What’s something you wish you knew when you first started writing?

[Kathleen]

What’s something you wish you knew when you first started writing?

Something I wish I knew when I first started writing was that the more I focus on characters, the easier it is to write an interesting plot.

If I would have known this it would have saved me from a lot of headaches. Whenever I first started writing stories I would get so caught up in how to make the most interesting plot I could with a dramatic opening, surprising plot twists, an epic finale, and at least one scene where a character disguises as another.

It all went fine and dandy until I came to a part of a story where I had no idea what to write next. And because I couldn’t think of something I was satisfied with, I would quit the story and start a new one.

Flash forward many years later I realized the reason why I would always get stuck part ways through my stories was that I focused far too much on the plot. If I focused on characters instead, their desires, motivations, fears, etc., then the plot follows along with it.

When developing characters I come up with so many plot ideas with barely any effort and those plot events are so much more connected and personal to the character which makes them so much more interesting.

So yeah, my piece of advice to my past self would be to not put the cart in front of the horse. In other words, put 95% of your focus on characters.

What about you? What is something you wish you knew when you first started writing?

[Linyang Zhang]

@kathleenramm I wish I knew that typing was more efficient than handwriting.

Thanks to choices my 12 year old self made, I am still handwriting a certain story to this day.

Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days

[R.M. Archer]

@kathleenramm

I wish I’d known how to properly format dialogue and split up paragraphs. Some of my stories, even up until just six or seven years ago (which… actually sounds like a lot longer when I count the years XD), are really difficult to follow (or just plain cringey) because my paragraphs are a disaster and my dialogue is formatted improperly.

Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Singer. Worldbuilding enthusiast.

[Jodi Maile]

@kathleenramm Many, many things. I wish I’d known how to format dialogue properly, I wish I’d known that I didn’t need to follow every single piece of writing advice I’d ever seen to the letter, and most importantly, I wish I’d realized that characters are what make a story interesting. Plot does as well, but it is secondary to the emotional pull and internal conflict of the characters. Plot arises out of the choices of characters, so interesting characters are the place to start, in my opinion. I know maybe not every writer would agree with that statement, but either way, that realization helped me become a better and more confident writer, so I wish I’d known it sooner.

[Libby]

I wish I’d realized the importance of outside feedback… how saving my pride isn’t worthwhile in the end if I care about growing as a writer.

Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo

[Katherine]

@kathleenramm When I first started writing, I wish I had known that it’s okay to make sloppy first drafts. Trying to make my story great the first time slowed me down and often left me discouraged about my writing.

"It looks like a fairy world"~Meg from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Fall in love with Jesus

[Elishavet Elroi]

@kathleenramm

I’m still rather new to this, so I’ll probably be coming up with great answers for this question in about two to three years. 😉

However, I do wish I understood both the importance of developing my characters and not to be afraid to change something even after months of work. Also, just to think through where I want my story to head, and that a theme can inspire a fault and a desire, which can lead to a mentor, who can introduce me to the villain. Basically, to think through every little hint I subconsciously drop.

I can’t explain how excited I was to hear that character-driven tales are actually better than those plot-driven ones. Now, I can hardly wait to see where they will go.

You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan

[Anatra]

@kathleenramm

I wish I knew how to space a story properly back when. Reading back at some old stuff and seeing random bursts of quick action and then time skips, it’s a little frustrating.

Also that my stories don’t have to be a certain length. Oof, I would beat myself up about not having a specific number of words.

[Annabelle]

I wish I’d known how to create more relatable characters that people can actually see in their minds and have unique personalities that make the book more interesting. Some of the stories I wrote when I was younger are kind of just books of facts. For example, “The girl did this. Then she did that. Then she did the other thing.”. That’s kind of how my stories were written back then. They had zero personalities, and they were all the same.

In the words of Jinto Queb, "Hurry, reading is fun!"

[Author]

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