Writing cannot be taught

Not unlike that akin to the skills of art or music.

Writing is not something to listen to tips and replicate on a stage.

In music you can play a perfect mozart and be praised for one's skill on piano.

In art one could replicate the mona lisa and be praised for one's attention to detail and respect of the original.

In storytelling if you tell the same story it is always a negative thing. Do a story and it is constantly under the scrutancy of being the same plot as another. Tropes are examined and harshly critisized. Overusing a theme calls back to the author's influence in a negative light.

"They tried to copy tolkien. This is just this story. They are doing the same thing this author did."

How does one stand out?

Writing cannot be taught. Like the talents of art and music one can create unique works easy enough.

However writing is more than literacy and putting pen to page. Or in our modern age the key to word.

One has to be able to paint with their words and be able to hear the sounds of a scene without being able to hear.

A wicked wind whistling wistfully through the tree lines. The breaking of branch and bramble as the battering of wind bashes brutally again in a torrental barrage.

Crack! Snap!

An avalanche of sound as the forest tree is felled by the mountain's powerful breathe.

The wind, eager for further destruction rushes through the valley.

And to two little girls huttled in a small cabin. A fire dimly lit. A blanket the only remaining protection between them and the door being pounded on.

The beating of the door frightened the sisters as they shivered against the cold.

The attacker relented for the briefest of moments only to howl agressivly. Shutter and door shook on their hinges and locks. Shivering the sisters huddled once more. Trying to be smaller in that small room. That dimly lit fire warming them with a crackle through the night.

Eventually the winds stopped and the storm passed. The morning would give way to a rainbow. The warmth of a cloudless sky combining with the wettness of a day after heavy rains.

A new sound echoed through the valley. The laughter of two little girls. The echo went all the way up to the mountain face and the mountain mimicked their giggles and cries of joy as they played.

And dancing. Oh how they danced as if the storm last night couldnt have possibly frightened them.

And as pen leaves paper I give you the practical tips I learned over the years.

Find what works for you.

I study youtube videos on writing. I find actual college seminars or classes. Free if possible. Brandon sanderson has a whole class free online on youtube.

Get inspired. Read your favorite author. Dont be afraid to imitate them and make part of their writing style your own. Flatter that imitation.

I like to find podcasts discussing my favorite authors like sanderson, tolkien, gaimen.

I listen to mythology and how to critically analyze stories.

I make thousands of notes of things I want to add.

Your ways will be different. What works for some might not work for you. Try different things. Keep what you like.

If you can manage it. Write daily. Never slow down. Take time for friends and family but make a manageable goal to do. If you only have 30 minutes. Write about last night's thunderstorm. Write about the morning that you see. Write about things you experience. And have fun.

Thank you for reading.