What are the most fun and relaxing ways to improve as an Author?

[gaylolis]

I'm usually busy with a lot of things. I wanted to use writing as a way to have fun and unwind when I got some free time.

What are your recommended things to expand my craft while chilling around?

 

[georgelee5786]

Writing. Learning through experience. The more you write, the better you become, I've found

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Read

 

[MajorKerina]

Torturing yourself to death over arbitrary milestones and objectives. Only recommended if you’re a masochist.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

I'm usually busy with a lot of things. I wanted to use writing as a way to have fun and unwind when I got some free time.

What are your recommended things to expand my craft while chilling around?

Write at your own pace. While it certainly is slow, you'll still develop your writing skills and get to chill at the same time.

Also, moving from the 'desire' to be popular and focusing on the part where you just want to 'tell' a story can help. Just like when someone in some Filipino creatives group gave me unsolicited advice on how I 'layout' the title on my cover, and how I replied I like what I did and don't give a fuck how my readers think of where I put my title (coz it truly is).

TL;DR, refocusing your goals from simping to others to just getting the job done properly does the trick.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Use condom!

 

[gaylolis]

Use condom!

do you actually put them in your fingers while you write or something? :o

 

[RynnTheTired]

You could try writing flash fiction. Tiny stories are a good way to practice and experiment with various writing techniques without a big investment of time and effort. And they're pretty fun.

 

[Shard]

Read more, and try some short writing based on writing prompts you find interesting. Starting and finishing a dozen short stories does more good IMO than continually writing one, even if that is what I do.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

do you actually put them in your fingers while you write or something? :o

No, you use them as directed so you don't wind up with a mini you who grabs your hand and takes you away from your computer. And don't even think about trying to use a pencil or pen around him! If you are touching it, he wants to jam it in his mouth, even if his mouth is already full of your nipple! He'll try jamming it in his mouth at the same time as your nipple, and you decided to never, ever let that happen again after the first time.

 

[Deleted member 68927]

I'm usually busy with a lot of things. I wanted to use writing as a way to have fun and unwind when I got some free time.

What are your recommended things to expand my craft while chilling around?

I use 4thewords, which is a way to make the experience into a game with sprints in the form of monsters. The events are a very good motivation to churn out as many words as possible. Another thing to do, is to set a quota and time every day to write. My quota is 5k words, but sometimes I write 10k. Last week, I even wrote 15k, but that was because I dropped two projects, before I found a decent enough idea I could stick with. I don't know if I improved a lot, but I think I have the hang of writing cute kids. Fairy tale kids, which are so sugary sweet, that your teeth will rot. Or, as I like to call them: kid aliens.

 

[BearlyAlive]

Drugs

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

Write like you're drunk, edit like you're Hemingway (ie, drunk).

 

[lambenttyto]

What are your recommended things to expand my craft while chilling around?

Read fun stuff. Have fun while you write. If you turn writing into an exercise of "making it good" it will not only most certainly be worse, but you won't be enjoying yourself. Writing stories is intensely psychological. Stories that I've treated like a joke have been my best. They were fun to write, and the carefree creativity of them is far better then when I sit down to tryhard and end up making everything boring.