How can I improve my writing?

Read, read, read.

(Beat you to it, Gail.)

:D

And write, write, write. Practice. Review your own work critically. Ask for critical reviews from others.

Read; E B White, The New Yorker, Harper’s, Atlantic Monthly, NYT Magazine section, New York Review of Books, etc.

(Jeruba: You are such a devious sneak and clairvoyant too.)

(No clairvoyance, Gail. You’ve sped past me with that classic advice on half a dozen different threads. I finally scored a point on you.)

Get a copy of Best American Short Stories, one of the good ones, like the edition edited by Michael Chabon (2005), and try to figure out what makes those stories good.

Look at top literary journals like Ploughshares. Read The Writer and Writer’s Digest. Look at Poets & Writers and see who’s winning the competitions (Junot Diaz, Edwidge Danticat…) and go read their work. Read the names of authors who serve as guest faculty in the MFA programs whose ads appear in Poets & Writers and read their work too.

And ask us.

Write, just to write. Sometimes I will read something enlightening then I write my opinions/thoughts about it. Blogging has also been a great tool in this aspect. I’ve been blogging for 8 years now. I still have archives of all my blog entries – it’s amazing how much my writing has improved over time.

Thanks @Jeruba and @gailcalled I’ll try that out. @Jeruba Isn’t Best American Short Stories featured on NPR? I think I’ve heard of them before. And I will most definitely check it out. Looks like more reading for me. :) @perplexism That is a great idea too. And do you think I should write a blog too?

Write something every day, even if it is only ten minutes. Even if it is only a journal entry bitching about what a pain it is to write something every day.

I don’t write myself (this may look a bit contradictional, i am aware).
But since i write on here, on Fluther, i noticed a pretty big improval improvement (thanks, gail) in it.
I love that i am critical to myself when composing it, in the box.
And that i can make quick adjustments when it’s out here in the thread.
So, i guess what i want to say is that just do it is a nice advice.
Good luck.

@Ailia Do so if you think it’s a medium you’d be comfortable expressing yourself in. I have both a public and private blog. I also have a paper journal. I enjoy expressing myself through my public blog the most because I can talk about issues important to me with an audience who gives me feedback. Plus, I’ve made great friends through it.

If you are ever curious enough to try it out, I suggest wordpress.com as a starting point.

@rebbel Thanks, I often think of that advice but often it becomes “do it later” for me. Which I know is bad, but it seems to be a habit now. :( Anyways thanks again, I appreciate it all the same. :) @perplexism I want to thank you too. I love the experience story. Maybe one of these days I will try that website out. It looks really interesting and I could definitely get something out of it. Writing is starting to look fun now….

@Ailia You are welcome.

I have to believe that if you write all the time, you’ll get better at it. Unfortunately, I doubt if you’ll be able to tell. I don’t even know if anyone close to you could tell, either. It’s a kind of an incremental thing that happens very slowly and unnoticeably.

Depending on what you write, you may benefit from reading more stuff that is like what you write. I’ve found, over the years, that I can see more structural devices in a story than I was able to when I was younger. For whatever reason, foreshadowing is my favorite.

In any case, you might try to deconstruct some of your favorite stories, looking at the structure of the plot (the energy of the story at various times; movements in time; voice; points of view; etc). See if you can figure what, for you, makes it work. There is a formula to stories, I believe. I’m not sure I could tell you what it is, but I know it when I see it.

Disney, for example, tells some of the classic stories, over and over. Fish out of water. Buddy story. Coming of age. Cinderella. I find the story structures and themes to be most terribly obvious in Disney movies. I don’t know if this is something to be emulated (because it is tried and true and makes people feel comfortable), or to be eschewed (because it is so cliched).

My personal preference is to make things different. Or rather, since I don’t write, I hope the author will make things different. I like to be surprised. I like the story to go places I don’t expect, and to be about things that aren’t obvious. Of course, it needs to be a rollicking yarn, too. With characters who are likable, interesting and described with a keen eye and sharp tongue.

