Advice on starting out?

[T.Allen.Smith]

But always, always... this is important... always remember that fun is for wimps.

If the writer isn't having fun, the reader won't either.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Arguable, as I was having fun, but apparently as the reader you weren't, heh heh. I would say the writer's experience has nothing to do with that of the reader's. Many writers (including comedic writers) torture themselves with their writing.

Personally I enjoy writing, editing, rewriting, and don't consider it "work". The seeking publication side is another story, LOL.

If the writer isn't having fun, the reader won't either.

 

[skip.knox]

Writing is work for me as well. Fun is something like playing with my dogs, or traveling to a new place. Writing is a craft that requires attention, perseverance and care--words I don't normally associate with fun. There is, as with any other craft, a sense of satisfaction with the completed work (though rarely an uncritical sense), I wouldn't call that fun either.

I know other writers do say they have fun writing. That they love it, that they enjoy a kind of bliss. Good on them, says I. To quote the sage Anonymous, it doesn't take all kinds--we just have all kinds.

 

[Steerpike]

Maybe instead of fun, it should be phrased as some kind of passion. If the writer isn't emotionally engaged with the work in some manner, it is unlikely the reader will be. Note, that doesn't mean that just because the writer IS engaged the reader automatically will be, but without it I doubt the reader will be. It is necessary but not sufficient.

 

[Zeppo]

This was a great little piece of advise. To kind of take it on a tangent, I'm building a fantasy world, what are your thoughts on writing short stories, and using those stories within a home made fantasy world that will encompass all of the stories that I write?

 

[Svrtnsse]

This was a great little piece of advise. To kind of take it on a tangent, I'm building a fantasy world, what are your thoughts on writing short stories, and using those stories within a home made fantasy world that will encompass all of the stories that I write?

This is very close to how I originally got into writing fiction in the first place. I started out creating a world to use for PnP RolePlaying games, and the idea of writing short stories to show off different aspects of the world in practice came up. It was a great way to both get familiar with the world, and to get some practice writing.

Six years later I'm still writing stories in the same setting.