Young Writers Society

Okay i was just surfing at a cafe a while ago for stuff like this, and I've got what I'm about to post. to avoid plagiarism here is the link
http://meme.essortment.com/howtobeawri_rkcu.htm
1. Your heart must be in it: if you start writing and the words do not flow, or you have to force your thoughts to get them on paper, this is not going to be a love for you. Most well-known writers have been known to write thoughts and feelings much better than being able to speak them.
2. Being a good writer doesn't mean just a person who can spell well. Many writers get so caught up in their writing or typing that they may indeed make many typos, so do not let this issue disturb you. As a matter of fact, many great writers have people who actually proofread for them, because when the words just seem to pour out, so do many typos.
3. To start writing, pick subjects that you really feel deep in your heart. Anyone can take a subject and give you facts, but a good writer also shows you heart behind the words, so start slowly by picking subjects you really have a feel for. This will give you a better article.
4. Practice... we have heard time and time again that practice makes perfect. This is true with any career. You will continue to get better as you go along, so if your first article doesn't make the grade, don't give up, just try harder.
5. Be a good reader. Before you become a great writer you first need to spend lots of time being a good reader. Read all kinds of stuff: fiction, nonfiction, children's books, everything. This will give you a feel for how the words will look and sound on paper.
6. Finally, decide what kind of writer you want to be after you have written in all different fields; test the waters.
7. After you write some things, have others read your work and give you an opinion. I have found it's best not to use family members, because they will always tell you it is good, and they won't point out the errors. You need someone who is a good critic, as that is the only way you will learn.
8. Be prepared for let-downs, especially when you first start writing. Remember everyone doesn't start out being good, at least not right away. Never let any bad remarks about your work get you discouraged; learn from your mistakes and learn from your critics. Some of the advice you get may help you to one day become that great writer you have always dreamed you would be.
9. Submit your work to many places to get noticed. Now with the World Wide Web it makes it so much easier for writers to get their work seen, and once you get you reputation established people will even ask you to submit your work.
10. Save as many copies of your words as possible. You may find once you write it you may not be able to re-write your work twice. Keep journals of when you wrote your work; this will also give you a chance to look back on all of the stuff you have ever created

I'll post section two later in the form.

I disagree with #1. If you're lucky enough to always be able to just sit down and have the words just flow, lucky you. However, there will be times that you have to sit yourself down and force yourself to write. Everyone gets writers' block, but that doesn't mean they don't love writing. (I've heard a rule of thumb is that if your hobby is always easy, you aren't putting enough effort into it.)

#10, on the other hand, I agree with wholeheartedly. I always have at least two copies of everything I write. One of the original draft, and one of the edit.

Well, in a way, #1 is true though. If you don't love your story, I don't care how much money is at stake, odds are, you'll fail miserably. Not because you're not good -- you may be very good -- but simply because writing a novel takes complete and utter dedication to your work and anything less means you won't finish it. I mean, it may be hard for you to write, but if your heart is truly in it, even the hard stuff is easy. If that makes sense.

Though it wasn't really worded right...

That's true. I think #1 just might not be worded correctly. Your heart does need to be in it, because otherwise you wouldn't push yourself.

I don't agree with number one. If you're constantly waiting on the muse, you're not gonna get far.

Indeed, a recurring piece of advice I keep on coming across is, 'writer, even when you don't want too'.


I also partially disagree with number two - if you can't spell and use grammar and puncutation correctly, you're gonna struggle. Not to mention no publisher will accept your story. It's all well and good saying 'my editor' will fix it', but first you actually need an editor.

I agree with Meep, in that no. 1 isn't worded right, and I took it to mean that you have to LOVE writing, which I do agree with.

I disagree with you, Surreal (surprise, surprise ) in that I ALWAYS make spelling mistakes. Not so much grammatical. But when I get on a roll, and the words really flow, I type so fast that I make a lot of mistakes. I think that's what it's talking about. I do things like leave the 't' off of 'thought' or turn 'think' into 'thing.' But I always go back and fix it eventually, when I proof read. And I often have a friend read it for me to catch the mistakes I don't.

Well yeah, you're gonna make mistakes in the first draft, that's inevitable. But if you don't proof-read it and fix all your errors, you're not gonna make it far in the writing world.

This article seems to express the surprisingly common and rather misguided idea that because writing comes from the 'soul', then correct spelling and grammar isn't needed. Poor use of these technical skills, however, really does damage a story.

Furthermore, refusing to learn how punctuation and grammar should be used really does limit how you can write the story.

It's perfectly fine to break the rule of spelling, grammar, and punctuation in stories if it helps to improve the piece. But you first have to understand how these things work before you can do so.

It appears we are on two different pages. I completely agree with everything you said, and I have been known to break grammatical rules if it so fits my story. I guess it really depends on the interpretation of the point. Very good. We finally agree on something.

I don't think spelling is THAT much of a big deal anymore. Especially with Spell-Checker and microsoft word(not all the times) will point out poor sentance structure.

3. To start writing, pick subjects that you really feel deep in your heart...

Number three isn't true for me. Sometimes I have so many thoughts and ideas in my head that I write them down even if they don't mean anything to me. I've written quite a lot of love poetry when I haven't experienced either the pains or the joys. Also one isn't always true. Sometimes I feel as though I've lost the ability, the passion and the drive to write but then my co-writer and sister encourages me to work on our novel and I find the spark again. It's not always there though. Sometimes the sky is cloudy and I forget why I write, I forget why I dream of being a writer and I begin to stray and pursue other paths. Sometimes I think I should give up and go for a safe, stable career but then... I shall have to see where I end up.

I just re-read this and discovered this may not be for novels. It looks more like essays or something, like for journalists. Not for novelists. But i'm going to take the advice of up there and i'm going to work on an old story and try re-writing/editiong it doing it better this time.

:raises hand: I either disagreed with a it or found it blindingly obvious

I don't agree with number one. If you're constantly waiting on the muse, you're not gonna get far.

My thoughts completely. Muses are too unpredictable to depend upon.

While there are spelling and grammar checks, I can imagine it would be very hard for a person to write when they struggle with the basics of the English language.

or their language

Good tips and Bad tips