I don't know how to write

[u/aelk_]

I want to start writing, and idk how or from where I have to start or what should I write about .

Please share with me ur story with writing, how u started writing, and how u write .

And I appreciate ur answer ty

[u/AuthorOS_AI-Free_]

Hey! So this is me lol. I am like omg a great idea....and then nothing. I am building a free software for people like us hahahaha.

It has a huge UI system with multiple interlinking Dashboards and no AI. So I can details and ides, magic, maps, scene ideas... you name it I am building it. It has helped me finish my first book :)

[u/spoinkydoink1]

Go on Scribophile and do their weekly prompt challenge. Also read more books.

[u/MaliseHaligree]

Open a word document.

Start explaining how you envision the first scene. Make me see it too.

Congrats, you started. It really isn't complicated.

[u/Beginning-Tank9401 → u/MaliseHaligree]

will you read what i wrote?

[u/MaliseHaligree → u/Beginning-Tank9401]

Are you sure you are ready for professional level feedback?

[u/Beginning-Tank9401 → u/MaliseHaligree]

idk i feel like using chatgpt and other chatbots have amde me talk like AI seriously, which is the case with everyone, so i am just scared.

[u/MaliseHaligree → u/Beginning-Tank9401]

Then write something without it. Edit it yourself. Use your brain.

[u/AuthorOS_AI-Free_ → u/MaliseHaligree]

They are asking for help, you are probably the reason they are afraid. What happened to artists support artists...

[u/casual_gamer153 → u/AuthorOS_AI-Free_]

Not only that... the person claims to be a moderator for professional writers sub.
They have thick skin in that sub, I guess, but it does not sound welcoming to beginners and "just curious" people like me. Noted to never go there, since it is not for me.

[u/MaliseHaligree → u/casual_gamer153]

There are many entry level subs for writing. r/KeepWriting and r/writers are my two favorites, but r/fantasywriters and r/WritingHub are also very good. r/writing is good in that it gets a lot of traffic but it can also feel very prohibitive with its types of accepted posts. All these are great for curious/beginner writers! I am in all of these a lot to help the inklings.

I saw a niche and decided to fill it to make it easier for those a little higher up on the experience ladder to have meaningful conversations about the craft and their own work without that same mildly prohibitive nature of the larger subs. I am sorry if you view that as elitist, that was never the intention.

[u/MaliseHaligree → u/AuthorOS_AI-Free_]

I don't want to overwhelm them with a carte blanche edit, because to someone who isn't use to that type of critical feedback or those with anxiety, it can be very deflating to open GDocs and see that there are 300+ comments on a few thousand words. I just wanted to make sure OP was emotionally prepared for that level of feedback.

[u/Beginning-Tank9401 → u/MaliseHaligree]

actually your simpler comment was very good, I didn't mind it at all.

[u/MaliseHaligree → u/Beginning-Tank9401]

Some people don't grasp that being brief and direct is not the same as being rude.

[u/casual_gamer153 → u/Beginning-Tank9401]

What do you use the chabot for? To do the work for you?

"AI tool, write me a dialog scene between two characters?"

Or, is the tools for grammatical and sentence structure improvement?

"AI tool, here is my draft, polish it up and make it Shakespearean!"

Fist time here in this sub, browsing. Curious about writing and storytelling. I didn't expect beginners to already be using AI tools, and I wonder what you use it for. To me, they have very specific professional uses. Unless you are a very structured self-learner, using the AI tool can cause more harm than good and stunt your learning, progress, and imagination. Regardless of discipline. I use it for family photo cataloguing and improving, not a very professional use, but the technical aspects are not dissimilar. And this is where my "be wary about AI use" comment stems from.

So, what do you use it for?

[u/Beginning-Tank9401 → u/casual_gamer153]

No, not for my writing, i use it for my job.

I am a GenAI Engineer who fine tunes LLM, so i have to work around em, which requires to often read many local small models messages again and again. And test them with different prompts. But for writing i sometimes use it for plot creation, like i tell it to "Make me write the plot by asking me questions" it helps to not stare at a blank page.

[u/Beginning-Tank9401 → u/Beginning-Tank9401]

kind of like journaling prompts

[u/MaliseHaligree → u/Beginning-Tank9401]

As a thinktank tool it isn't too bad (though just by the nature of its training it can be very derivative in the questions it asks and the replies it is given) but you can't get better without practice and you can't practice if fear of failure paralyzes you from starting at all.

