Read Lovely Books
There’s one kind of literature that‘ll teach more than any other
But there’s one specific type of writing you should pay more attention to if you want
I came across it back in 2016 after I alienated all my friends by coercing them into reading
Scribophile is one of many platforms on the internet built by writers for writers to share work
You have to give before you can take, meaning you’ll have to review others’ work before
Critiquing recently published work earns you more karma than critiquing older pieces; the longer your review is,
So I cracked my knuckles and got ready for some serious critiquing
Who the hell did I think I was? I wrote a book without any knowledge whatsoever, which
I stopped working on my novel and spent hours marvelling at some of the worst writing I
And depending on what you are looking for, more suitable to your needs
Inkitt, how should I describe this platform… hmm, let’s see, FREAKING AMAZING
On Inkitt, you can read entire unpublished novels for freeeeeeeee! Crazy right? Not only that, but you
You can even enter contests and see how your novel would perform in a real-world environment
It works much like Scribophile, but the developers haven’t gone on a zen retreat to the
The drawback of TNBW is that you have to pay for a membership
The good thing is that you start up with enough points to get a review straight away
) As I suggest in this article, you get more in return by reviewing others’ work than you
In a world dried of criticism, any of these platforms is like an oasis in a desert
Mysteriously, this online anarchy movement has sprouted a very active writing community
There’s a weekly thread for submitting and reviewing manuscripts and sharing writing advice
No matter how terrible the writing was, the feedback was consistently honest, rich in advice and never
And I only wished my mentors had been that soft with me during my first years as
Even without interacting, lurking in anonymity, I learned three important things:
— How my friends felt when I cornered them by stuffing my book into their Facebook chats
When you spend time analysing work that needs improvement (work that isn’t yours), it becomes easier
Why are you looking at me that way? Haven’t you named your I
It’s hard to analyse what makes great writing great, especially if you’re a new writer
But figuring out what’s not working in others’ work is as easy as eating ice cream
I cannot begin to describe how valuable these tools are for new and experienced writers to help
I bet this is a feeling Medium’ editors and curators feel all the time
Have you ever considered what a love affair between Hermione and Chewbacca would look like?
All you have to take away from this is this: bad writing helps you write better