Any tips on how to be a better writer?

Question

I'm 14 and I love to write. I've been writing a couple years and I love to write fiction. Do you have any good websites or books that give advice, or do you have any of your own? No critisizm please! Thank you!

Answer 1

Read "The Elements of Style" by Strunk & White

Answer 2

As a person who is writing a book, some good advice is to never give up. Some of the most famous writers of all time were rejected at one point or another. They were all told that what they wrote would never be published let alone be read by another human being. But they proved them wrong. I've been writing for years, and have improved with every paragraph and every story. Just widen your vocabulary and read a lot of other books to get an idea or vibe of how to write in a way all people can understand.

Answer 3

HAHA!

"No critisizm please!"

The word criticism means to analyze something. Any writer who wants to get a book published will have their works criticised by many people.

A good writier isn't afraid of criticism. They're not afraid of hearing what other people think. They are able to listen to other peoples advice and take it in stride. It's criticism both GOOD and bad that helps a writier improve their writing.

However, sometimes a writer is aiming for a certian style that is outside the box, and that's alright. But a writer doesn't know if they go their point across unless they ask other's if the understood the point.

Some people's advice may not be suitable for a good writer, but other people's advice the writer may find very helpful. Also, sometimes peoples advice gives the writer another idea that wasn't even what the person was critisizing about.

Lots of writers get their books turned down by lots and lots of publishing companies before they ever find one that will publish their book. Being told by a publishing company that they don't want to publish the writier's material shouldn't discourage a writier from sending their work off to other publishing companies.

http://www.happilypublished.com/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062735098/104-4170132-3736712?v=glance&n=283155
http://www.fearlessbooks.com/PublishingGuide.html

Answer 4

Depending on your style, some elements of writing may be even more important than the writing itself. For example, I've met prospective writers who find themselves completely unable to do the following:

EDIT. By most accounts I've heard of, a good story is written only once, but it's edited a half-dozen times or more. Good editing takes what's good and makes it better, and takes what's bad and gets rid of it entirely. Some authors have even reported that their work is essentially junk UNTIL they have edited it a bunch, suggesting that for some it is editing rather than writing which is the essential skill. If you cannot edit, you will be unable to work with publishers or agents who will have their own ideas about how to turn your work into something salable, not to mention your copyeditor may always suprise you with discontinuities in your writing that you never noticed!

SUMMARIZE. Some writers are so concerned with writing a full work that they cannot sum up what they have done. Yet you will have a tough time selling any of your work unless you can distill it down to less than 1% of its size and still make it sound compelling and interesting enough to make someone want to read the other 99%. If you've already written a work, you're going to have to write a very short summary for those who haven't time to read the whole thing, and then you'll have to write a summary of your summary so excited people can sell it to others in their company with just a paragraph or two!

PUBLICITY. In all likelihood, you WILL have to appear to promote whatever it is you're doing. At least, you will if you're popular at all, and you probably will if you WANT to be popular. You're going to have to speak about your work, read it to others, and perhaps even defend it in public questions from people who seem to have read it better that you have. Even if you're not doing it right now, it's something you will probably have to keep an eye toward doing in the future. So put a mental post-it note on this up.

Oh, and aside from all that, it also helps to write well, too! ( :

Answer 5

A few people here said it before me, but it doesn't hurt to say it again: read. By reading works from your favorite authors, you hopefully gain insight into the elements that are effective in their writing. The styles, metaphors, and images in their works that captivated you are what you should strive to create in your writing. At 14, I'd say its ok to write the way your favorite author does, just to get used to writing. But there's going to come a time when you'll need to take those techniques you honed over the years and make it your own. That is, be original.

Thats where a mentor will help. Look to an english teacher. My sophomore english teacher was my poetry mentor. He was instrumental in regards to expanding my book collection and opening my mind to different forms. I took bits and pieces of what I liked from other writers and made it relate to my piece, I made it relate to me. The same thing goes for fiction.

The help you get from a mentor may be informal, but formal education is also a stepping stone. If you decide to pursue a degree in English, to become a "professional" writer, there'll be more oppurtunities there on campus. But that's perhaps looking too far into the future.

For right now, read. A lot. Sorry if I rambled for too long, but writing is one of my passions too. Oh, and thats another thing. Good writers are passionate writers. Reading will help keep that passion strong.

Book List:

Hitchiker's Guide to The Universe

Welcome the the Monkey House

As far as "how to" books on writing goes, you're better off right now just reading for fun. Those instructional books will only bore you. You'll get enough of them when you get older and take writing classes.

Answer 6

Its all about creativity. Sometimes it better to step out of the box and look at writing from another perspective. Watch a movie and look at how the guy in Finding Forrester did things or As good As it Gets. Thats how I switch up my writing styles when I need a quick change. When you want to master something though its always best to learn from the great ones so grab a book and read when your not writing!
p.s. Keep a notebook for general ideas and stuff so you have something to look back into if your ever having a blank!

Answer 7

I'm a writer, and this, in my opinion, is the writer's holy trinity: Natalie Goldberg's _Writing Down the Bones_, Stephen King's _On Writing_, Strunk and White's _The Elements of Style_. I'd start with Natalie, spend about a year journaling and using her book, then try Elements-- Elements is boring grammar type stuff but SO important, and everything you'll ever need to know about the technical aspects of writing. For King you might want to wait until you're a little older and have read some of his books.

The fact that you want to learn to be a better writer speaks VERY well of you. When I was your age, I was certain I knew everything there was to know about writing.

Answer 8

I'm a creative person myself. I do graphic art, and I have done some creative writing. I would say that if you are in any creative field the most important thing to grow in your artistic medium is just to keep doing it. It's nice to take classes and read books, but true understanding of your art all comes from within. There are no formulas for success out there, even though there are a million people who claim that they have one. The only thing you need is passion and drive.

As for writing pointers, I can tell you know how to express ideas clearly, and you know how to construct sentences, so you have half the battle won already. In creative writing the general rule of thumb is to write about things you have experience and understanding of. Base your characters on people you know, and use scenarios from your life. The expression "reality is stranger than fiction" is very true. Take it from me, I drove a cab for 9 years.

Answer 9

Here is a site that covers some good and important topics for writing such as:

If you're interested in becoming a fiction writer, click on one or more of the choices below.

Here's some friendly (and realistic) writing advice.

Think you might need a literary agent? Here are some thoughts and suggestions on agents.

Have you sold a short story? Check out this article on short story contracts.

Looking for someone to critique your fiction? Here are some useful suggestions regarding writer's groups.

Having trouble setting a writing schedule? Try this advice on discipline.

http://www.sff.net/people/Dan.Perez/advice.htm

Answer 10

Read lots of books, have the dictionary and thesorous at your side to get better words, if you ever think of something to write about (a topic), it doesn't where your at, if you're at a resteraunt grab a napkin and a pen and start jotting it down. If you are on the computer and have something open up a new window and start writing!
(I know i've written a couple of books)

Answer 11

As Sinclair Lewis told someone who asked what he should do if he wanted to be a writer, "Write."

Also read. Read the best authors. Read the classics.

And write some more.

And read some more.

And don't bother listening to anybody's advice or looking at websites.