Want To Become A Writer? Start Here.

Kate Sullivan

Aug 16, 20235 min read

If you're reading this, odds are you have been leaning into your creative side and thinking about becoming a writer. Whether you want to dabble or dive straight into the deep end of creative writing and storytelling, this is a good place for you to start.

If you've been wanting to become a writer, but don't yet consider yourself one, you most likely fall into one of two camps:

Camp One- either you have a story you want to tell, but aren't sure how to tell it or aren't confident in your writing skills, or maybe you simply haven't begun and don't really know why.

Camp Two- you love reading and enjoy writing for school or social media posts, and you just don't know what to write about when it comes to starting your own creative writing endeavor.

Regardless of which camp you're in, or what genres or lengths of writing you're interested in, two of the most important elements of creative writing, and the educational resources you should seek, are The Story and The Style. Don't get obsessed over figuring out writing schedules or which apps and planners to use. Everyone's Writing Process will look different, just like everyone's Stories and Writing Styles. Each of us will have different resources that suit us and our writing best, and we'll have different goals and timelines, too. Keep that in mind; there's no one-size-fits-all for creative writing!

The REAL key to becoming a writer?

Start Writing.

Keep Writing.

Start Editing and Evolving.

Then Write some more.

Congratulations, you're now a writer!! Seriously. How "good" or "successful" of a writer you consider yourself to be is up for debate, but if you write- you're a writer. It's not some far-off dream, it's already come true. Now it's just a matter of getting better and better. Adopt this mindset that you already ARE a writer. You already ARE creative and capable of storytelling and writing those stories down. You'd be surprised how much this small change in perspective can affect your motivation, confidence, and even creativity levels!

Now... if you're in Camp One, you already know WHAT you want to write about, and just aren't sure HOW to go about telling the story, here are some tips and next steps to think about as you take notes on your idea:

~ First of all... take notes on your idea!! This is the first step of Outlining; organizing your thoughts around an idea. The more you write down, the easier it will be to move forward with the story.

~ Decide what kind of work you'd like to try writing with this idea. Do you want to start with a short story or go for a full novel? Maybe split the difference with a novella? Or maybe you'd prefer to stick with poetry? Maybe it's more of a children's book idea? What age range and genre do you think your idea fits in with? The more you compare and categorize your idea through the lens of the publishing industry (even if publication isn't a goal of yours), the easier it will be to define that HOW, and get the story out!

~ Decide what your goal is for this work. Is it just for fun and/or practice? Do you want to get it published one day? Do you intend for anyone to read it, and if so, who? The answers to these questions will help you decide on things like writing style and story details while writing, and help guide your research for educational resources.

~ Break out that old Plot-Line-Roller-Coaster from high school. You know the one; looks like the big hill? Draw this graph out on a sheet of paper and fill in each section with as much information as you can about your story idea (Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Conclusion). You now have a Plot Outline and are ready to move forward to more detailed outlines, such as chapter or scene breakdowns, or start writing your first draft!

If you're in Camp Two, you might benefit from some of these strategies for finding inspiration and sparking a story:

~ Try using story prompts. Whether from a website, prompt book, story cards or dice, or even homework assignment topics you think you could make an interesting story out of. If a certain prompt isn't working for you, try a different one instead of forcing it with a prompt that just isn't sparking your creativity.

~ Write what you know... meaning, take a real memory, person, place, event, emotion, etc., and write a story about that! Whether you write it as a nonfiction piece or change details and take creative liberties to fictionalize it, this strategy of working from your own, lived experiences and knowledge will give you plenty of options for subject matter and stories to tell. Still not sure what to write about? Think about things that draw out a lot of emotion or passion, whether good or bad. If you're really attached to or excited about something, you're more likely to come up with other ideas surrounding it and to work on it more often. Writing about those strong negative emotions and memories can also be extremely therapeutic.

~ Think about what kind of books or movies you enjoy the most, and/or ones you wish someone would make... and write your version of that book! Fanfiction is real writing, too, and can be a great place to start when you aren't sure what stories you want to tell. How would you change and re-tell existing stories?

~ Once you have an idea for a story, follow the same steps as Camp One!

Here are a few more tips to keep in mind and strategies to practice if you're new to the world of creative writing:

~ We usually aren't experts in things when we first start out. We need practice and help and education and coaching and more practice and THEN we become experts. Have patience with yourself and your skills, know that you'll only get better and better the more you write, and HAVE FUN with it, even if you're pushing hard for a goal or deadline.

~ The more you read work from better writers than you, the better writer you'll become. I always suggest reading as much as you can, and while you want to mix it up and intake a variety of genres, the more you read things comparable to what you're writing, the more it'll help with honing your skills with THAT genre.

~ Even though writing is often a very solitary act, it doesn't mean you're alone, or that getting help is cheating. Take a writing class, join a writer's community online or in person, read a few writing or storytelling manuals, research online or at your library for books, blogs, and other tools that will help you improve your writing skills, outlining skills, knowledge of the publishing landscape, or whatever it is about the creative writing world you're looking to learn more about. Follow other writers and bookworms on social media, make friends with other writers, and work together as critique partners. These are all things you could do (some for a cost, some for free) that will greatly help with improving your writing and storytelling skills, and keep you in that creative headspace so you're not waiting around for the motivation to strike!

~ Just write. Whatever you want, for whatever reason you want, whenever and wherever you can, as often as you can. THAT is what makes you a writer.