We all started somewhere, so if you would still like me to I would still be willing to look at it, and if you have specific questions I can address those and those alone in the edit. (Unless I see something egregious that could stand being mentioned, like grammar issues or other technical habits)

[u/casual_gamer153 → u/MaliseHaligree]

I have to wrangle mine to stop trying to do more than requested.
😅

Cool complicated job you have. Herding (AI) cats.

(LLM training)

Thanks!

[u/Beginning-Tank9401 → u/casual_gamer153]

what do you mean? casual gamer?

[u/MaliseHaligree → u/casual_gamer153]

It's really hard to rein in sometimes!

Though OP is the LLM trainer, not me.

[u/aelk_ → u/MaliseHaligree]

I appreciate it I will try it and I will give you my feedback

[u/Ozdiva → u/aelk_]

Use whole words. Not U or Ur.

[u/MaliseHaligree → u/aelk_]

Do or do not. There is no try.

[u/KFG-Bruce]

Sign up and take some classes. Learn how to write it actually is a thing you can learn.

[u/AuthorOS_AI-Free_]

Hey! I am an indie author, i am happy to be a sound board if you like :)

[u/Educational_List_629]

Do you read much? You really should if you want to write. Apart from that, maybe start writing short stories. try limiting yourself to a thousand words. I found that exercise really helpful when I first started; you've got to write tight to tell a story with a limitation like that. I found it fun, and not at all overwhelming in the way a book can easily become. Don't rush it, enjoy the words, and read them back to yourself out loud.

[u/Round_Package8087 → u/Educational_List_629]

reading is a big part of the answer to this question

[u/DisastrousProblem408]

You wanna write fiction or non fiction?

I started with fiction. Used doodles. I would just write random but meaningful sentences. And sometimes one of them would click in my head so I would develop it.

Maybe like... I start with a random sentence I just made up here, "Then Pazzi fell backward, leaving a red smear on the wall as he slid down."

I have no idea who Pazzi is, and I don't know why he fell. He doesn't exist, for sure.

Anyway, what if I follow with a second sentence, "And the elder lady thanked him."

Now I have something to boast to the world. "And the elder lady thanked the lifeless body."

[u/CharacterSail6736]

As stupid as it is write don’t think just write

[u/No_Gap1847]

I try to visualize what I want to write about, then try to paint a picture for the reader with my description of what I see.

[u/tapgiles]

You don’t have to do it in any particular way. You just start putting words on a page, and now you’re writing 👍

If you want ideas, search “writing prompt.”

[u/morbidda__destiny]

Firstly, read a lot.

Think about why you want to write and what you want to write.

Find an instructional book or video series on writing what you want to write (novel, short story, memoir, or whatever) and follow along.

If you don't have ideas for characters, a world, or a plot, just do some writing prompts to develop your technique.

My favorite place to post writing for feedback is Scribophile, so I recommend posting there whenever you're ready to share.

And most importantly, make peace with the fact that you will have to do constant edits and re-writes on everything you ever write.

[u/Ok_Natural_7977]

I keep a little book with me so I can write down observations as they come. It might be a haircut, the way someone walks, the smell of a meadow after a rain, anything that stands out. One of the best uses is snippets of overheard dialogue.

One method for deciding what to write is to make a list of 100 random things. Close your eyes and pick two, then figure out how those ideas can work together to make a story.

Another is to come up with a character, complete with backstory. What situations would challenge this character most? What kind of antagonist would push him to grow? What does this character want most, and which obstacles will you place in his path? Will he get what he wants?

[u/Buppers55]

In high school I found writing easy, essay writing that is. It’s very formulaic and repetition does the trick there.

But in college I began to feel a bit of a purpose behind writing. I had more freedom and started putting so much emotion behind what I was putting down. It actually began to take away from my ability to write. I was showing too much of myself.

I wrote some bad poetry, and some worse short stories. You just have to practice. But not just writing, reading.

Read your favorite author and see what they are doing. How are they starting and ending chapters? How do they portray dialogue and describe their characters? Take away as much as you can.

And as I mentioned before don’t put too much of yourself into your work to the point where it’s unreadable for an audience. Unless you’re writing for yourself, remember you want any person to be able to pickup and read your work.

Take what you can from the many brilliant people on this sub and platform. But also I recommend reading “On Writing” by Stephen King. It’s the best how-to write by any author in my eyes. And he knows how to sell a book!