How to Kick-Start Your Writer’s Journey the Right Way

It doesn’t matter what you want to do; everything starts with an attempt. As a beginner writer, you might want to put aside all the rules and theoretical aspects of writing because your best work will spring from a source of creativity and passion. These are the things that you have access to all the time.

Many aspiring writers struggle with getting started because they have that nagging thought that tells them that there is no point in laboring away as they see that their chances of getting recognized in the world of published writers and bestsellers are tiny. 

Start from A Place of Passion & Creativity 

Understandably, the publishing world is highly competitive, which is why it is incredibly hard to make a living from writing. Self-publishing might be speedier than traditional publishing, but it is challenging to succeed in this field, too, as most of the work of being recognized and marketing your book lies on your shoulders. 

All of these things can feel worse when you are just starting your writer’s journey, but you must ask yourself this question: Where did this desire come from? What is the story that you have in your mind or that urge to be a writer? 

Let Go of the Need for Validation 

Chances are that you had this desire because you saw a clear route to success. Did you see your book as a business venture, or did the desire to become a writer stem from another place, such as a creative desire to tell stories and share them with the world? If yes, then you have hundreds of more reasons to write besides that, including outside financial gains and validation.

So, if you are not chasing success and your desire for writing comes from a separate space than success where creativity and fun are the roots, then writing is a fun activity and test of your skills. It is incredibly fun to write books that you want to read and that don’t already exist. On that note, even if your story is similar to other stories that have already been published, your story will still be unique because it will come from you. 

Top Beginner Exercises to Get Yourself into the Writer Mode 

If you are a beginner writer, you can indulge in some exercises that can get you from where you are now; maybe you have never gotten into short story writing before or only a little bit – to have started your first story. 

On that note, there are some practical things that you should be wondering about first. Instead of worrying about formatting your writing correctly or making it look nice on the page, you should get the words out first. The same goes for writing size and fonts. Disregard all of these things for now, and don’t let these things slow you down.

Just get a blank page in front of you, and that is all you need. 

Practice Three Minutes of Free Writing

Now that you have your blank page and you know in your mind that you can perfect your writing later, you should indulge in an exercise of free writing that should last at least three minutes. At this point, you might be wondering why we ask you to go for a three-minute writing session first. 

Here is what you should do: set a time for three minutes and write down whatever comes to you for that time. During this exercise, you don’t need to have rules or particular goals. Your writing doesn’t even have to make sense. It can be a story, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be fiction or nonfiction.

It would be completely fine if you jot down your thoughts for that moment. For instance, you might be writing: I don’t know what to write, and so on. And this is fine, too. You cannot go wrong with this exercise. Calm down your thoughts and only focus on writing. 

The reason why you will be doing this exercise is to unlock a bit of creativity and to get into the right mood. 

Practice Writing Dialogues

Now, when it comes to practicing your dialogue writing skills, don’t put yourself under pressure by coming up with Shakespearean dialogues. Keep things simple while you write an interaction between two characters.

To simplify this exercise, you don’t have to think about the characters that you intend to include in your short story. Of course, if you have already worked on your outline and you have a few characters in your mind, then there is nothing wrong with using them – but if not – you can choose from the characters that already exist. 

Choose Characters You Know Well

If you are an aspiring writer, there is a high chance you will be an avid reader, as well. So, you can choose one character from the most recent story or book you read. Choose the second character from your favorite book or story. 

Now, the question is, what will these characters say to each other? You can draw the subject from the character’s memory. If you picked Harry Potter, you could make him talk about Lord Voldemort or Professor Snape. 

The goal here is to practice writing in the different character’s voices and writing things as you think they might say them. 

Manage Your Inner Critic

Another exercise that you must regularly implement, especially when you are at the start of your writing journey, is to silence your inner critic. Your writing will never improve if you don’t learn to manage your inner critic and stop treating yourself badly.

Doubting yourself won’t help. Giving yourself a hard time won’t help either. Piling pressure on yourself is just a sure way to fail. Now, you might want to sit down and start to write the opening paragraph of your short story.

But – while you are at it – the basic goal is to practice supporting yourself. Remember what we said earlier – when you start writing, you shouldn’t focus on the perfect sentences, grammar, vocabulary, etc. As a matter of fact, your writing doesn’t have to be good at all. 

What is more important than what you write is how you speak to yourself while you do it and how your inner monologue sounds.