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Ways to improve writing?


DreamWanderer

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So I am pretty new to writing (probably as you can tell :P). I have been interested in writing my own stories outside of Rping here. I figured i could practice sharpening my writing skills up here before i try anything else. On a day to day basis, I am constantly coming up with ideas and daydreams in my mind, and I would love to get them out of my head and onto a piece of paper, or screen. That's the problem tho, I have tried to articulate my ideas several times, But what i write or draw on the paper, and what i am imagining in my head doesn't always match up to my expectations , And it really frustrates me sometimes. Or sometimes I'll get that "good enough" attitude and leave everything lacking detail. Maybe I am expecting to much out of myself. 

 

Would anyone have any suggestions on who to overcome this, and able to write in a way that it goes into detail smoothly without lulling over the details?  Sorry if this is hard to understand. :P 

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Sometime you just have to take your time. I had a problem with that, I always felt Like I was on a deadline and if I couldn't meet it, then I should scrap it. But then I read how long it took for Metro 2033 to get written and I realised that I personally can't write something fast, especially with all the other things I have to do right now and I just had to accept that it's okay.

 

Still sucks. 

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  • 8 months later...

[[edit] I know this is really old, but I felt like giving my two cents, anywho. Hope it helps somebody]

 

Like Szalhi said, patience is a virtue.

In more areas than one, and writing is certainly no exception.

 

One thing that really helps to get my ideas on paper/screen sufficiently, is to eliminate distractions. If there an annoying dripping sound in the faucet, fix it. If There are people talking, ask them to quiet down, leave or leave yourself. Anything that distracts you should be gone. If music helps you focus, use it, if it's distracting, don't. I use it for drawing, but not for writing.

That's another thing, some techniques that work really well when you do one kind of art might not work as well for another. And it's not the same for everybody. You just need to tailor your work environment to yourself and the medium you're working with.

 

The biggest piece of advice any artist can give another artist, regardless of medium, experience, or talent, is something you'll likely not feel helps much. But it's as true as it's ever been.

Practice, practice, practice.

You've heard "practice makes perfect". Well, if the shoe fits....

But it's not just practice. It's intentional practice. If you just do the same thing over and over, you'll just get yourself used to doing it the same way. But if you internalize everything you learn, and you actively try to improve, you'll get better with time.

 

You should snow your works to others, and expose it to review, which brings me to the last thing I can tell you. always take criticism. Even when it's generally unhelpful, or meant to be hurtful, if you look at it with the eye of someone wanting to use it to improve, odds are, you can find a little kernel of useful advice in it. Whenever someone critiques your work, listen to them. Try to find what it is they didn't like, and decide for yourself if it's something you can/want to change. BUT do NOT let criticism be the reason you give up. Don't take their word for it all the time, the part of "decide for yourself if its something you can/want to change" is important.

So always take criticism.... with a grain of salt. Let it give you a second perspective, but don't let it define your work.

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