I was talking recently with a fairly young writer- and, side note; when did I become one of the adults? This is weird- and as writers do, she started telling me about the series she’s working on. The worldbuilding is wonderfully detailed; the characters numerous and vividly drawn; the actual story a little disjointed, exactly what I’d expect from a smart but young person, and certainly better than I could do at that point in my life.

If I’m going to be one of the adults in the room- a scary thought no matter who you are- I should probably act like it. Part of encouraging creative conservatives/libertarians/people who just want to make things without politics, is, encouraging young and beginning creatives from those walks of life. Nudging them in the right direction without shutting down their enthusiasm. Helping them learn what works and what doesn’t without tromping all over their beloved universe or boring them out of their minds.

Most people, young and old, don’t want to sit down with a gigantic tome that needs analyzing or study a ‘how to write’ book; they want the learning process to be interesting and engaging. Specific requirements TBD by the individual. I mean, we’re all here, reading blog posts about writing, so there must be some merit to the medium.

So, how to make the learning process fun? Not just for young people; us old fogeys tend to stagnate as time goes on if we don’t have ways of keeping or re-discovering the magic of story.

I learned how to write from a combination of reading original fiction, reading and writing fanfiction, tidbits culled from TV Tropes, and a large dash of winging it. It was a lot of fun, and while I’m sure it left gaps in my writerly education, I can fake it reasonably well.

Reading original fiction is pretty self-explanatory. It gives you a good grounding in what the reader expects, the language and rhythm of the genre, the call-backs and references to other stories that are part of the lexicon. I’d encourage even non-Christian writers to read the Bible for the same reason; so many of the story pieces that are part and parcel of Western culture have biblical origins, and make much more sense if you know the background.

I’ve already praised fanfiction in other posts, but to recap: Reading it with an analytical mindset can help you develop your sense of what ‘works’- what draws the reader in- and what is off-putting, because you can compare the fanfic to other fanfics and to the original work, which you presumably enjoyed. It’s also free, a huge bonus if you’re an obligate reader like me- and this was in the days before KU. Writing it helps develop the habit of putting words on the page instead of keeping them stuck in your head, and can be useful for figuring out where gaps exist in the original story and how to fill them- a good skill for anyone trying to edit their own work. The drawbacks of fanfiction and many and varied, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend a literary diet of only fanfiction, but it’s good training wheels for a beginner.

TV Tropes is weirdly useful because it takes all of your instincts about a story- the things you know without knowing you know them- and puts them into words. Everyone knows that Naked People are Funny and Good is Not Nice, but seeing it in black and white helps categorize different plot, character, and worldbuilding elements in your mind, and see how to subvert them. And there are loads of examples. On the other hand, TV Tropes contributors are adults writing for other adults- I think I was in my early twenties when I discovered the place- so it’s probably not the kind of thing to hand over to a young teen with no supervision.

And of course, there’s my usual standby- winging it. Throw words on the page, read everything that comes your way, listen to the advice people give you, then ignore about half of it because it’s stupid or inapplicable to your situation, and keep writing. Make it fun whenever you can.

How did you learn to write? What weird and strange methods do you use to spark interest and keep the learning process interesting?