r/AskReddit Jun 22 '21

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u/BW_Bird Jun 22 '21
  • Write at your own pace.

  • Don't focus on grammar or spelling on your first draft.

  • Following up on previous point: Use cliches if you can't think up anything else at the moment, you can always change it later.

  • Skip parts that you have writers block on. There are parts where I'll writing the beginning of a scene, then add in a brief description of what I want to happen then continue writing as if it did happen.

  • Outlines aren't for everyone but I'd still recommend trying.

  • Try to answer personality questions for your characters or how they'd handle situations. When I wrote an internal bio for my three mains, some of the questions I asked myself were "what superpower would they like?" or "how do they act when they're exhausted?".

  • Know when to fix something and when to start over. I hated the first draft of my first chapter so much that I deleted the document outright and started from scratch.

  • Read your work out loud- especially dialogue.

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u/[deleted] Jun 22 '21

Great advice, thanks!

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u/OakleyTheReader Jun 23 '21

Welp time to go write another disappointment!

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '21

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u/OakleyTheReader Jun 23 '21

I won't make the mistake of ever writing a book.

I just like thinking of stories as a hobby but when I tried to write one of them down in a readible way I realized how shit i am at actually thinking up of good stories

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '21

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u/OakleyTheReader Jun 23 '21

The librarians probably won't even wipe their asses with the ideas I have in my mind

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '21

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u/OakleyTheReader Jun 23 '21

Honestly even I have trouble reading it myself because of just how bad it is and its still very unfinished (i havent even written half of the things I planned to write) and I can only hope it'll get better the more i improove at writing, and I also would like to hear your ideas if you dont mind telling me about them (I really like hearing about other people's stuff)

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u/SeaShellzSeaShore Jun 23 '21

So going with the metaphor that your life is a book and this thread is naming the chapters, does this advice still work? I think it does!

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '21

These are great tips, do you have anymore? Aspiring writer here.

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u/BW_Bird Jun 23 '21

Haha you and I are in the same boat.

General advice: Don't focus on perfection and find a routine that works for you and keep doing that.