Writing as a hobby, where do you learn the basics and go further?
Sorry if I use the wrong terms or make a wrong assumption. I consider myself a beginner, and I know that I still have to learn a lot in the field.
I write as a hobby. I do it when I have the time, after work or during free weeks. Even though it is amateur stories, I try to do everything the right way. That means I try to follow the precepts I see from experienced writers, read about writing (here, on blogs, reddit...) and try to always improve myself. Finally, when I think my story is good enough (let's be honest, it is not), I post it somewhere to eventually receive feedbacks from kind readers.
But here is the problem: I never learned the basics of writing.
It strucked me the first time I heard about first drafts. At the time, I had to search what people meant when they used this vocabulary, and even today, I am not 100% certain of what is is... Now that I know it is one of the most basic thing about writing, I am wondering if I am not missing something else that could drastically improve my writing.
It is not that I have no notions, but rather that I do not know what I do not know. For example, I don't have a methodology when writing. I basically just think of a story layout in my head, begin writing, and make modification on the starting idea as I advance, perhaps with some editting in-between. In this particuliar case, I feel like I am missing the opportunity to use a common methodology that I have never heard of, and that would make my life so much simpler.
And this also apply to the more advanced concepts.
If I do a lot of research, there will be a point where I will be relatively certain to know the basics, mostly because they are all over the internet. But it's a complete different matter if I want to become more professional, and pass the stage of beginner. This is where it becomes extremely hard to find new information. Where can I learn about the methodology of storymaking and worldbuilding? Where can I learn to develop memorable characters? Or how can I even know what to search for? There is plenty to learn about building a scenery in a novel, yet so little information out there.
With a bit effort, I can find paid courses that threat that sort of things, but I am not willing to spend so much money for my hobby. And, while it might be okay to remain clueless when publishing my writing online, it is a 100% chance of failure faced with an editor.
Therefore my question is: where can I learn about the basics of writing ? And where can I learn more advanced concepts and techniques ?
TL;DR: What's in bold.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/40423. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
There is no special secret technique to writing. No methodologies that you must follow. No "right way". The best ways to learn about writing are reading and writing.
When you read, you are exposed both to ideas, and to how those ideas are expressed. Take note of how things are done, try to understand what the author achieves. This can refer to how characters are introduced, how a scene is set, how an event is foreshadowed, etc.
When you write, read what you've written, see what doesn't work, change it until it does. When you're not sure what exactly isn't working, or how to repair it, ask a friend, or a writing group, or this Stack Exchange. Anyone who reads, not necessarily someone who writes, can help you spot a problem.
If you look through the questions here, you will notice that many are answered not by "you should do X" but by "author A did X in a similar situation, author B did Y, author C did Z. X, Y and Z appear to have N in common." Which goes back to reading. Similarly, when people talk of structures, like the Three Acts model, or about tropes, those are extrapolated from writings - they are not rules that someone set in stone. The "rules" are descriptive rather than prescriptive. It can be helpful to be aware of them, but you don't have to formally learn.
Two sources I find helpful, though again, not strictly necessary, are TV Tropes and The History of Middle Earth. TV tropes is a source on common tropes, with examples of their utilisation in stories (written, filmed, etc.). Having read a book, you can look at it through the TV Tropes prism, break it into components, understand a bit better how it all comes together. As for The History of Middle Earth, it is a discovery writer's journey towards a masterpiece. The early drafts, the ideas that got scrapped - it's all there. Which helps understand the process, a bit, but mostly, for me, it's just really encouraging - you can see how the first drafts are rather meh, but at the end there's one of the greatest masterpieces of literature.
As for the process, "think of a story, begin writing, and make modifications" is pretty much what all of us do. Some of us put more effort into the "think of a story" part, with full detailed outlines. Others just have a beginning and proceed to discover where it leads them. Everyone edits and makes modifications. Some do things in a particular order that works for them, but might not work for you. Writing is not a violin, where you must first learn to hold the bow. You already know the "hold a bow" part - combining words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs. Now go ahead, make music, and learn to make better music as you go.
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