Hello,
I've just joined this community and want to ask a question that might seem obvious.
When you start your first novel, can you just do it, or do you need to do some kind of degree or creative writing course? Is there some magic secret? I suspect that I need to build my confidence as a writer, because it feels like people who actually write seriously are in a different world from me. What has helped you develop your confidence?
Dammit! I've just spent £500 buying a writer's licence from an online seller and now it turns out I never needed one.
Pfft. I should have bought the £200 version instead.
Hi Anya
I think that your characters/stories are like your children, they grow in your heart. Our relationship with them can be as intense as with our children. However, when you've been a parent for a while, you get smarter and use your head rather than letting your heart dictate to you all the time, its about practice and learning along the way.
Join a local group, and there's a ton of advice on he web. It's hard to take feedback that sounds more like criticism than constructive help, (been there) but you have to let it happen because, in the end it makes you tougher, and a better writer.
The hardest rule for newcomers is the show not tell rule, and you need to see examples of how that's applied I think. Of course, plenty of writers break the rules and still sell work.
Reading the kind of stories you like and thinking about how they work helps too. For me, reading is important. Writing is very, very fulfilling for its own sake, it's a shame to let lack of confidence prevent you from gaining that enjoyment.
Hope this helps.
Cheers, Jan
Hi Anya, I'm a real novice at this (first MS, 3rd re write!), and have also had no formal training in writing. I had the germ of the idea for the plot, reinforced it with some research then just started writing and researched and learned as I went. I finished the first draft pretty quick and that in itself helped my confidence, purely by the fact that I could have the staying power to construct a 90,000 manuscript. Throughout I knew that the finished first draft would not have the quality in terms of grammar and punctuation or even structure that it would need to have, so I didn't beat myself up about it, my goal was just to get used to writing and letting my brain get used to the creativity, Then I found this site and that's when the need to get to grips with the 'craft' of writing really started to cook. Assistance on structure, punctuation, pace, plot etc, was all offered by many using this site and I gratefully accepted it.
So, my advice as a fellow novice would just be to get cracking and enjoy the writing, learn as you go then the technical craft' will come in the re writes. Worth 'following' W&A on Twitter as you get some superb daily guidance on every aspect of writing.
Good luck and have fun!.
Dave