(How to Write) The Main Problem With New and Inexperienced Authors - As Told By FireRain · 10:33am Jun 20th, 2018
Nobody else seems to say it, so I will.
When you first set yourself up with an account on this site to write a story, the main thing that I see an author do is set themselves an account, create an idea and plot, open up a new chapter and start writing when they don't even know the first thing about writing. It's like they don't bother to do any research or see what it's like from other authors on this site. Well, I hate to admit it due to my shame, but I did the exact same thing. That is why I'm writing this right now to tell you that you should not do it.
When a new author who knows nothing starts a story and submits it so that it becomes public, I see that they are doing nothing but making it hard for themselves. Instead of doing the sensible thing and having only a couple tags or categories to work with, I see just about all of the tags and categories I can think of! Gore, romance, narcotics, sex, tragedy, drama, etcetera. It just annoys me that every new author does the exact same thing!
I'm not trying to hate or rant, but this is exactly what it is like with first-time writers. If there's one thing I can't stand to do, it's remaining quiet and not doing or saying something to help those that need the advice. Right here and now is one of those times.
For crying out loud, if you know you can't write it, then don't do it! Don't set yourself a task that you know you have no knowledge about, don't write for topics you didn't research, and most certainly don't write about it unless you know how to use correct punctuation and grammar! If you don't do this when you're just starting out, the very first thing you write will be an effortless train wreck.
Out of all the things that annoy me, incorrect grammar is the most irking and frustrating thing I see in stories! I get that writing is something that you always learn from, but if I were you, I'd practice outside of FimFiction so that you can at least see where you're at. The most that can be done on this site is constructive criticism, and I'm about to get into that!
I don't know what daft monkey wrench thought this was even remotely correct, but when I see it, I swear that my brain cells die off. I feel dirty just to write the word.
Learnt. <--- What the shit is that?! That, right there, is not a word! It isn't even valid. The correct spelling - Learned. It ends with 'ed' not a 't'! If the logic of spelling went behind this rule, then everyone would spell like this - Walkt. Spelt. Spilt. Mopt. Fartt. Jogt. It just doesn't work!
The only reason that some muppet can think of that being the correct spelling is because they hear it spoken as a slang term, which is more frequent than I like to admit. In England, there's this thing that people say 'could have', but when it comes to actually writing it, people spell it as 'could of'. It's annoyingly frequent and it irritates the inner writer in me! I don't know why, but because of how you might interpret the English accent, some dialects of it typically don't pronounce the 'h', so when it is spoken, all you hear is the rest of the word, such as 'ave'. I actually find this rather humorous when people look at us in confusion as to what we are saying. Some of us pronounce 'house' as 'ouse', so when a foreigner who is unfamiliar with our many different dialects, they always give us this odd, confused glance. Funny stuff!
The whole point that I'm trying to get across is that, if you know you can't use grammar correctly, then don't jump straight into something you know you can't handle. Like I said, practice every single day and research if you need to. Don't do the same thing I did and ignore all comments giving constructive pointers and hints, otherwise, you will certainly fall in your hopes and dreams of ever getting better.
Granted, I'm nowhere near as terrible as I used to be, but that's only because I practiced and went through many 'trial and error' phases that were backed up by the advice of others, much like I'm giving back right now. 'Trial and error' and 'live and learn' are the very best life rules you can pick anything up from. Everything you learn from the early stages of your career that you thought were tough and hard to understand or get correct will become easier to get down the sooner that you notice where you're at with your writing. There will always be places that you need to touch up upon, but that's completely normal. For now, it just frustrates me to the absolute core that people go about their first writing experience in this way.
Yes, I get that other people are writing are doing stuff that touch upon many topics and have numerous themes, but that's because they know what they are talking / writing about from previous experiences, all of which come from paths of trial and error. More well-versed and advanced writers will be able to easily write, discuss, explain and describe harsh and emotional topics from how they have personally gone through said experiences and events. Start small, develop your skills, gain an audience and a name for yourself, then you may become big in your knowledge and skill set. Only then will you be able to write like some of the more well-known authors on both this site and in the real world.
I'm not saying anything like this because I think I'm 'above it all', but I am not going to sit idly by and do nothing to help others where and when they need it the most. Now, I don't say anything like this to brag in any way, but I can easily write tearjerkers, tragedies, horror (grim/dark), slice of life, romance, comedy and generally emotional fanfiction and stories because I've experienced all of these things in my life, which allows me to be able to have my prominent themes within my writing style.
