Writing Help-Group For Everyone discussion

i'm new to the whole writing-- and actually the goodreads thing but i've been looking for somewhere to get advice on if i should continue writing (i'm still in highschool) i started a first chapter of this book/storyline i've been creating for almost a month. its just to set the storyline, and i was hoping i could get advice :) any takers?

link-- http://www.wattpad.com/3291117-day-aw...

Well first off, I like the story and your writing is certainly better than mine! Second, I was a little confused through the first page, mainly as to whether the character was a boy or girl (which made it hard to picture what was going on) and third, I would suggest asking someone to edit the work as I did see a few typo's and repeated words.
Now that I'm through with the advice, I'd just like to say YOU HAVE TO KEEP WRITING!! I want to know where this is going and I think you could probably think about getting published eventually, some people say you shouldn't publish your first work but if this is your first work? I'd consider it if it were me, and anyway the best way to improve is to write :)

thanks :)
and i'm not actually quite sure if its a boy or a girl yet i keep going back and forward.

Ann wrote: "thanks :)
and i'm not actually quite sure if its a boy or a girl yet i keep going back and forward."

Well, the farther it went the more it seemed like a boy but that's just my opinion :)

it was a boy when i wrote the first half :) the other protagonist is a female so it'd make more sense.

Ann wrote: "it was a boy when i wrote the first half :) the other protagonist is a female so it'd make more sense."

True!

On a different note: Love your avatar!

Ann wrote: "it was a boy when i wrote the first half :) the other protagonist is a female so it'd make more sense."

If the main thought was that it was a boy in the first half, i'd suggest keeping it a boy. But, then again, thoughts turn and change all the time! Keep goin'. It's gonna turn out awesome! ;) (Good luck, too!) :)

yeah :) thanks for the advice

Writing is like playing golf. Nobody is any good at it when they start off. To get better at golf, you have to keep playing early and often (at least 3 times per week). By Writing, I mean writing a story, not the random ability to string words, phrases and punctuation together accurately.

The more you golf, the more you get better. The more you write, the better you get. The more you let people that know how to play golf give you advice and the more committed you are to, at least, trying that advice the better you get.

Even Tiger Woods (at the hieght of his game, with all of his life's distractions had a swing coach.)

The question isn't "am I good enough to think about this as a career or making more of it than a passing fancy." That presumes that writing is like having green eyes. You either do... or you don't.

The question is do I have the desire to be a better writer. You don't need brains to be a good writer. you don't need school, though it helps, and you don't need a college degree, though that often shows how seriously you take a committment to learn something.

It simply takes desire. If you want to be a bette writer. I mean REALLY want to, then you will do what ever it takes.

Some people have farther to go than others but everybody can get there if they devote the time to writing that they need.

So, I'd ask you. Do you want to be a better writer and maybe write at a professional level?

The one thing I've also found when reading something is: what is the immediate impact that leaps out of the page? Now with your writing what leaps out is the use of short, sharp sentences together which works as a style when trying to write rapid paced work.

I think that there are two or three important things with writing. Not everyone has natural talent with words but everyone can work hard to become a writer if they want to enough.

The first important thing is this: I think every writer needs to find their own style and stick with it. Whether its an adaptable style or not. For instance Guy Gavriel Kay writes in different genres but has one distinct style. C.S.Lewis even though he wrote both apologetic work and children's fantasy had one style throughout adapted to those different genres. Do you use lots of words or short sentences? Do you write flowery or plain? Do you define your own rules with grammar (not that I would say it's a good idea because it's always best to stick to proper conventions but quality writers can get away with it)? Do you write fun stories, philosophical stories?

It's one thing I can see looking at each writer that they have their particular style and I think its something that needs to be found. It was only recently that I hit upon a style that works for me writing short stories and poetry. And so now when I start writing anything I know when what I've written doesn't quite match my style at its best and I go: something's not right. I guess my key thing here is: find how you write yourself and stick to that. Using Hugh's golf analogy: sure read what you can about writing and so on but at the end you need even golf pros have their own game no matter what they've been told.

The second important thing I'd say is this: I think good writers are ones which think. But I'd also say they feel their writing if that's not too 'corny' a statement. Writing really requires use of heart and head. You should think about the concept of the story and be going: so how would that work. And sometimes going back you look at it and go oh that shouldn't be part of my story... Plus I think you really need to love what you are writing. If you do then you will write something generally that other people will also love because they can see your passion in the writing. Although there will always be critics that try and break your story down on the mental level and ignore the crucial emotional aspect. But then those people aren't usually fully in touch with reality...

I guess on the whole just enjoy what you're doing and it'll come out well. The best work I've written (for fun currently, maybe more in the future) has always been motivated by my enjoyment.

Enjoyment is a friendly thing. You can never have too much of it, especially with writing. If you write a story and don't enjoy it, it's going to be boring; no excitement at all.

If you are driven to write, by all means keep writing. I've been writing since I was a child and finally published a few things in college. And the more I write, the better I get.

The main thing I would say is to continue to be open to the input you receive. Never be satisfied with the quality of your writing today -- always be hungry to learn more and get better. Experiment with styles. Find another writer whose style you like and play with that style to see what it will teach you. Write in multiple genres just to see how much you can stretch yourself.

Plus if you get stuck it helps if you have any other ideas that may not go with the story you are working on now keep a note pad of all the ideas that you have. It helps and made then you can come up with things for your story that you are working on.

um......i need MAGER help.

With what? :)

my school has a writing comp and i ned to write a short story about: 'Juice' and writers block is biteing my donkey

Okay, um... Hmm.

Does the main theme of the story have to be about juice, or do you just have to mention it?

nooo idea

Very helpful, Miss Mysterious! :P

>:P

^.^