Thread: Where can I learn more about becoming a better writer?

I enjoy writing, but I feel my writing is pretty simplistic. I'd really like to learn how to be a better writer, in general.
Can anyone suggest some specific courses?
I guess the main reasons are to improve my vocabulary, grammar, etc. and it also seems as though educated writers are chosen above amateurs, from what I've seen. This is certainly understandable, but a bit frustrating, too. I see singers and actors writing childrens' books and they seem to get published with no problem. Some of their writing isn't even that good, I feel. Anyway....

Just wondering if anyone can suggest some specific course or courses so I can get my foot in the door. I especially would like to write for children; both the very young, through the teen years.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions and help!

Probably a majority of 'educated writers' are self educated, one way or another. You are in a good place, right here in these forums, to further your writing education.

Do you really mean your writing is 'simplistic', or do you mean 'simple'? There is a world of difference. Simple writing using everyday words and straightforward grammatical constructions has been the hallmark of many great writers. In fiction you have Ernest Hemmingway, in poetry Robert Frost, both exploring profound ideas in what at first may appear to be shallow writing.

Don't be misled by books bearing the names of famous people. If the writing is bad they probably wrote it themselves and the book was published just because of their name. If the writing is good they probably employed a ghost. That's true not just for children's books but for autobiographies and inspirational books by politicians, televangelists, and those same singers and actors you talk about.

Best thing is for you to post a sample of your writing here and let those among us who've had a line or two published take a look and give you some feedback. We don't know your strengths and weaknesses, and we can only learn of them by seeing something you write.

Along with that go through the Writing 101 board. That's a good online writing course and it's available for free right here.

Where can I learn more about becoming a better writer?

As garza said, here is a good place

Workshops are good to get third party feedback, but I believe a lot of the learning will come from yourself, spending time writing and reading. Lots and lots of time. It's not a bad idea to thoroughly immerse yourself in your preferred genre so you get an idea of what's out there, what you're up against.

Stephen King said writers often have an epiphanous moment where they're reading something and say, "I can do better than this! And this was published!" Admittedly, if you've read Twilight, this moment isn't hard to come by.

Actually, the very best thing to do, if you desire strongly to become a writer, or a better writer, is to enjoy reading and read as much as you can. A class will teach you little except how to suck up to a teacher; everyone I've ever known who took college courses in writing has dissuaded me from entertaining ideas of same, and I believed them.

A book on "how to write" is dry instruction, and really only benefits the person who wrote it, and that is only if people decide to waste their money on it. Critique and commentary on famous published works is much more helpful. One book, for example, that helped turn my head around about writing was Vladimir Nabokov's Lectures on Literature. I highly recommend it. There are other similar works in a range as broad as your reading tastes.

Submitting your un-trialed, unpublished works to a group of strangers on the internet contains the great possibility that you will be led far astray--contributing to someone else's financial security and/or reputation instead of your own--or have your hopes dashed in a rather cruel manner, as is typical in an internet setting. Some people on the interweb do take their chosen roles as "trolls", "flamers", and "stalkers" even more seriously than you suppose, so exercise caution and don't expose yourself too much if you decide to go that route.

If you enjoy reading, then half the battle is won. To read works that you enjoy by authors you admire will teach you more than any class or "how-to". In the same vein, there's no dishonor in imitating a writer you admire, especially if you are not already published. Who's gonna care? It's only outright plagiarism that will get you in dutch; at worst, your imitation of another writer will only invite ridicule, but that's only if you go showing it to people.

Good luck!

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Yours in Chaos....

Taking any kind of advice from "strangers on the internet contains the great possibility that you will be led far astray" -- including advice on writing courses, writing instruction books and posting your work on line. Take it all with a grain of salt and look into it for yourself before dismissing anything.

When it comes to posting work specifically, I've looked at most of the writing sites out there -- joined a few and posted work many times. And I was active here in the workshop for a number of years. I've seen very little flaming, trolling or cruel hope-dashing -- especially here at WF, where it isn't tolertated. And I can't imagine how posting your work contributes to someone else's financial security and/or reputation. The advice is hit or miss, of course -- but in my experience, a good deal of it was helpful.

I can not remember which of Charles Dickens books he occurs in, but there is a character who is teaching himself to read, when asked why he does not let someone else teach him he replies "Ah! But they might teach me wrong". There is much that can be learned from others. Scarlet mentioned reading, I would agree, but with a proviso, simply reading for pleasure will help you appreciate the way language flows, but notice when you misunderstand or have to read back over a sentence to get it, then try and rephrase it so that there is no possibility of error, good writing is clarity and instant understanding. As Joseph says you must decide for yourself about advice given on the net, but I have not found that decision making difficult on the whole.

A very belated and big THANK YOU for all the wonderful advice. I'm overwhelmed by all the great suggestions and will take them to heart. Thanks again!

Originally Posted by Scarlett_156

Actually, the very best thing to do, if you desire strongly to become a writer, or a better writer, is to enjoy reading and read as much as you can. A class will teach you little except how to suck up to a teacher; everyone I've ever known who took college courses in writing has dissuaded me from entertaining ideas of same, and I believed them.

Quoted for truth. I have never taken a creative writing course in my life. Just about all I know about writing is the result of countless hours spent with my nose buried in Neil Gaiman, Gene Wolfe, or GRR Martin. If you want to write good stuff, read good stuff first. Certainly, a result of this will be that your works will mimic what you read, but if you keep that fact in mind, you can keep it mostly original.

I do know people who have gotten positive results out of writing course, however; I am not one of them, and in fact, I would wager that most of the people on this site are not.