writing flips, tips, and tricks from a published teen

Anya's writing tips 

first and most importantly. 

if you don't want to write, you NEED to write, you are a writer.

proceed.

you might want to know a little about me. if you don't you can skip below, but don't give up on this book! 

my name is Ana, but my nickname is Anya (ahn-yah). when i moved across the country, i often almost slipped into depression. i turned to books for comfort and from there i have went far. I've joined many fandoms, made a few amazing friends, and started writing. i know i say i'm published, but the only thing of mine that has actually been published is a poem. but that doesn't mean I'm a beginner writer! i hope to publish my novel before i go to collage, and my first book on wattpad bloomed into a trilogy. it was a horribly written one, but it was my first story, and i was proud of it. I've come a long ways since that little book, and i hope to share my little wisdom with writers that need it in a non- boring way. 

-Learning to write-

don't give up if you suck at writing at first. all writers do. the two most important thing you can do to help improve are: reading and practicing. 

reading helps you pick up vocabulary words, helps you study writing styles and techniques, and most of all, gives you an experience. getting lost in a book is one of the best feelings in the world. you don't even notice reality vanishing around you, all that matters is the words on the page and what they tell you is happening. 

getting off subject here! anyway, practice. if you re an beginner writer, i suggest using a notepad or writing program with spell check. not having to worry about missing misspelled words can help you focus on the important parts of writing. 

-story ideas-

made you look! no, i'm certainly not going to just give you story ideas, if thats what youre looking here for. 

people that give away story ideas are stupid, and people that take or steal them are disgusting. don't EVER let someone pressure you into giving them your story for their use, and don't EVER steal someone's idea.

ideas are precious, and if you aren't creative to come up with your own, you shouldn't write until you do. don't be selfish: let someone who has a great idea take the spotlight and bloom. (although wattpad is a great place to get beta readers)

-writing tips and common slips-

here are some things that can bug readers, so look out for them when you're writing!

-your and you're 

make sure you don't get them mixed up. your is possessive and you're stands for 'you are'

-u is not a word.

 if you are a text writer you are going no where. plus u is about the most annoying things that can be possibly repeated. 

[u are a writer 

don't u leave without ur umbrella

ur a wizard harry]

annoying, right? 

-make sure you put apostrophies in the right places. 

do'nt | your'e | suzann'es

didn't that look wrong? just watch out for it. 

-"i don't like cheese." she said

"unamerican. go back to canada cheese hater!" he said 

"but they like cheese in canada.." she said

"im getting you deported!" he said 

if you only found one with wrong with that i love you. or pity you, depending on what it was. 

the only thing as infuriating as 'u' in writing is the 'she said he said they said said said'

here is some better options:

said 

asked 

thought aloud 

muttered 

murmured 

replied 

said, [followed by an action]

laughed 

there are so many more, i cant think of them all. but you get the jist, you cant use 'said' the whole story. 

-characters-

the thing i love most about writing! where do i even start? where do you even start when creating a character? well i suppose i'll start there. 

some people you thing you have to start with a name. i don't think so, although names are super important when building a character. 

try this okay? read these slowly:

mary

miranda

suzanne 

tommy 

chase

oliver 

i didn't say one word to what they looked like, but your mind came up with a person to match the names. isnt it amazing? i suppose that's why people say you need a name first, but as long as you have a good character, you don't need to figure that out until later. 

now -this is important- you need to figure out if youre building your story around your character, or your character around your story. think long and hard about that.

now everyone says to write strong characters. strong characters are awesome, but they get boring. 

write a chracter that needs to cry

write a character that struggles with it's insecurities

write a chracter that wants to be needed 

write a character that is desperate for love

write a character that is foolish

write a character that hides the truth

write a character that is shy 

write a character that is witty

write a character that doesnt take shit 

write a chracater that doesnt need a partner 

write a character. 

remember that characters always need reasons. dont let a character get depressed for no reason.  it's okay to bring out former problems for new reactions, but always explain it to the reader. 

also remember this: characters are like geodes. in order to show what theyre made of, you have to break them. 

-publicity- 

this won't take long, since I've never actually published a book, but from i know on wattpad, people overlook storied almost instantly if you don't have a cover. you need something that fits your book, and something where the title can be read easily. you also want to think long and hard about the title, because the cover and the title will be the first two things a reader will look at. 

-being a writer- 

not an easy job. you do a lot more crying, reading, eating, and wanting to write but being to lazy to, than actual writing. its an emotional roller coaster, but its amazing. when you finish a book, its one of the best feelings in the world. if you know exactly what i'm talking about, i hope you realize how lucky you are. 

if you read it all, i thank you so much, and hopes it helped a little, in any way. 

i hope your books may be widely read and you deeply loved for them. :)