Some time ago, I was on a set of forums and someone posed the question about why the people in the community weren't writing. Several of the responses boiled down to "My writing sucks," while there were a few others talking about they just couldn't get started because they couldn't get a good opening line. Another group mentioned that they would writing an opening, get disgusted with it after reading it, and then delete it.
What I would want to tell every writer is one thing: Just Do It. Who cares if your opening is weak? Just roll with it until you finish the whole piece then go back and edit it. For myself, I know my openings suck. But I can't let that hold me back anymore. I know that as I write the story, I'll improve and get my voice going. Once I finish, I can always edit it later. You shouldn't delete what you've written because you can always re-visit the project. When I look over them, I take old ideas and breathe new life in to them after taking a break that might be a few weeks or even years. Sometimes, a story just doesn't work and I feel like a failure. But, then I'll read something or see something or something will just pop up in my head and suddenly, that terrible story I did a year ago? It suddenly works because of this new thing. That's how things work. Many a famous writer has lost a whole novel and had to re-write it, and while re-writing it, they've found a whole new story. A better story, sometimes. An example is Dan Abnett, author of the Gaunt's Ghosts series of Warhammer 40,000. He lost a whole novel and as he was doing it again, he found a character that ended up being a driving force in later novels. Of course, this being Gaunt's Ghosts, the character kills one of your favorite characters. Because Mr. Abnett rolls like that. The bastard. However, don't do that to yourself. If you didn't like how things went, don't delete, re-write it. Once you lose that piece, you lose it forever. If you want to be a better writer, you need to write. Get off your ass and just get started. You can't improve your writing if you don't write. This is one of the many pieces of advice popular writers give to those just starting out. Write. I can look over my older stuff and see where I've improved. I know I've improved my voice and my pacing because I know what my older stuff was like. I don't always write, but I'm always thinking. I look back at the decade I wasted on writing fan fiction or not writing at all and I get angry with myself. I could have spent that time a little better. But, I also know that even if I did nothing but write fan fiction, I was at least writing. I was learning, bit by bit, about characters and dialogue. I'd like to think I'm decent at dialogue, and that comes from writing stuff. I always think about who is talking and why they say the things they say in the way they say them. I learned that from writing fan fiction because I wanted to make sure the things people were saying could really be coming from that character. It's much easier when it's a character you've created because you should be inside their head. They should also 'talk' to you. If you 'listen' to them, they'll show you how they want to communicate. But, if you don't write, you'll never be able to hear them. You have to write. Developing the character is just one part of the puzzle (which I will talk about soon). Once you get the character beyond a rough idea, you have to let them interact with the world and others. They'll show you who they are and what they want. Just do it. To use an example from one of my current projects, [APOSTLE and PRINCESS], look at how Anastasia (Anna) talks. She's very profane, especially when she's upset. Peter, by contrast, doesn't swear nearly as much and isn't as causal about it. These were things I had thought about, but I didn't really know how different they were until I started writing it out. Anna's use of profanity is very much a part of her and something she almost revels in. Why is she like that? I hope that I can show people exactly why that is. If I haven't, then I'll have to make sure I include it in the re-write. And, you can't re-write if you haven't written it in the first place. If you think your writing sucks, look at people who have been published. Stephaine Meyer and E. L. James aren't great authors. Their works will be forgotten in time. But, they were able to get published and both of them have had movies made from their works. No matter how bad you think your story is, someone out there wants to read it. If you never write it, they'll never see it. Write it, let others read it, get good feedback from them and then re-write it. Share it again, get more feedback and tackle another re-write. You can do it. Even if you have to re-write it a dozen times, you can do it. Have faith in yourself and faith in your story. The world is waiting to hear what you have to say. How long will you make them wait?
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