When I started writing, I set out on my own. I had to learn so many of those tough lessons for myself. Nearly every writer can say that they've learned one lesson or another through the school of hard knocks.

But there were things I wish people had told me, things that need not be learned alone, but passed on from other writers.

Here is some well-picked wisdom from your fellow writers:



`jade-pandora said:
"I've hardly ever looked back, wishing I knew something at the time I began my writing in earnest. When I do reminesce, it's usually about my lack of formal training. Yet with each passing year I marvel at what I learn and how I evolve in the natural progression in whatever style I'm into or exploring at the time.

"I'm more glad than not that I started as a clueless novice because it's what I was, and it's what allowed me to go head-long into my earliest works with a dare-devil naivete (is there such a thing?). I didn't know if what I wrote was supposed to be done that way or if what I wrote was worth writing about. Not much has changed for me when it comes to that."

~summernightangel said:
"Someone should have told me a heck of a lot sooner that trying to write an epic based on how thrilling the climax was doesn't work when the rest of it is sooo boring you can't even finish writing it...The key to good fiction is keeping it fun to write. If you're not having fun writing it, no one will possibly think reading it is fun."

*twilight-apple said:
"I wish I knew how scary editing was going to be in terms of pushing yourself to edit something, because when it comes to editing my own stuff, I'm somehow intimidated by what I've got written down and i end up avoiding it."

*ThornyEnglishRose said:
"I wish I had known what writing in earnest would involve. I always knew I wanted to write, but I didn't know much about creative writing classes; I didn't know about all the rules and criticism, and how the writing process and the whole feel of it would change. Taking classes and getting feedback and developing one's writing are all great things, but I do miss the days when it was simpler. I made the most of those times, and I wouldn't have wanted to know then how it was going to change. But at the point when I decided I was going to write really seriously, I wish I'd known that it wasn't going to be the same anymore, and I would never love writing in quite the same way that I did as a child."

^LadyLincoln said:
"The the very best wisdom or advice I can offer to someone starting out is to just keep on writing. There is no such thing as perfection, but there is always room for improvement. The more a person writes the more they learn what techniques will work best for them."

`BerylAlexandros said:
"I wish I'd known not to censor myself. When I was younger my mom always insisted on reading everything that I wrote, and I didn't really know how to tell her she couldn't, so I'd just avoid writing anything that would get weird comments from her. As a result I basically wrote a bunch of stuff that was not anywhere close to what I wanted it to be. Eventually I got better at standing up for myself and I wouldn't let my mom read stuff, and I stopped censoring myself, and my writing improved dramatically. It wasn't an immediate change, of course, but writing more freely allowed my writing to grow."

=apocathary said:
"The one thing I wish I'd known when I started out writing would have been that we can sketch out ideas just like other artists can. I had it in my head for the longest time that every word that I typed out was set in stone. Now I know that sketching out ideas, whether said sketching is in my head or on the paper, constitutes some of the most fun I can have in the process of writing. And it really helps to improve your idea when you can endlessly refine it and change it without the restriction of it being thought of as the best you can possibly do."

*xiooua said:
"I wish I had known to think outside of the box with my writing, and to avoid being too literal. I wish I had understood that it's okay if a person didn't understand your piece completely, it's what they took from it that really mattered. I spent too much time trying to write in a way that would appeal to everyone, or in a way that everyone would understand. Simply put, I was being too literal and it made for watered down poetry. There were no clever metaphors, no direction, no color, and no imagery. A special person opened my eyes to the fact that writing is what you make it, and what people take from it isn't up to you. So I stopped being so literal, and it helped me develop immensely. This person is a direct influence on my style today."

`fllnthblnk said:
"I wish I had known the importance of reading poetry when I had started writing poems! All I did was read my own poetry, sometimes a friend's or a classmate's, but I never read anything from established poets. You learn a lot from reading and if I had understood the importance of that, I would probably have come a lot further in my writing a lot sooner."

`GaioumonBatou said:
"I still feel like I'm starting out writing a lot of the time, so I just wish I had spent more time reading before I ever attempted writing. I find I learn much more about my own writing through reading other works.

"Also, don't be afraid to take critique. Every time someone tells me that something I've written needs work, I feel like I've walked away with something, to the point where I feel I've learned a lot just from other people telling me what they think my strengths and weaknesses are as a writer."

`WineWriter said:
"I wish I had tried to stay away from cliches and focused more on imagery. When I first began writing, I didn't linger on scenes and try to give them colors, scents, or textures. I went as fast as I could through each one, adding as many cliched situations at possible. Then again, we all have to get past the first stage to get to the next one. I'm glad I had that practice."

=Negated said:
"That you can never truly write what is not yourself."

`PunknEra said:
"I wish I'd known how many career opportunities there are out there for writers. I always loved writing, but thought it would be as fleeting a career path as being a singer or an athlete. If I'd realized early enough how career oriented writing can be, I would have just gone straight to university for English and saved myself some time and strain. Really, I should have known, it's common sense: editing, publishing, technical writing, marketing, copy editing, even freelance. There are so many options!"

^lovetodeviate said:
"I wish I had known I wasn't born to be the greatest. Sadly, when you begin writing in school, you are led to believe (by your teachers, peers and various nondescript contest juries) that you are going to be rich and famous because your writing is spectacular. I don't want to discredit all high-school-level contests -- they definitely encourage young people to write. But this shouldn't make you think you're special as it is. You have to work on your raw talent, search for critique, good books, and preferably someone who will tell you how bad your writing is and how good it will be... if you put in the work."

~Amimone said:
"I wish someone told me that there were so many writing resources in a thingy I would know in a few years called the Internet Also, that if you write everyday, you will write faster and higher will be the chances of finding some gems amidst your writing."

=Iscariot-Priest said:
"I'd say the thing I regret not knowing earlier was to take better care of my earlier work.

"It's good to know where we came from--often there's an old story/character/poem we have that can be redone much better with our newly improved skills.

"But since I didn't know that earlier, most of my older work is gone--books thrown, computer files deleted :/
So yeah, don't be ashamed of your early stuff, sure the execution is most likely crap, but the idea behind it might be gold.

"And if you look back and it's the same as what you have now, you growth has gone terribly wrong somewhere along the line."

`Flutterings said:
"I wish I'd known what I do now; that the sincerity of the piece matters more than the rhyme (for me). So many people avoid poetry because its hard. Write free form! Write a stream of consciousness, write a love note, but write it how it REALLY is, not what you think people want to hear. People all feel the same on basic levels, so if you lie about how you feel, who would relate to it?"

*bowen13
"Look kid, you ain't the best writer in the world. Hell, you ain't even that good yet. But if you frickin' follow the advice those before have given you, you might just do something worth remembering."

^StJoan said:
"Half the fun is learning as you go and discovering it all."

What have I learned?

Writers are nice people. If you want help from a more experienced writer, more often than not, they will be happy to help.

Stay tuned for follow up articles in which a few of these lessons are discussed more intricately.