After another few months dry, I again feel the need to write. It's been almost been two years since I first registered here. People come and go but I feel reassured that I seem many familiar faces. Anyway, I apologise for the absence of a particular question but I just want some provocation to write. I won't reiterate the cliche of wanting to write but not having ideas, but I am indeed stuck. I'm a teenager, and a lot of what I write seems to be disorgainsied frustrated rants. Despite all my time writing (attempting) I see no improvement. I'm not sure if it's the weight of modesty but I feel as though I lack the capacity to critique what others write. Anyway, rambling again. Bit late for this, me thinks.
Keep going Adam!
It can be disheartening sometimes, but its very rewarding once you start to see improvement in your work. As Adrian said, keep reading and keep being curious about a wide range of books across all subject matters.
And keep asking questions! There are a lot of very supportive people on this site, so I'm sure any questions you have, or any worries, can be worked out here by a smart bunch of people
Hi Adam,
I just registered here and yours was the first question I saw. I am not a teenager and nor am I a writer (I am only a person who writes). When I was younger, like you, I used to write a lot. Being a teenager in my point of view is the best for writing because you have all these questions but have no answers. And in this quest for answers, where you go through every thought you have looking for clarity, lies the best writing you could ever hope for.
What I used to do was write my thoughts instead of just thinking them. Like Etta before me said, just write. There is no need for themes or goals in writing, you just need to let your hand be the vehicle driven by your mind and your thoughts.
Let us know how you are doing there and the best of luck.
What works for me is just sitting down with a blank piece of paper (hard copy or on your computer - I prefer on a computer) and just writing - anything. Absolutely anything that comes to your head - it could be total nonsense, just go for it... no one has to read it, ever.
Don't be self conscious about it, just write - don't start pondering about what happens next or how a sentence sounds. If a story starts to emerge, just keep going. Don't worry about grammar or spelling, just keep writing.
If you're really struggling, just pick an object that you have to write about - I'm sitting by the sea at the moment, so if you'd like an idea, you could write about the life of a seagull... or a fish... or a wave...
Personally I find it really liberating and fun. If you think you have the decent skeleton of a story at the end of it, then you can do something about all the grammar etc that needs tidying up. If you don't like the story so much, or what you've written, at least you've let your imagination out of it's box and given it a good run in the wild! That can't be bad in itself... !! :)