1. Imagination 2. Determination 3. A second source of income. =P ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And for your second question: 1. "Always feel good about yourself." Erm, sorry, that's retarded. But so is always feeling bad, so change it to: "Always be realistic." 2. "Don't talk back." Synonyms: Don't question things. Don't learn. Don't grow. 3. "Reward kids for being disruptive." While this may seem to conflict my earlier statement, there is a very large line between learning new things, and being an irresponsible butthead. Watch yourself. It may be a big line, but pretty much everyone already has the running start to cross it.
don't know that any of those are 'skills' ivan... but for sure, they're all needed, regardless of what they are... i'd have to say, if you want 'skills' only, they should be: 1. writing 2. editing 3. selling/promoting to distill it down further, 1. should include: 1. grammar 2. vocabulary 3. reading as for 'writing advice' i abhor: 1. 'don't worry about grammar/spelling/punctuation, just write down whatever comes out' ...why should be obvious... a marketable writer should be able to write well, period, from the get-go... and should thus have those skills available for use on an ongoing basis, not just to pull out and apply after the fact...
1. Passion 2. Imagination 3. Self respect ---- 1. "Give them what they want." Ahem, no. Write for yourself and do what you will with what you write. 2. "Have a plan." The way I see it, just stay free. Let your words plan themselves. 3. "Respect your elders." Okay, I agree to this at some point, but respect should be shared. It shouldn't be demanded. Give and receive.
When it is limited to "skills" that removes some things a writer should have, such as imagination. 1. Command of the English Language--or the language of choice (including grammar) 2. Ability tell a story (kind of like someone who can tell a good joke...the exact same words can be there, but if the timing is off or improper inflections or facial expressions are used, the joke doesn't work. Same for a story, timing, ability to build suspense, things like that) 3. The ability to connect and promote, whether through a cover letter, face-to-face, or anywhere in between. Terry
When you're starting out, you can often feel like you're working in a vacuum. Are you doing it right? How do you do this, or convince the reader of that? If you're in a critique group, you have to wait until you've completed a draft of your story before you submit it for feedback, and writers' groups aren't really the place for in-depth learning. If you feel you need more guidance while you're learning how to write fiction, consider taking a course, attending a workshop, or working with a tutor or writing coach. Finding a course that's right for you Don't know of any fiction writing courses in your area? The Internet has shrunk the world; type "creative writing courses" into an Internet search engine, and you'll be amazed at how many choices you suddenly have. Everyone from colleges to organizations to qualified (and not-so-qualified) individuals are offering some form of distance education -- courses delivered via snail mail, email, or through a web site. Colleges often offer continuing education courses in creative writing; to find out if you're lucky enough to live near one that does, check the web site or catalogue of your local college. The hard part isn't finding a course, but determining whether a course is suitable for you. Also look at what type of writing the instructor does -- journalism, business or technical writing? How much do you think they'll know about fiction? If they write literary fiction, consider how they would view a sample of your writing if you write genre or niche fiction (romance, science fiction, children's, etc.). It's likely that they won't know the nuances of your particular genre, and they might even consider non-literary work inferior. A biased instructor will not benefit you.
Lately, I've been thinking, how do you actually know when to stop trying to learn more about writing, and when are you're at the peak of your writing skills. I'm only young so I know I've got much more to learn about writing, but I was just wondering if anyone thinks there is only so much skill you can learn or if you can always improve. Also, do you think you've reached your peak at writing? How long has it taken for you to reach the writing level you are at? EvilFairy xxx
The day you believe there is nothing more you can learn about writing is the day you should quit writing.
I agree with Cogito. Also, the other day I saw a story I wrote about three years ago, when I was thirteen: It was, as people say, cliche-ridden, and badly written. These two past years in the forums have helped me greatly.
I am a firm believer, that with anything, the more you learn the less you know. Never let yourself think you've learned all there is to learn. Your skills will only 'peak' if you let them, if you stop trying to improve. Otherwise it will be a continuous incline of betterment until the day you die. There is no such thing as knowing everything. But just because you don't know all there is to know is no reason to not start. No way am I as good as I could be at writing and I may never be, I don't practice near enough. I've been writing creatively since elementary school, though never seriously.
Even the most veteran writers can grow. Think of it like martial arts, it's a life long journey. When martial artists get their black belt thats considered 'just the beginning'.
Like most things, the more you do, the better you get. I'm 31 and only really started writing creatively 2 years ago. I have developed loads since then and hope I will continue to do so. I wish I'd started earlier though!
At the end of his life Nietzsche exploded into a raving lunatic and quoted bible passages and wrote strange letters to his friends on his deathbed. I think everyone reaches their peak right just before that happens.
I figure I'll hit my peak when I'm dead. Of course, not knowing what lies beyond the veil, I could be mistaken.
Like any other art, there is always room for improvement. As Cogito said, if you think you've reached your peak, it's time to stop writing and move on to something else.
I think everyone's comments are very interesting, and I must say, likewise, I think there's always room for improvement =] Though sometimes I get frustrated if a piece of writing is bad, and sometimes feel as though I'm not a good writer. It seems its something you can develop, with enough commitment, even a beginner can become an expert.
They key words here are patience and determination. Also, the word time is heavily linked with these two.
How do you know when you've reached the peak of your writing skills? I don't think you ever really do. Doesn't everybody doubt?
Who cares if you are at your peak? If you've not reached it yet, you need to keep working to maintain the improvement. If you've passed it then you need to keep working to slow the decline. Either way, keep working at it!
i'm 71 and, although i've been writing better than most since high school and have been writing at what you may consider a 'peak' [it's more like a plateau for me] if that means with 'perfected' skills, since my late 50s, there's always something new to add and i'll never just consider myself 'done'...
How can you reach the peak of writing? That's like saying you've learned all there is to learn about culture. You can't know everything about culture because by the time you've said it out loud, half of your knowledge is obsolete. It's a constant learning exercise.
Hey all, When I was younger, like I'll say 15 or so I started writing. I was fairly good at it and it wasn't hard for me to come up with good dialog and such. I got away from it for several years and now I find that no matter what I try to write it just doesn't sound right. It can be the dialog not sounding real, or the scene not progressing right, or the actions not wanting to flow the way I want them too. I have to date tried to get back into writing about 4 or 5 times and I can never get past the first page because it just drives me insane that it sounds so bad. Has anyone else has this issue? If so, how do you get past it? Thanks!
It may be that you've simply become more discerning over the years, and what seemed like it was really good at 15 (and what you remember as being really good) doesn't seem as good now, even if the quality of your writing hasn't actually changed or has even improved. Just a thought. I recommend getting active in the review forums. Once you start critiquing and critically analyzing the writing of others, you'll see things in your own writing that can be improved, and you'll become a better writer for it.
