What tips would you give new authors?

[xpBoss]

What are some tips you can give to new authors here in this platform, be it in writing or financial?

 

[Dec]

Write for yourself, not for readers. You can't satisfy everyone anyway. Have a schedule (any you are comfortable with) and follow it.
If you make something worth being paid for, people who want to support it will ask for options themselves.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Figure out why you write.

 

[RainyLiquid]

Use letters to form words.

 

[Corty]

publish chapters as frequently as possible, keeping a fixed schedule

 

[Tempokai]

I'm reposting this from the older thread.

Spoiler

Rules are tools, not laws.

"Showing" and "telling" are rhetorical choices, you need to know when to use which. Showing (immersive details) invites reader interpretation. Telling (direct statements) clarifies or moves the story forward.

"Keep it simple, stupid" is a fallacy. Emotional clarity and dramatic impact matter more than just reducing words. But "simplicity" doesn’t mean "hollow." Sacrificing depth in for oversimplified prose is stupid.

"Make it concise" works only when the prose is overbloated. Story’s purpose should dictate how much or how little is needed.

"Write an outline, dummy" only works for dummies. Outlines can be useful, but over-planning will strangle creativity. Drama often emerges from organic character interactions and that strict outlines can sometimes flatten that emotional impact you seek when writing.

"Whenever you're stuck, kill a character" is a cheap emotional trick. Death in storytelling should have thematic and emotional weight, not just exist as a writer’s crutch. Drama and tension should emerge from deeper conflicts, and death is culmination of them.

"Write what you want to write" is incomplete. The real quote is "write what you love, but understand how to make others care."

"Write what the readers want" is a stupid mindset. Persuasion is about resonance, not blind conformity of stale tropes, aka a story should invite readers into the author’s vision, rather than just mimic popular tropes.

"Use only 'said'/'asked' dialogue tags" is only good advice here. "Said" can be neutral but also invisible. But, variety in dialogue presentation matters, too many "said"s can be dull, but overuse of fancy alternatives can feel overwritten and distracting. Balance is key. Dialogue tags must be chosen to match tone and rhythm, rather than blindly following this rule.

"Use only action tags" is stupid. Action beats can smoothly integrate the description, but being too theatrical is stupid. Action should serve a rhetorical function and not just be flashy for its own sake. Action tags are tools, not absolute rule everyone must follow.

"Use no tags and say, 'fuck it, the reader doesn’t need to know who’s talking'" is stupid for a beginner. Clarity builds reader trust, and if dialogue tag doesn't clarify, it is not needed in that context. The best approach for this contextual awareness.

At the end of the day, writing mastery comes from understanding why certain techniques work in some situations but fail in others, not blindly following "da rules" some armchair writers had written on the internet. Peace.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Make plans and know what you want to tell. This is so you can shrug off comments and feedback that doesn't help.

As for finances, avoid debts like a plague.

 

[Iri.Mosaic]

Just write. Literally just write. Even if it's terrible. Books aren't written, they're rewritten. You find it in the process of making, then you chisel off the wrong edges, like any good sculptor.

 

[LesserCodex]

The first chapters are never going to be perfect; you'll make mistakes, some obvious and some harder to catch, but as you write later on, you'll improve.

 

[Azamukul]

"Whenever you're stuck, kill a character" is a cheap emotional trick. Death in storytelling should have thematic and emotional weight, not just exist as a writer’s crutch. Drama and tension should emerge from deeper conflicts, and death is culmination of them.

That made me spit out ma focking water ?

What are some tips you can give to new authors here in this platform, be it in writing or financial?

My small piece of advice is to Read your own works!

A chef cannot serve some gourmet shi without taste testing after all!

 

[Wanderrae]

Get it down, publish it, eat the criticism. Mourn, the hatred of the reader. Achieve catharsis. Bounce back better, get better results. Repeat ad infinitum.

No seriously, I wasted a decade, (I'm 24) where all I had to do was publishing something instead of procrastinating. Get something out there the only way to grow.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

As a new writer, sticking to basic principles will be useful as with anything. I can't stress this enough. You can spend a lot of time learning stuff that doesn't even matter as a new author. Keep everything simple, and you will be fine. I find that a lot of new authors are too focused on things that don't matter much at a beginner level. You don't need to be fancy.

Learn what your audience likes, and deliver them something that you both will enjoy.

 

[Puji-Maki]

Don't be a perfectionist. It's fine if you feel like you're writing trash, as long as you write something and being productive.

 

[RoyalTime]

For Newbies: Have a cup of Nervousness along with me

What are some tips you can give to new authors here in this platform, be it in writing or financial?

Financial Advice:Be sure to add your patreon, subscribe star, ko-fi cameo in every chapter, for at least twice or thrice and also link them in comments, synopsis and don't forget to add it also in the book title and all the replies you give

Your welcome for the tip

 

[AddieJP3]

You don’t have to follow the normal rules of writing (though you can if you want). Some people might say that no one will read it if it’s written differently, but honestly, I say to hell with that. I don’t write ‘normal,’ and I love uniquely written stories. "Write what you know" is baloney, especially if you're writing fantasy or anything with fantastical elements. Research is suggested, though.

I like to post my very first, ugly drafts to get feedback. You don’t have to, but I find it useful to have fresh eyes on my work. When you do get feedback, take what resonates and toss the rest. No big deal.

Most importantly, write what you enjoy, not what you think readers want. If you love it, chances are someone else out there will too. Now, if you're aiming for actual publication, take all this advice, then tidy it up just a bit and sprinkle in a little extra fun. :)

 

[CharlesEBrown]

90% of the writing advice out there is for you to write like the person giving the advice - so about half of it is actually USEFUL to most writers. Keep that in mind, and just be yourself as a writer, looking for advice only when you get stuck.

 

[Clo]

Write it bad first. Much easier to turn bad into good than it is to turn nothingness into anything.

 

[Comrade567]

Write it bad first. Much easier to turn bad into good than it is to turn nothingness into anything.

So you're saying it's easier to fix a disaster than create from scratch? Interesting… does that mean my worst draft is just a future masterpiece in hiding?

 

[Clo]

So you're saying it's easier to fix a disaster than create from scratch? Interesting… does that mean my worst draft is just a future masterpiece in hiding?

Not all bad drafts are future masterpieces, but all bad drafts have salvageable good ideas in them.

Playing bad games, watching B movies, reading amateur writing will teach you to find the diamond in the rough.

Write bad first.
Find the gold.
Polish that, drop the rest.
Repeat.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Write bad first.
Find the gold.
Polish that, drop the rest.
Repeat.

I would change that to

1. Write. Good or bad, just write.
2. Find the gold.
3. Polish that, fix what you can of the rest and drop what you can't.
4. Review again.
5. Repeat.