Writing, how do I get better?

[Penitent]

Last month I entered my first “Writing Corner” entry. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it, even though reading it back it felt very novice.

I’d love to improve my writing, but I have no idea how to begin. I have a good vocabulary but my Grammar is atrocious. Does this matter? Should I get someone to proof read the things I write or try and learn the rudiments of Grammar.

Is it just a case of writing something, and getting critiqued, or are there other ways I can improve.

I love reading and would love to be able to produce something that others would like to read, but this is all very new to me. I’ve written poetry on and off for years, but by on and off I mean six poems a year or something. So that isn’t going to help me here really.

Any advice guys?

[Archie]

I think reading a lot definitely helps. I'm sure I've picked up stuff - at the very least improved my vocabulary - over the years by reading. There are sites where you can post stuff for peer review, like writing.com, everything2.com, or this folder. Your mileage may vary obviously (I think depending greatly on your attitude and reception to criticism), but I've been a user of everything2 for several years and I think my writing has improved dramatically in that time.

Getting others to proof your work can definitely be useful, since you tend to zone out certain things when you've spend a lot of time on a piece. Certainly it's all but a requirement if you think your grammar isn't up to scratch yet. There may well be rules you're not aware of, or structural suggestions that may assist in future efforts. Feel free to PM if you want to discuss further.

[Campfire_Burning]

Read more, write more.

You don't need a large vocabulary to be a good writer. You don't need perfect grammar. There are plenty of classics books written in simple language breaking grammatical rules. I was looking at the Open University writing course last year and a large part of it seemed to be devoted to being descriptive in the extreme. Well screw that. Any time fiction goes above and beyond being just evocative enough to conjure up a scene, I get lost and bored.

The more you read, the more you know what writing looks and feels like. The more you write, the more you know what your reading feels like. The best you can do is be true to yourself.

[R0b]

'Write about everything and anything.'

'Just write.'

Pretty much.

[Concrete Donkey]

Writting more is the key. The other thing to do when unsure is read your stuff out loud, either to a friend or yourself, as its often the easiest way to spot obvious errors and correct for flow.

[Rowan Morrison]

As with anything, do it every day and you will get better every day. That's not to say you can't get results from books, as long as they're written by good writers. Stephen King's "On Writing" is an excellent book for anyone interested in improving their writing. You may or may not like his work, but the man knows how to write effectively (or rather he knows how to tell stories effectively) because he has been writing every day for decades.

Of course I wouldn't recommend Jeffrey Archer as a role model and he's written more than his fair share of words. I think all his practice has merely served to amplify his flaws, which I attribute to him being a Conservative.

[Eats hoops and leaves]

Just write every single day, and don't think about it too much. Don't fret over having a certain style or if it's any good or not, or about structure or character or anything like that. Just write loads of stuff, about anything you can think of, and you'll develop naturally. Go for walks and write in your head and do the same in the shower. Don't go over what you've written and alter it until the story is done <-- most important.

Also, read as much as you can, and don't stick to one genre. Don't read and think 'why does/doesn't this work'? Just soak it all up. Your brain will do a lot of this work by itself if you let it.

Writing isn't about spelling and grammar, it's about telling a story. Concentrate on that and everything else will improve. And if it doesn't for some strange reason, well that's what editors are for.

As said above, 'On Writing' is the only book you need to read at this stage.

[Eats hoops and leaves]

Oh yes, and writing is in the rewrite. Once something is finished, print it out (nobody can read properly from the screen) and put it away for a week. Go back to it and tear the shit out of it with a biro. This is something that a lot of people dread, but learn to love the tweaking and you'll be amazed at how much more life you can ram into the story.

[Sarah Sundae]

I was just born a good writer. Try that.

[Penitent]

Thank you very much for all your advice guys. It's very much appreciated.

Oh, and Hillside, that's entirely a matter of opinion

massive winky

[Loz Boz]

My advice would be to invest in a Thesaurus.

