User blog comment:Noodleoftheatom/Wolfcreek/@comment-26475800-20190424004912

From the first thing that I've ever written to where I am now, I've never paid for any writing classes. I have fallen out of writing for a couple years, had some hard times, but now I'm starting to write again. I'm rusty for sure, but I've also been working more on nonfiction than fiction. Just finished editing a book I finished in the past few months, at least the first time of editing.

But, the best things that you can do is read a lot. Read everything that you can get your hands on. Don't know how old you are, or how often you read, but there are a lot of genres besides horror that are really fun and can help you with aspects that horror alone normally doesn't focus on. Read a romance to get an idea of how to write about love, horror doesn't go into that too much, but if you can have a subplot about a love story, that may make your story a little stronger. You can learn how to write those things via different stories. Personally I like to read a lot of sci-fi, horror, mystery, and non-fiction.

Write as much as you can. Most people have a cell phone, and most people text, so brush up on your grammar while you text. Many of the writers that come to this site, myself included, don't always have the best grammar. So, if you start using proper grammar when you text, it will get you into the habit of using punctuation as it should be used. Anything and everything that you write should be practice, and you can find that it will become natural for you. When I first started here, I was having a lot of problems with certain grammar issues, not it's not as bad.

Also, look at all the stories that you consume. No matter if it is written or visual, look at how the story flows. It will allow you to pick up an idea of how a story should flow. This is another problem that people tend to have. Get a good idea of how the story has its ups and downs.

Take the time to figure out how you would describe things. Look at a picture and figure out how to tell exactly what the picture looks like so anyone reading could tell see it. Does it have any brush strokes, or is it a photograph? What's in the background? Also, figure out how to explain emotions (that is something that I have a problem with, and tend to use the same feelings over and over again, just using different words on how to explain what it feels like).

Also, write dialogue in a realistic way. Think about how you, or people you know, would say something. Try and get into the mind of the character you're writing about, and say those things like that character would.

Those are the most common issues I see with stories that people who are just starting to write struggle with. Not that I'd say I'm a great writer, but I do think that I'm fairly decent. I know there are always ways that I can get better, and that is something that I constantly work on. But those are the best ways to learn how to write. Oh, and also take advantage of the WW or any of your friends who know how to write looking over your work before you publish it. Really listen to what they say, and don't just fight it but also take their advice into consideration, and learn from it.