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Any ideas or advice for starting a hobby in writing?



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Wed Jul 29, 2015 4:13 pm
rworthuk1234 says...



I am 15 years old and i have a passion for short crime fiction novels. I have always wanted to write a collection of short stories for teens/young adults. I live in the United Kingdom and i am currently on my summer holidays and would like to embark on a journey of writing throughout life. Does anyone have any advice for starting to write who has been in the same scenario? I am on a very tight budget and work from my tablet. Your help is very much appreciated.
  





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Wed Jul 29, 2015 5:58 pm
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Carlito says...



Hey! Welcome to YWS! :D

Well the cool thing about writing is that anyone can do it, you can write anywhere you want and about anything you want, and it's free! :)

If you want to write short crime fiction novels, then go for it! My two biggest pieces of advice for people that are just starting out are:

1. Read. Like a lot. In the genre you want to write in and outside of that genre. Get a sense of what is already out there. Get a sense of what works well in books and what doesn't. Think about how authors are crafting their stories, building their worlds, and developing their characters.

2. Go for it and write. Try to get over your fear or the thought that what you're writing isn't any good or that no one is going to like it. (I don't know if you struggle with that, but many writers do). Write what you want to write and have fun with it. It doesn't have to be perfect (and it won't be perfect) after the first go-around. Take your time writing and have fun. Writing should be fun.

When you're ready, you can get feedback here or elsewhere. Another thing to keep in mind is never to take critiques of your work personally. It's never personal. Some people are going to love every word and some people are going to hate every word. That's just how it goes. But it's not about you. And never let one harsh critique or one bad review discourage you from continuing to write. If you enjoy it, then don't stop!

If you're thinking about trying to publish said crime fiction novels, that's another beast entirely. I know a fair amount about traditional publication (acquiring a literary agent who then helps you get an editor at a publishing house and helps you get a book deal) because that's the route I'm trying to take with my own work. If you're interested in that, I'd be more than happy to tell you more about how all of that works :)

One big thing to keep in mind with publishing: you should never pay anyone. Unless you're hiring a freelance editor to help you with your work, no one in the literary industry should be charging you anything. Agents, editors, and publishers get paid when your book sells copies. You never pay them. If an agent, editor (not a freelancer), or a publisher is trying to get you to pay them, that's a huge red flag.

Anyone can be a writer! So go for it! Try to devote a little time each day to writing and see what happens :)

Let me know if you have any other questions or if anything I said was confusing!! :D
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Fri Jul 31, 2015 8:53 am
rosenbergrandy says...



I can't give you some advice, but I wish you success in your beginnings.Writing is amazing :D
  





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Sat Aug 08, 2015 7:15 pm
mfoley says...



The good news is you don't need much of a budget to turn writing into a rewarding hobby! I've written all my life, but I was about your age when I turned from crafting simple stories and hand-made comic books to more serious fiction, and like you, crime fiction was my first love in that respect. As Carlito said, reading tends to be very important in the writing process. One interesting thing you'll find is that the more you write, the more you'll analyze the things you read; sometimes, you'll find the faults in what you read, while other times, you'll be blown away as you recognize the process the author went through to craft such a masterpiece. Some famous authors have said that if you're not already a reader, it's too late to be a writer. However, that leads to another important point: the only real rule of writing is that you must, at some point, write. Every other rule has been broken, and some of the offenders have been very successful. Nothing works for everyone. I will say, though, that as I started out in crime fiction, one thing that really helped me (perhaps even more than reading) was watching lots of crime films. I visualize as I write, so being able to see these stories played out helped me. Also, one of the elements of my writing is my dialogue, and I do largely credit that to film-watching. I went through a phase in which most of my stories were set in Boston, so I watched a plethora of great Boston crime films (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, The Departed, etc.), and developed an ear for the regional dialect.
Hopefully, this has helped in some small way as you begin your journey.
Cheers, and good travels to you!
-- Michael F.
  





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Tue Aug 25, 2015 12:35 am
LadySpark says...



The great thing about writing is that you don't have to have a budget for it to be a hobby. Really, all you need is a notebook and a pen, and you can make worlds unfold. No obviously, most people nowadays write on some kind of computer, but a tablet works too! There are many free things you can use to store your writing, including Google Drive, that is linked to your gmail account, or even YWS' own writer feed pad, which you can sign into with your YWS account.

There's no RIGHT way to begin your writing journey! Just sit down with your pen or tablet and put what's in your head on paper. After you start is when the hard things come along. Good luck!
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