How did you learn to write well?

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jamespoet
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Re: How did you learn to write well?

Post by jamespoet »

The basis for my writing came from reading and writing a lot. Then as time wore on and my English teachers began taking notice of my talent and my passion, they began hammering in the basic grammar rules extra hard, and guiding me towards specific books which to read and glean good skills based on the type of stuff I like to write.
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H0LD0Nthere
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Post by H0LD0Nthere »

By reading all the time, and then when I was a teenager, writing piles and piles of crap.
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Post by kismoody »

I learned by mimicking other people's writing styles (not plagiarizing, I didn't actually use their words). It's an on-going process still, though.
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jamespoet
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Post by jamespoet »

kismoody wrote:I learned by mimicking other people's writing styles (not plagiarizing, I didn't actually use their words). It's an on-going process still, though.
Even when you get better and better with practice, you can't help but mimick those you read and/or admire from time to time. For instance, I was getting on a Charles Bukowski kick for a couple months, and during those months everything I wrote came out with a lot of similar, Bukowkian phraseology. It usually takes to to be able to work through that, and even then it's still a challange. But a good and healthy challange.
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hopeingod
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Post by hopeingod »

Writing started for me when I was a young boy. I wrote quite a bit as a fourth and fifth grader, much of which was kept by my teacher to use as examples for future students.

As a reporter, I learned to find the mountain in a molehill, to make non-issues sound important and controversial. It also kept me on the track of providing a catch phrase at the start, something to draw in the reader. Movies are produced like that as well, I've noticed.

As for changing sentence structure by shifting phrases from the beginning of the sentence the end, and visa versa, that developed early on, in school. English was always one of my strong subjects. How I hated the sciences and advanced math!
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Post by H0LD0Nthere »

@ hopeingod ... "Find the mountain in a molehill ... make non-issues sound important ..." :-D Never thought I'd hear a reporter fess up to that!
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Post by moderntimes »

Well, thus far nobody's said that I've learned to write well, even after all these years! ha ha

I did however learn to write if not well, then suitably, in college lit classes (yes you can learn something if your prof is a good one!) and also working on a small underground newsletter that I wrote and handed out free (this was the 60s after all). Later I worked as a stringer for the AP and for a couple of major newspapers, and briefly was a reporter (cub, read: cheap labor) till I moved away. I also worked for a small slick local magazine and for a couple of local weeklies.

Renting yourself out for local small papers for very low wages is an excellent way to increase your skill as a writer. Nothing stimulates the creativity gene like having to make deadline, and nothing is a better incentive than seeing your name in print.

I have always written fiction, too, and had a few short stories published here and there, plus sold a few articles to major magazines occasionally. Never enough to support myself, but even a few bucks, a check saying "Pay to the order of..." is an ego boost.

And now I mostly focus on my mystery novels, 2 published, the 3rd of the series now in progress. I can really see how much better the 2nd novel is than the 1st. And having learned by doing, hopefully the 3rd will be even better.
"Ineluctable modality of the visible..."
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Post by DiDi »

Hello Terri2,

I have been writing for as long as I can remember. It began when I was a child and would write in my purple, fuzzy, Power Puff Girl diary. I remember writing about my time in school, the boys I had a crush on, or the daily girl drama. As I grew older, I kept a journal with all of my thoughts written down, that way I could release the the ideas that, I felt, other people would think were crazy. Of course, as many college students do, I had to write my fair share of formal research and analytical papers. I ended up writing and preparing for a few collegiate debates in my time, and never lost one match up. Now, as a graduate with a "job", I am in search of a writing outlet, a way in which I can let my true thoughts on various topics out. All in all, I learned how to write well through various experiences throughout my life. I never gave up on it and quite frankly, I am still learning and am perfecting my craft of writing.

Thank you,

DiDi
WriterBLAlley
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Post by WriterBLAlley »

By writing, and receiving feedback.

I struggled at times with my first novel, and once I started my second I could already see a huge improvement in my writing.

Practice makes (insert any positive word other than perfect here)
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Post by thsavage2 »

I learned how to write a coherent, well-structured expository essay in high school English. I had one of the best English teachers ever, and her class was the place I learned to write an analytical essay that was worth something. That said, my writing has improved a lot throughout college as well. At least in my case, it seems that the more I write, the better I get. And as mentioned above by several others, reading a lot (and reading widely) is always good. I had an English prof who, after we'd read something, would ask, "What can we steal from this writer?" He was asking about what sorts of techniques and sentences and rhetoric worked particularly well, and then encouraged us to emulate those, which I think is great advice.
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Post by Vimtuous »

I think all writers are still learning and working at perfecting their art. I've learned mostly through practice both in school and in my free time. My langauge/Grammar skills have been most improved through school(and I would certainly hope so considering it's what my degree is in). My story telling skills though, I've mostly developed through writing on my own.
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Post by SidnayC »

Definitely through reading... I took my own creativity and different writing styles that I loved from inspirational fiction and non-fiction books to create my own personalized writing style. I still have much to learn before I am on the level of some of the greats but I know one day I will get there :D
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you - Maya Angelou
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manoj01
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Post by manoj01 »

I LEARN MY SELF 8)
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Reshmi
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Post by Reshmi »

Reading a lot helps
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shurbooks_com
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Post by shurbooks_com »

1st by reading - you come up with loads of vocabulary

2nd by listening - specially to another authors/publishers best and non-sellers ;)

3rd by writting as a beast. Practice is the only technique!
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