spent too much time on worldbuilding and showing character growth instead of focusing on the central conflict and the trigger points of the story. Now, though, I’ve laid out a clearer path and I’m working with a proper framework for my story, which I didn’t have before.

I would suggest if you want, start your story and put the audience straight in the middle of the conflict zone from the get go... and the go character develop or world building while the story progresses simultenously.

 

[CinnaSloth]

The type of things you learn months/years later and kick yourself for not knowing earlier. Just thought it would be interesting to ask.

That people would actually read what I write, and enjoy it.
Then, I would have maybe tried editing in earlier chapters before posting. lol

 

[pangmida]

That a "normal" webnovel chapter is around 2000 words. Not... 8000, like what I had before. Not my fault the fanfics I used to read were often 10k words per chapter.

Also, finish your book before you start posting. ? I'm running on a very rough backlog here.

 

[L1aei]

The type of things you learn months/years later and kick yourself for not knowing earlier. Just thought it would be interesting to ask.

My regret? I did worse than listen to their suggestions, I let my editors change my story. Back then, they wrote so much more than I had at the time, with high quality writing, and each character had an interesting premise that moved their own stories in directions I was eager to read. But my stories? My stories didn't conclude as... mine.

It is sort of the same nowadays when we have both authors and readers screaming at people to not use AI to rewrite everything for you; it's not yours anymore if you are allowing another voice to replace it.

Think of it this way as well: if you try picking up where you left off writing a novel and those editors or AI are not available, the tonal shift is jarring as hell.

 

[Rachel_Leia_Cole]

To keep writing no matter if you get validation or not. I wrote a lot as a kid and teen and never had anyone to support that outlet. So it felt like it was a waste of time. But nothing you feel passionate about is ever a waste of time. Validation doesn’t equal quality. I grew up and fell back in love with writing. I still don’t have a lot of validation, but I’m writing because I want to. What I write *does* have value and worth, no matter how few people see it.

 

[Eldoria]

The type of things you learn months/years later and kick yourself for not knowing earlier. Just thought it would be interesting to ask.

Well, you might want to consider this if you want to hook readers first before thinking about the big story. Narrate a prologue that contains an emotional conflict that resonates with the causal reader's affectionate needs.

This could take any form, such as a brother's concern for his sister, a mother's love for her child, a father's struggle to support his family, or even a husband's sacrifice for his wife. Why?

Because causal readers usually don't care for grandiose fiction, deep themes, original premises, complex characters, vivid worldbuilding, or unpredictable plots without plot holes; they usually just come looking for a story that relates to their lives.

Therefore, it's important to engage the reader's emotions first before diving into the grandiose story. You can narrate the grandiose story slowly and gradually after successfully engaging the reader.

However, this approach isn't without its flaws... if you use the reader's emotions as the entry point for the story, readers may complain later if the characters and plot don't match their expectations and may try to 'dictate' you.

Therefore, you also need to maintain authorial integration—separating the red line between input and intervention. After all, you are an author, not a reader. Don't let others steer you in narrating your fiction.

 

[L1aei]

@Tarrow See how there are others here pointing out to not permit others dictate how to write? That's not a suggestion or a rule; that's a guide. Write for the reasons that you've been writing for all along.

 

[writerwolf359]

I wish I had believed that I could write earlier in life. Instead, I lacked confidence in myself for so long that I didn’t seriously try until my 30’s.

 

[Rachel_Leia_Cole]

I wish I had believed that I could write earlier in life. Instead, I lacked confidence in myself for so long that I didn’t seriously try until my 30’s.

But you did try, and that’s important. A lot of people don’t even make it that far. But you did. And you should feel proud of that

 

[lkal92]

Give yourself options. Have random plot threads that can grow into full chapters periodically, like some sort of crafting or hobby the MC engages in. The more of these you have, the less likely you are to run into a wall, because you can just switch up the type of chapter naturally to some other pursuit. More options you have, the less likely you write yourself into a wall and don't know how to proceed any further. Nothing will get you to abandon a story faster than feeling like you've gone down a path you didn't want to, and being trapped. Limiting your options down a single path should only really happen during a climax of a story, until the resolution, and then you can once more tend to all your little side plots to farm more words and chapters.

That's probably the best thing to be able to write an actual long-running web serial IMO. If you're not in the mood to write a fight scene, instead of dreading it, you can write a crafting chapter or whatever in the meantime. As long as some plot or character element is progressed, it's not wasted fluff.

Linked to this, you have to resist the urge to immediately resolve plot points or rush right into the cool climax. Setup, build expectations. If people are complaining that something hasn't happened yet, that means you've hooked them. You should deliver on that promise before it becomes too annoying, but you want to lead readers on and have them turning the next page/reading the next chapter to get that dopamine hit they've been waiting for.

 

[expentio]

Don't have expectations. You are one of thousands of writers on a free website. The chance that yours of all of them is going to become the next big thing is conceited beyond limits. Don't bet on making it, but see it as a non-commitment try or a hobby. Otherwise, it's like you placed everything on the one in roulette and then you cry that you didn't pull the big win. Something you shouldn't take for granted.

Also, try to keep sentences short for a light novel. Makes them easy to understand

 

[JRobin]

Don't be afraid to experiment. I've had my readers hang in there with me through my little learning process and I'm grateful for them. It's making me excited to share the end of this novel, and offer up my next one. (A romance with a plot twist! I want to let my readers feel smart that they saw it coming).

And have fun! Your readers will feel it.