In the end, however, I think that writing is not something that can be improved just for a competition. It’s not like waterpik-ing your teeth furiously for the week before you see the hygienist so that your gums are healthy and pink. Writing is something you do for your life, not as a foot race. However you write now, that’s about how you’ll write next month. It’ll be years before you can know if you’re good enough to please yourself. Maybe you’ll never reach that peak, standing, as it does, in an atmosphere so rarified you need to bring your oxygen with you in a tank.

@daloon; Brevity is good, also.

@daloon Thats great advice. And I think the way I could judge my progress is how long it takes me to start writing. Normally I procrastinate like mad before I begin and even when I do, its hard for me to stay focused and interested in what I am writing. I think when I get past that stage I’ll have improved somewhat. And my competition is next year, so I have time to improve. By that time I will have my writing way better. I just need to believe in myself. Wouldn’t you that say thats about right?

I write only when I am in the mood, or when something strikes me. If I force myself to write, it turns out sucky. My toughest challenge in writing has always been dialogue. I could never get past making my characters sound wooden. there are no books to help you with dialogue, unless you simply read great fiction that makes it look effortless. Anne Rice and John Varley are two of the best dialogue writers I’ve ever read. It takes reading books with effortless dialogue, and practice, practice, practice. Work with characters that are based on people you know, and use your friends speech patterns and cadences to help set the tone for your characters ‘voices.’

I know you didn’t ask about dialogue, but that is what is still hard for me, and I have been writing for over 30 years.

I think Daloon might like my stories, they are always different, and never Disney-esque. Most of my characters are either jokesters or mentally disturbed. Gotta write what you know, see?

I’m pretty sure believing in yourself would help. However, I have never had any experience with that, so I can’t be sure.

I’ve been thinking about a method that maybe you could employ to see if it might get you moving a little more promptly. I’ve noticed that it really helps me to get going if someone asks me a question. Questions, I can answer. Writing, however, is not possible for me.

So I was imagining that if I could pose a series of questions to myself, and then answer them, I might be able to end up with something that looks sort of like a story (although it would be rather herky-jerky, I think).

Ideally, someone else would ask me the questions, thus liberating whatever I happened to be thinking about. So, to start with, I might ask what I was thinking about. Then I’d ask what brought about that thought? What experiences came around that thought? Etc, etc.

I mean, what makes you believe in yourself? Or not, as the case may be?

In theory, I believe that all writing is practice. So, for example, anything written on fluther is practice. What I’ve discovered, though, is that practice isn’t enough. I’ve got practice out the wazoo. What I need now is an editor. Someone to mine all that practice shit to see if there’s anything worth saving. Normally, a writer has to be their own editor. In fact, I’d venture to say that you can’t really be a writer unless you can edit your own words.

Anyone can throw shit at the wall. It takes some serious discipline to hold your nose and wade into that shit to see what is sticking.
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@gailcalled Another reason why I’m not a writer. But you knew that, already.

Your writing doesn’t improve in any way you can see, unless you go back and read some stuff that you wrote years ago, and see how embarrassing it is. That’s how I can tell I’ve gotten better. =)

Another way I’ve discovered how to improve dialogue is to write interviews. I created a character that owned a time machine and he brought famous people out of the past to be on his talk show. People like Jesus, Hitler, Noah, and G Dubya Bush. I also did interviews of ficitonal characters, like the guy who invented the time machine, and various fake celebrities.

