Hi! This thread is for people who want to take their writing seriously and grow.

I stumble on a number of things on the web-- advice for young writers from masters in the Art.

Whether it's a download link or a snippet of an article, I'll try to keep this updated as I go.


For today here's Teju Cole's epistle (in 8 letters) for young writers in PDF format. It's about 40 pages long and shouldn't take you longer than an hour (slow readers) to go through. It's also free.
I hope you learn a thing or two from it.

Happy reading

Title: Eight Letters to a Young Writer

https://wordsfollowme.files./2010/10/teju-cole-eight-letters-to-a-young-writer2.pdf

Cool.... Following.

Quietly following...

Patiently following.

Very good and timeless. Following...

Let me add this link to that.

http://fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment.tumblr.com/post/43702374352/dfdwritingworkshop-writers-club-ultimate

I have found this link immensely useful

Something extra

https://www.nairaland.com/1231678/10-tips-how-write-lot

Only if someone would follow this...

This one is beautiful and good advice

How to Write a Poem

Learn to curse in three languages. When midday
yawns stack high and your eyelids flutter, fire up

the chain saw; there’s always something to dismember.
Make it new. Fear no bridges. Accelerate through

curves, and look twice before leaping over fires,
much less into them. Read bones, read leaves, read

the dust on shelves and commit to memory a thousand
discarded lines. Next, torch them. Take more than you

need, buy books, scratch notes in the dirt and watch
them scatter down nameless alleys at the evening’s first

gusts. Gather words and courtesies. Guard them carefully.
Play with others, observe birds, insects and neighbors,

but covet your minutes alone and handle with bare hands
only those snakes you know. Mourn the kindling you create

and toast each new moon as if it might be the last one
to tug your personal tides. When driving, sing with the radio.

Always. Turn around instead of right. Deny ambition.
Remember the freckles on your first love’s left breast.

There are no one-way streets. Appreciate the fragrance
of fresh dog poo while scraping it from the boot’s sole.

Steal, don’t borrow. Murder your darlings and don’t get
caught. Know nothing, but know it well. Speak softly

and thank the grocery store clerk for wishing you
a nice day even if she didn’t mean it. Then mow the grass,

grill vegetables, eat, laugh, wash dishes, talk, bathe,
kiss loved ones, sleep, dream, wake. Do it all again.

Source:
http://robertokaji.com/2016/03/13/how-to-write-a-poem/

Those interested in a creative writing workshop by Farafina books.
Adichie will be there

https://farafinabooks./2016/04/08/2016-farafina-trust-creative-writing-workshop/

Nice one!!!

I love this piece and yes, im writting my story soon.

Thumbs upup ujsizzle

all des hungry people callin demselves writers

I'm an old writer

Guys I have a writing problem.
Whenever I am writing a piece and I need directions, sometimes I check novels of famous writers and I see how amazing their work is.....my 15weeks old novel immediately becomes bullshit to me; I feel like my use of vocabulary isn't good enough,my formally awesome story becomes nonsense....i quit instantly....

This has happened more than 15times guys what do i do?

Babysho:
Guys I have a writing problem.
Whenever I am writing a piece and I need directions, sometimes I check novels of famous writers and I see how amazing their work is.....my 15weeks old novel immediately becomes bullshit to me; I feel like my use of vocabulary isn't good enough,my formally awesome story becomes nonsense....i quit instantly....

This has happened more than 15times guys what do i do?

Look, if you continue to compare the works of veteran literary titans to a neophyte writer like yourself, you'll merely continue the cycle of starting and quitting.

You need to brush your own skills by learning a thing or two from those whose writing styles you admire, however, don't compare with yourself with anyone else.

If grammar is rubbish, read and master it. Every writer has gone through this phase you are talking about. In the midst of those so-called rubbish are some hidden gems. Writing better also has a lot to do with writing more. Above all try to be original in your writing as it ensures confidence.

I still wonder why people will spend a lot of time to write very excellent novels and works of fiction ( stories) , then put it in the public domain like nairaland, when they could have published it and made money from it.

I have read so many excellent stories here, and I can now understand why most creative people are not rich, they just have no business smarts.

If you have a very good write-up, novel, etc any genre, as long as it's interesting, and you want to publish it, And make steady money from it. Just send your manuscript to me, my publishing outfit will handle the rest, and within ten days, you will start making money. But make sure the manuscript you will send is not in the public domain, there are anti plagiarism softwares that will make sure of that, once it's in the public domain, it cannot be published as a book anymore.

Stop writing for free. Make money from your writing.

Timely. I need this

Beautiful. Thanks, UjSizzle. This will help a lot.

OneManLegion:


Look, if you continue to compare the works of veteran literary titans to a neophyte writer like yourself, you'll merely continue the cycle starting and quitting.

You need to brush your own skills by learning a thing or two from those whose writing styles you admire, however, don't compare with yourself with anyone else.

Thank You but it's not easy for me to learn from them(looking for key points from novels) without seeing all my work as rubbish.

young writers lol

alpontif:
I still wonder why people will spend a lot of time to write very excellent novels and works of fiction ( stories) , then put it in the public domain like nairaland, when they could have published it and made money from it.

I have read so many excellent stories here, and I can now understand why most creative people are not rich, they just have no business smarts.

If you have a very good write-up, novel, etc any genre, as long as it's interesting, and you want to publish it, And make steady money from it. Just send your manuscript to me, my publishing outfit will handle the rest, and within ten days, you will start making money. But make sure the manuscript you will send is not in the public domain, there are anti plagiarism softwares that will make sure of that, once it's in the public domain, it cannot be published as a book anymore.

Stop writing for free. Make money from your writing.

great but how can I reach out to you

Download a copy of Stephen King's
"On Writing: A memoir of the craft"

Promise it will be time we'll spent.

Babysho:
Guys I have a writing problem.
Whenever I am writing a piece and I need directions, sometimes I check novels of famous writers and I see how amazing their work is.....my 15weeks old novel immediately becomes bullshit to me; I feel like my use of vocabulary isn't good enough,my formally awesome story becomes nonsense....i quit instantly....

This has happened more than 15times guys what do i do?

Comparison never helps.
Here's something I've learned over time:

When you read a good book, ask yourself why you think the book is good. If you can answer that question then you don't just view writing as Art, you also approach it from a scientific POV.
Then ask yourself what you can do better than that writer.
It's worthy of note that there is no original story... really there isn't. There's only your own way of telling it.

You can start with short stories instead of novels.
Take a shot at it. Post online and let people critique your style.
Play with other styles... approach a story from different POVs and please do not stop writing until you're done writing. Self-doubt will never allow you complete anything because you think you're not good enough.
YOU ARE good enough, but like those writers you consider great, you have to write a lot and let your story find your voice


Stop trying too hard and just go with the flow.
Best of luck.

Thank you Ujsizzle. This is awesome.

Ezemann:
great but how can I reach out to you

artizanni@gmail.com

Babysho:



Thank You but it's not easy for me to learn from them(looking for key points from novels) without seeing all my work as rubbish.

In that case, I should remind you that you're a work in progress, while they're finished projects.

You have rooms for improvements, lots of them.

Make use of them.

misspicy:
cc Dragonreborn stop hiding

Ok, I should drop my own advise bah? Smoke weed, thank me now