As I began preparing for college, writing essays and filling out the Common App and the like, I started to think about my future, and what I wanted to do with it. Inevitably, almost every profession I could see myself as required some form of writing. Whether I'd be writing out medical journals as an MD, or typing up articles as a strength and conditioning coach, I'm going to need some skills with the pen (or in this age, the keyboard) if I want to succeed the way I'd like to.

So far, the best advice I've gotten is to just start writing more, which is why I'll continue with my fanfic (yes it's not dead... if anyone cares...) as soon as my college applications are all in.

Does anyone, especially the more prolific authors here, have any advice for us young up-and-coming writers?

 

I won't pretend to be "prolific" however, I do advise this:

*Be aware of the words you use. Always select the word with the most exact meaning to what you are saying. You can't cut it (writing in any manner, be it nonfiction or fiction) with "good" or "right" (or even swell) anymore. Be aware that just about half the words you know are "abstract" and require exact definitions or clarifications.

*Be aware that you can always shorten something. Aim for sentences void of useless words or phrases. Stay short. I find it especially good to wait a week before proofing something you've written. That way you can step back and come back later, seeing words and phrases that are not essential to putting your point across.

*Write. Even if what you're writing sucks, just write something. Writing is just like learning to draw; it must be done everyday. Try writing something other than fanfiction; develop your own characters – if only for a day. It helps. Be stubborn.

*Write down something that inspires you. A conversation... or some thought you've just had. I do that a lot. Try to capture feelings you have. Writing's like catching smoke with your hands... or holding onto a fist full of sand. You need to save as much as you can before it leaves you.

*Take creative writing classes... they help quite a bit. No class is ever the same.

*Be aware of what you're writing about. I like writing whatever comes to me... but it's easy to lose focus if you don't have a main idea, this goes for fiction as much as essay writing.

*Read. It's mostly essential. I find myself uninspired unless I read something every so often. Expose yourself to ridiculous ideas while you're at it.

*Learning another language, for me personally, has made me more cognizant of what I write in English. It'd probably be a good idea to read something in another language (if you know one, if you don't by now... shame on you). You can borrow phrases and meanings from that language to improve your English. For instance, Kage in Japanese, commonly rendered as Shadow in English, actually has a second meaning – "the reflection of the innerself" – a bhuddist idea, I believe. The explanation of the second meaning really made me think. "Tsuki no Kage, Kage no Umi" (The Moon's Shadow, The Sea of Shadow) actually has two meanings, it's physical meaning (sea of shadow, moon's shadow) and a poetic meaning – that truth is not absolute or even tangible; it is like the wavering reflection of the moon upon a body of water. What we see upon the water is only false image of an ideal; we will never physically reach the moon, but we will still be reminded by its fleeting presence.

The explanation is actually a little more complicated than that, but I'd have to look at my notes... anyway; it was really interesting and made me appreciate the symbolism ocean/moon/night/shadow. Learning to use symbols is rather important, too. Even if you're just going to write fanfiction; it adds something. I don't know, but it does. Themes are an important and often overlooked part of writing (at least among fanfiction writers).

TL;DR, don't worry about learning to write better in time for college. You'll get there.

 

Here: http://orwell.ru/library/others/style/index.htm

I have read through this many times (The print version.). Internalizing what it has to offer has helped me beyond words.

It offers rules, guidelines, and is full of the "hows" and "whys" of English writing.

 

I've got a fer pieces of advice (assuming I'm "prolific") they are as follows.

#1 Write, even if it is utter crap. Periodically re-read what you've written and ask "what could I have done better?" Though it was a lot of fun at the time, I deleted my first story, despise "HP & the Freak Parade", and see so much rewriting that needs to be done in the others.

#2 Go to college, drink and procrastinate. When you suddenly realize "Holy shit, I need to have that term paper done by 9am and it's already midnight!" that is when you discover exactly where your limits are.

#3 Eschew Obfuscation. (aka, be clear and concise, convey as much as you can in as little as you can)

#4 Develop a healthy vocabulary, study at least one other language. The one thing I absolutely hate when I'm reading is to see the same phrases over and over. While "trademark" phrases are acceptable one must be careful not to become cliche even when being original. Having more words and languages to draw from can help prevent this. Phrases like "je nes sais quoi" and "joi de vivre", while not English, bring a certain something to the party. They're readily understood by most but give the impression that you are worldly. Phrases like "Je suis le bombe, frappe moi don la tete!" are more likely to cause people to wonder just what the hell is wrong with you.

#5 Once a day/week/month/year, do something that scares the shit out of you. New experiences stimulate the mind and provoke the muse.