@evelyns_pet_zebra Thats ironic, I have the exact same problem. Dialogue and writing on command have always posed a challenge to me. I have tried studying people’s colloquial ways of speaking and have attempted that in my writing, but I usually never finish stories that involve dialogue created entirely from my mind. Nevertheless its a goal of mine to finish one.
@daloon Great Answer! I especially love your idiom(hopefully that was an idiom) and I think you are absolutely right about the editing part. Yet it doesn’t hurt to have an editor after you have finished editing, they can provide very helpful advice at times. Thats why I prefer editors, not only do they dish out good tips and suggestions they can foster belief in yourself. Something I struggle with and not just in my writing. Usually what makes me believe in myself is…..well I don’t actually know. It really depends on the situation. On the other hand what makes me not believe in myself is when I am unfamiliar with something; whether it be a new formula, literary device, or problem. Although in some cases the opposite is true, but thats usually pretty rare. Anyways thanks for your help and I want to add that your method of questions seems like a good way to go. I might try that out tomorrow when I start writing again. :) So thanks again.
@evelyns_pet_zebra I also want to give you more thanks for sharing your story with interviewing characters. It sounds like a wonderful idea and I think I will try that out when I start writing fiction again. :) Well before I sign off I would like to thank everyone again for contributing to this thread and helping me out. I appreciate it very much.

Everybody needs an editor. Including the editor.

Less is more.

“People I know and even my teachers say I’m an excellent writer, but I feel I’m not living up to my potential and I want to be the best I can be right now. ”

You’re an excellent writer? How many redundancies are there in that sentence?

How many, @frdelrosario?

Expand the truth

“The Elements of Style” should be read by all aspiring writers.

@Ailia Can you remember a time when you believed in yourself? What were you doing?

Conversely, what happens when you are unfamiliar with a thing? Can you provide an example?

Read! The book “Bird by Bird” improved my writing style…

@Ailia I have a question for the question: Why do you want to improve? Just to be a winner in a writing contest? Writers write because that’s what writers do. Winning, earning a living, and such like are a fringe benefit to the craft. The lovely thing about becoming a writer is it only takes a pen and paper (or pc). I believe there is always room for imporvement, but our motivation should be to better express ourselves withing the craft that we may better touch our reader(s).

Love Stephen King’s book: On Writing. Interesting reading and very helpful. Down to earth good stuff.

@valdasta It sounds so simple to say that “writers write.” I’m not sure I agree. In my mind, writers publish. For most people’s purposes, it doesn’t make sense to say that “writers write” because in a literate society, just about everybody writes.

We all run, but we aren’t all runners. Not everyone who swims is a swimmer. Most of us are hacks. Amateurs. Mere activity does not a professional make.

The issue is quality, not activity. You can’t touch readers if you can’t reach them. In order to reach them, someone has to think that what you have to say, or the way you say it is good enough that it can make money for the publisher. The goal of improving writing is the goal of making a living by writing. Or, if you can’t make a living, at least getting published in some way other than self-publishing. Only publication can justify the application of the term “writer.” All else is beside the point.

@frdelrosario Well doesn’t that quote in itself prove my point? I need to work on my writing, no matter what I’ve been told by others. @switchboard What do you mean by that?
@daloon Well one time I can think of right now was when I had a speech competition and I had to say my 3–4 page speech entirely by memory. I was a bit nervous but I knew I could say my speech right and that I had a good chance. Turns out I won the competition. So I guess that is an example. What happens when I am unfamiliar with something? Well sometimes I become choked up if I am reciting something and I am not familiar with it. But it all depends on the situation. Like say this past summer, I had to write a dialectic journal for my english pap class and I had never done one before. The experience was not pleasant, well at least not until the very end when it was finished.
I procrastinated, I became irritated, and generally did not react as I should have. Now that doesn’t happen to me all the time, different situations bring out different reactions in me. But as of late I have begun to heavily procrastinate with things I am unfamiliar with. The journal just totally freaked me out. I really wanted to get in the class with a 100 and make a great first start. I ended up doing that but I think I could have done that without so much procrastinating and anger. I guess my problem is my sometimes perfectionist nature. Thats why being unfamiliar with things is sometimes a problem for me as I doubt myself to the point where I almost can’t function. Its can be very stressful for me in those situations.

@valdasta I want to improve upon everything. I should have worded my question differently. The competition is just one thing I want to better my writing for. I think I need to step-up all aspects of my writing, especially my grammar usage, and dialogue. Oh and by the way, thanks for the book suggestion. I shall try to read it sometime.