I think I've actually written for every single genre there is. That includes pornography, if you can believe that or not. I...I think I'm going to curl up and cry now.
Over the years, it has obviously developed immensely, but I have had people PM me to either mention or tell me what they think of my work and how much they enjoyed it for what it is and how I handle some of the topics I go into detail on. It always flatters me, sure, but I don't think I'm that good with my descriptions and explanations of certain topics. I'm not really a wordy person, but it still makes me laugh that people in my life have compared me to and referred to me as a 'thesaurus'.
If there's one thing that some people have commented to me upon, it's my ability to write in-depth characters. Now, I don't do this intentionally for the sake of making them relatable to the reader, but it really depends on the situations I put my characters into. For instance, I have had some characters die and experience grief, such as with Ghosts of the Past, which has the main theme of death, of which comes when Rainbow Dash talks to her friends about an old friend's death at Summer Flight Camp. I focus upon similar themes with You Are Not Alone and the stories in The Rainbow Strike Series.
I have been told that the emotions feel real and extremely prominent as a whole. Well, that's because they are! I have actually lost quite a few family members over the years that left my life feeling miserable. The most recent one, which took place only a year and a few months ago, has by far been the most painful, so when I write moments of grieving while I am actually grieving, it is only natural for it to seem all the more realistic. If you've read some of my stories, you will know that death, the paranormal and spiritual events are very frequent to me as a writer.
I can only write about these things because it's what I know best, and I don't say that with great pride. Quite frankly, most of the stories I write are sad, depressing and dark. Only a minute quantity of my work has happy, fluffy and warm feelings to them that make people smile through their tears and their hearts to erupt with diabeetus. If you will, I suppose that makes me qualify as a 'bittersweet author'.
To be quite honest with you, you will pick things up almost every single day if you are one-hundred and ten percent serious on what you want from your writing. If you want to be an author, you will have to learn all you can from any form of resource.
Some of the things that you can do is use subtitles on films or videos to see how dialogue is structured (like I used to do), or you can look at and analyse written work, such as case study files, of which you may have likely found out about from your English class. Of course, the most obvious thing you can do is read books, which is by far the most productive and rehabilitating activity an author or writer can partake in. It helps you understand how paragraphs are structured, although I don't really like the look of indented paragraphs or sentences, how to spell certain words, how character development is carried out between either the main protagonist or secondary / background characters, and much more!
Most of what you learn comes from general activities and the smaller things in life. You'll find that some things come naturally to you as you go along your daily routine. It will always be there, but you've only got to be able to find it out for yourself. If it helps, both a dictionary or a thesaurus might be handy to have close to where you work. If it helps even in the slightest of ways, you can always practice your writing on a notepad, word document or other form of writing software, such as Scrivener.
Other than what I've mentioned and gone into detail about above, if you want to write, you must write. I know you may want the better things from what your aspirations tell you, but you need to learn that it doesn't happen simply overnight. It takes years to perfect, and if you want to become a full-time author or a general writer, it takes a lifetime dedication to hone in on your skills and knowledge. Like I said, you live and learn new stuff every single day, so you can only take things one step at a time.
In my case, most of what you see on my account on this website comes from only six-to-seven years of writing experience. People are somewhat surprised when I tell them my actual age when they see my poetry or stories, but age is nothing more than a number. Your age means nothing. You don't need to be incredibly old to be thought of as 'a good writer' and you don't need to be young to be thought of as 'a mere child'. You can do or be anything at any age, given the fact that you have the knowledge to be that something. As humans, we all have naturally curious minds, so everyone and anyone will always have something unique to do or say, regardless of their age.
When some people saw my work, they messaged me with a PM and said that they were impressed with what they saw within my work, saying that I was 'talented'. They were surprised when I told them that my age was only sixteen at the time. By their guess, they thought that my writing and structure was that of a twenty year-old. Well, by this point in time, you're not entirely wrong. I'm actually a year less than the previously-assumed age.
Right, well, I feel as if I've rambled on enough and gotten that out of my system, so this is the point where I leave you on your own as I disappear back into the black abyss. I have stuff to do and stories to write. They won't write themselves and I won't make anyone get emotional by just sitting here, so it's back to the keyboard for me. However, before I do that, I'm off to go and bake a fruitcake. (Yeah, when I'm wearing an apron, I'm the woman of the kitchen I stand in! Either obey or receive the rolling pin somewhere unpleasant!)
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With love, from England,
- FireRain 💛
I think you said this incredibly well. You remind me of when I first started to write, almost frighteningly so.