#6 Learn to research. I dont mean learn how to google, I mean balls to the wall "Can I find someone to translate this Czech journal article?" research. Become one with technical journals focusing on psychology, sociology, and anthropology. If you can understand WHY people do things it becomes easier to write about them. Whether you are writing fiction or fact a good writer can dissect a person's emotions and motives. This leads into #7...

#7 Become an observer. People watching will provide you with an infinite amount of material. The greatest novels of all time call forth the human experience and lay it bare. For those real life situations, it becomes easier to detect lies if you can see the subtle tells that betray even the best.

#8 Screw specialization. Become a generalist. If you know something about everything you can write about anything. If you specialize, sure you may become the master of your field but who will read your writings except other specialists? Can you tell me who wrote the article last month on the effects of ultraviolet light on clinically depressed patients? No one else can either, but they know who Robert Ludlum and John Grisham are.

 

It largely depends on what you're writing. If it's a medical journal keep the language concise and on topic, don't ramble, don't use fancy words just because you can; keep it short, simple and to the point.

For essays and the likes try to keep it simple but you can afford to flower it out a bit, because essays depend more on the context and atmosphere built up in the text than the actual content.

For stories and fanfiction there are almost no rules in regards to the language you can use, just as long as you keep the grammar up to an acceptable standard and don't use the wrong word at a critical time. Poetry is a good example of this, you have little leeway in the structure of the poem (i.e. the formation of the chapter) but you can reach out into branches on language that you'd normally never use (i.e. the way you build up tension in critical chapters or the use of different writing styles to emphasise certain emotions).

tl;dr - Formal writing - simple, concise, meaningful. Essays - To the point but with a little more fanciful to please the eye. Stories/fics - Flowery as you like, just keep the spelling/grammar up to par.

I'd write more on this but it's nearly 4am here and I'm tired.

Aekiel

 

One thing I've learned is know your audience. Aka, who are you writing to? A professor? A medical specialist? Someone with an extensive background in the military? DLP?

Trust me on this, you don't want to write the wrong thing for the wrong person. I nearly failed a class that way.

Also, choose your words carefully, you want to catch your reader's eye. The best way to do this is to ask yourself - "would I be interested in reading this?"

 

Very true.

The fastest way I believe, however, is to pick something that's interesting to you and describe it without mentioning its name. Don't describe the obvious, and make sure no one reading your paper can easily guess what it is you're writing about. Do this a couple times a week, but really work on it. Make it a couple pages long. I recommend handwriting it.

The goal is to capture emotion and depth, something beyond facts and directly observable dimensions.

And don't forget: It's not what you say that counts the most - it's what you leave out.

 

Someone here has already linked to The Elements of Style, but it has my recommendation as well.

I think there was a thread on this a couple years ago. Does anyone know where it ended up?

 

Don't comma splice, that equals Fail.

madeyemoody

 

I find writing informally helps me a lot, because it doesn't require translating it into something formal. You can just think, and write it down as it comes.

Its something that irritates me about a lot of books and such. Everything is so perfect and correct. No one talks with perfect grammar, and I can say for almost certain that no one thinks that way either.

Eh... my minor addition is done now.

 

Just remember that when you're selectively abusing grammar to create a dialect, you need to make it consistent.

 

Damn, thanks for all of the advice. I'll start reading The Elements of Style as soon as my quarterly papers are done.

 

One piece of advice, and the most important. Practice.

I'll say it again in case you missed it. Practice.

Third time for good measure. Practice.

Practice.

You won't get better at writing unless you write, so do it whenever you can. I personally keep a notebook and my favorite pencil with me at all times.

 

Anthropomorphise your drive and ability to write as your muse. Your attractive, female muse. It helps.

 

*seconds Tehan's suggestion*

Like the others have said though, practice is pretty much the key. Even if you write a paragraph a night, you'll find by the end of the week you're writing more because your mind gets snagged on an idea and you want to continue it.

I always found it useful to write something, then leave it a week or more before coming back to it. Leave it two months, and you'll be reading it from a more objective viewpoint because you can't remember half of what you've written. That's especially useful with anything that requires some kind of plot or thread tying it altogether (essays, fanfic) because you can spot where it doesn't add up. Similar to how if you draw something, then come back to it the following morning you'll notice how you've got the proportions wrong, or the angle of the light or something.

Oh...and buy yourself a nice, heavy thesaurus

 

I'll add to that statement; buy a dictionary, too. The thesaurus may list the word as a synonym, but make damn sure the definition of the word fits the situation before you type it in.

That said, the others have pretty much captured my sentiments entirely. Practice, practice, and practice some more. After a suitable amount of time has passed, look back at your work and fix any errors you find.

 

In addition to a thesaurus, exercise your memory. When you think of a word, how many synonyms for that word do you know? Antonyms? Not only does it keep you from reusing words, but it will also broaden your vocabulary without constantly needing to reach for help.