@daloon You make a good point…now that I read my answer over again, I am beginning to disagree with myself. Thanks a lot.

@Ailia I am right with you when it comes to desiring improvement. Let me know how you like the book.

@jenandcolin, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird is a very good guide. I love the part about writing what you can see in a one-inch picture frame. I think of it often.

@valdasta I definitely will. But I can’t guarentee that it will be anytime soon. School and extra-curriculars take out a big chunk out of my day, that and the other books I have to read. Which are almost never good, as you have to dissect the book up to the point that your mind refuses to cooperate with you anymore. Well at least thats what it sometimes feels like to me…..:)
@Jeruba Would you care to explain what you meant about the one-inch picture frame example? I don’t know if I’ll have time to read that book anytime soon and I would love to know that part in the book. So would you not mind sharing that piece of the book for me and everyone else who hasn’t read the book?

I don’t want to detract from the value of the author’s work or risk misstating what she said, so I’ll just give a brief summation. Essentially that part is about focus. She says don’t try to write everything you can see in the whole picture all at once. Just imagine that you have a one-inch frame, and write what you can see inside that frame. And then the next one.

@Ailia Show, don’t tell. Hackneyed but apt advice. Don’t tell me you were nervous. Show it. How did you behave? What were the feelings underlying or leading up to nervousness? What behaviors expressed those feelings?

Similarly, what was practice like? Remember it. See it in your head. Describe what you see.

I’m just trying to lead you into a story. Any story. You’ve started one. A story about how you learned to give a speech, or write a dialectic journal. What thoughts go through your head when you procrastinate? What does “freaking out” look like? Where does this need or desire to get 100% in every class come from? See it like a movie in your head, and describe the movie.

How can you show your perfectionistic nature, instead of just saying you’re a perfectionist? What scenes in that interior movie stand out in your mind that help you explain this motivation to be perfect? Actually, you’ve done well on that, already. But you don’t have to label it “perfectionist.” Just keep on showing us, and show us scenes that explain it. Why have you become a perfectionist?

These are not questions for you to answer here. Just examples of the way I think about stories. You always have to ask for the back story. How can you explain a character’s behavior? It doesn’t come from nowhere.

I agree with you, @daloon, to a point. Certainly this is what everybody says, along with “Write what you know”—which if followed would put a damper on all imaginative literature from the Odyssey to Jules Verne and J.K. Rowling. What’s deadlier than a story where the author shows every damn thing? Who needs every cough and twitch dramatized? Show the scenes that are necessary to your story, and summarize what happens in between.

Great fairy tales and folktales that have enchanted listeners for centuries have very few scenes and a lot of summary. Sometimes they have no dialogue and the characters don’t even have names. But they are great stories nonetheless because they captivate the reader or listener and tell what they need to tell to engage the imagination. The key is judgment: knowing what to dramatize and what to skip over with a few words.

@Jeruba I think that’s right. A story is deciding what to show, and how to show it. Connecting material, as necessary, can be in between. But the talent is in selecting the scenes that come together to form a story.

Read “On Writing” by Stephen King. and practice. alot. Id suggest reading an example of writing you dont like, to find what not to do. Like Twilight. /ducks

@MrBr00ks That book sounds good and the reading of something I don’t like, but the thing is Twilight is enjoyable to me so I don’t think I would do that. I can see your point about Twilight but I think your missing the big picture; Twilight is not meant to be some great work of literature its just a great story that merely entertains. Thats why it has such a cult following even though the movies are atrocious pieces of feces.

Ill agree with the movie thing for sure, although if you met me irl, I’d never admit to seeing it myself.

@MrBr00ks I know it was pretty horrible. I kind of feel embarrassed everytime I mention I’ve seen the movie and then say I am a fan of the books. Even though I make it clear I have no affection for the movie. Still I feel like people think I have no taste because of the negative connotations surrounding it nowadays. Stupid teenagers…..

lol that’s funny.