It's good to have lots of interesting words at your disposal.

I find that more and more I would like to have the perfect word for something and can never quite get it to read with the weight of what I want to say. Thesaurus is great for that.

[Sarah Sundae]

My advice would be to invest in a Thesaurus.

It's good to have lots of interesting words at your disposal.

I find that more and more I would like to have the perfect word for something and can never quite get it to read with the weight of what I want to say. Thesaurus is great for that.

Seriously.

Keychain thesaurus.

[R0b]

“Writing Corner”

Here's another one: Research.

[Ste Pickford]

Last month I entered my first “Writing Corner” entry. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it, even though reading it back it felt very novice.

I’d love to improve my writing, but I have no idea how to begin. I have a good vocabulary but my Grammar is atrocious. Does this matter? Should I get someone to proof read the things I write or try and learn the rudiments of Grammar.

I'm not a very good writer at all but end up have to write loads through work. If, like me, you're not a natural, I think a good trick is to keep it simple.

Write short sentences. Don't try to write in a complicated, convoluted, clever way. Leave that to the experts. Readability is more useful than showing off your vocabulary.

Hoop's advice about re-reading and brutally editing is good. I find that when I first write anything I try to squeeze too much into each sentence - too many clauses and too many competing ideas. I often either delete 70% of a sentence, or split it into two, and find that it reads much better.

[The Grand Pursuivant]

My mate once sent me this link a few years ago (well, not this one, but one with exactly the same text in it).

http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationP....php/PageID/538

With his customary wisdom and wit, Vonnegut put forth 8 basics of what he calls Creative Writing 101: *

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

The greatest American short story writer of my generation was Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964). She broke practically every one of my rules but the first. Great writers tend to do that.

[johnj]

I'd just go for the old read more, write more, analyse more.

[Sarah Sundae]

Put yourself into your story, and think of the 5 senses. What can you hear, smell, taste, touch, and see?

[Penitent]

Put yourself into your story, and think of the 5 senses. What can you hear, smell, taste, touch, and see?

you, you, you, you and you.

[R0b]

I've told you already Brad, I'm writing an autobiography so you're no longer required.

[Eats hoops and leaves]

Smell is always an under-used sense.

[Eats hoops and leaves]

Somebody once said something very simple to me, and it's always stuck in my head.

HIM: If you read 'there was a wooden chair in the middle of the room, what colour do you think it is?

ME: Brown.

HIM: Then don't write 'there was a brown wooden chair'.

For the record, I hadn't written 'there was a brown wooden chair', but I always apply this thought process when I'm editing stuff.

[emerald fox]

Last month I entered my first “Writing Corner” entry. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it, even though reading it back it felt very novice.

I’d love to improve my writing, but I have no idea how to begin. I have a good vocabulary but my Grammar is atrocious. Does this matter? Should I get someone to proof read the things I write or try and learn the rudiments of Grammar.

Is it just a case of writing something, and getting critiqued, or are there other ways I can improve.

I love reading and would love to be able to produce something that others would like to read, but this is all very new to me. I’ve written poetry on and off for years, but by on and off I mean six poems a year or something. So that isn’t going to help me here really.

Any advice guys?

think about the effect that you want the piece to give before you start writing it

[Monkeyboy]

Don't get too hung up on grammar when you're bashing the story out for the first time. Leave that stuff to the rewrite. For that, I would recommend The Elements of Style. It's a very short book, to the point, and cheap too.

[Floshenbarnical]

Smell is always an under-used sense.

And it evokes such powerful memories

I use it all the time in my writing and I think it's really effective.

Really.

[johnj]

Read some William Gibson. Pattern Recognition and Idoru. Don't bother with other authors.

I'm suprised at this, I read pattern recognition as my first Gibson book and remember being distinctly underwhelmed and that it was name dropping waayyyy too many brands to try and be "cool."

It has been a while since I read it though.