Well, something I've wanted to do since I was young is be a writer and I think I do have the skills etc. to do it, even at this age. Ofcourse, I don't aim to be a worldwide author of the Garry Potter series by the age of 19 but I was just wondering if anyone had any experiance in any type of writing, such as magazine writing, newspaper writing etc. and if so, how you intially got into it?
Becoming a writer...
- Thread starter Bugz
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Blackjack
Fledgling Freddie
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Bugz said:
Well if you want to write for a newpaper or magazine your best bet is probably getting a degree from a school of journalism. If you want to actually write books/stories etc, just sit down and write something good. Then take it to a publisher to see if it's of any interest to them.. or you can get a manager to help you. You can also write screenplays, it's fun yet challenging. write a spec script and send it around to studios.
I write myself, although it takes a while with school/work/and general lack of interest from time to time
i'll be finishing something i have worked on for years hopefully within a year . For me it started when i was very young and i loved to write the stories you were asked to do for class, so it was just a natural progression over the years going from writing 5-8 pages to writing several hundred pages as the stories got more elaborate.I'm sure someone around here knows more than me on this subject, but i thought i'd post anyway
Thorwyn
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hm..
I`m coming from a different direction (i.e. graphics), but maybe my experiences can be transfered to writing as well.
There are a couple of basics you need to learn. However, they´re usually quite simple. Regardless what "schools" or "people" have to say, any form of art is just one thing: practice. That´s what I did and it got me a pretty nice job in the end. No uni degree, no nothing.
If you have the talent, use it. Write as much as you can and wherever you can. Try different techniques, play around with your skills. Don´t let anyone or anything shape you. If you´re good enough, you´ll succeed and become what you want to be. If not, you´ll realise it soon enough.
I´ve worked with a couple of professional writers in the past and there´s one thing that all of them seem to have in commond: they´re all unable to work under pressure. Now, I know that bein creative is something you can´t just activate. Still, the people I`ve worked with seemed to be sort of digital.. they either had output or not. That´s something you should try to avoid. Even if the results aren´t 100% satisfying, learn to work under pressure. Of course, if you´re aiming for a job as an independant writer, you won´t need that. But 99% of the writers out there aren´t that independant, they´re being hired by companies to write stories and dialogues and that might be your every day job (given that you aim to be a writer for a living).
I`m coming from a different direction (i.e. graphics), but maybe my experiences can be transfered to writing as well.
There are a couple of basics you need to learn. However, they´re usually quite simple. Regardless what "schools" or "people" have to say, any form of art is just one thing: practice. That´s what I did and it got me a pretty nice job in the end. No uni degree, no nothing.
If you have the talent, use it. Write as much as you can and wherever you can. Try different techniques, play around with your skills. Don´t let anyone or anything shape you. If you´re good enough, you´ll succeed and become what you want to be. If not, you´ll realise it soon enough.
I´ve worked with a couple of professional writers in the past and there´s one thing that all of them seem to have in commond: they´re all unable to work under pressure. Now, I know that bein creative is something you can´t just activate. Still, the people I`ve worked with seemed to be sort of digital.. they either had output or not. That´s something you should try to avoid. Even if the results aren´t 100% satisfying, learn to work under pressure. Of course, if you´re aiming for a job as an independant writer, you won´t need that. But 99% of the writers out there aren´t that independant, they´re being hired by companies to write stories and dialogues and that might be your every day job (given that you aim to be a writer for a living).
Fana
Fledgling Freddie
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Like Thorwyn says, practice, practice and more practice. And then send your works to different publishing houses, and send again and again and again, and write more and send again etc etc. Its very rare that writers "make it" at a young age, or with their first texts. Most have to write for decades and be refused countless times before they get something published and then only a few of those that get published actually sell enough to make a living on.
liloe
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I'm not a professional writer, by far not and totally not into newspaper or magazine writing, but I think self-confidence is important =) Show others what you wrote, it will make you feel more comfortable with having others read it. I got a few stories in english and german lieing around (and it buggers me a lot that I have no time to continue writing atm) and I posted them on some forums (and I think I have them on my homepage, no idea?) to get some feedback.
Well, you know, webcomic authors publish a weekly story on the net, the same exists for web-books. I don't know what kind of writing you exactly mean, but if you mean journalism, you will need a degree in journalism, english, translation or something similar, maybe even politic science, depending on your interest. Being a magazine writer is more or less a full time job from what I know.
Well, you know, webcomic authors publish a weekly story on the net, the same exists for web-books. I don't know what kind of writing you exactly mean, but if you mean journalism, you will need a degree in journalism, english, translation or something similar, maybe even politic science, depending on your interest. Being a magazine writer is more or less a full time job from what I know.
Aile
Fledgling Freddie
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my uncle is a professional author, and he is always getting pieces of writing sent to him that he is asked to look over and maybe forward onto his publiscits etc, maybe its best just getting someone 'professional' too look over your work first, and then forward it on
Cadiva
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It depends entirely on what you mean by writer.
I'm a journalist, I've been one since I was 18 and I'm now 36, so that's a lot of experience over a lot of different newspapers and specialities and one thing I can say without any shadow of a doubt is if you're not doing it for the love of the job, don't even think about it.
Journalism is an insanely hard profession to get into, the degrees in communications and media offered by most universities don't mean anything to the newspaper industry, you'll still have to do the NCTJ (National College for the Training of Journalists) or another industry recognised standard (like the independent Editorial Centre in Hastings, which gives out the Diploma in Journalism).
The money in journalism, even for reporters on papers like The News of the World, is horrendously poor compared to other white collar professional careers. At the age of 36 on my last weekly newspaper where I was working as a specialist, I was on £18,800, rising to £19,100 just as my contract ended. The pay is slightly better on daily and evening regional newspapers and marginally better than those on the national dailies, but not by much.
Magazines pay better than newspapers but they're even harder to get into and even more cut throat.
Journalism is hard work for little pay and very long hours and journalists don't get paid overtime, you're expected to work for 'time in lieu' which, if you're lucky, you might get back sometime within the following month.
When I left the first newspaper I worked for, after 11 years, they actually owed me almost two weeks in time in lieu
Get as much writing experience as you can, of all forms, sport, news, features, the boring stuff as well as the exciting and don't expect that if you do get onto a newspaper you'll be off chasing famous people round or you'll be scooping some major story - that only happens on the television or to perhaps one or two per cent of the reporters in the country.
Having said all of the above, if you are deadly serious about it you should visit your local newspaper and arrange for some free work experience, if you're lucky enough and they actually take work experience students.
If not, try and arrange to write something for them free of charge, write up things your school is doing, the rugby union team, the drama students, etc and send it in to the paper and offer it for free.
Being a journalist, for me anyway, has always been about wanting to make a difference by highlighting the issues going on in the local community, helping recognise the work people do in that community and rooting out those who aren't doing what they should be doing.
I didn't do a degree, I started work in the old days, when they still had junior reporters who learnt on the job from senior staff. That doesn't happen anymore and I got my Diploma in Journalism from the old Westminster Press Editorial Centre (now the independent Editorial Centre I mentioned earlier) after three years in the job.
At the end of the day, it's usually a little bit of luck that gets you the break, mine was loving sport when I went for my interview at my local paper as the editor was off after an operation and the sports editor carried out the interview.
Previous to my interview, at the age of 18 as I said, I'd been bugging the editor of the paper since I was 15 to give me summer work experience (they couldn't because of health and safety issues in the building they occupied at the time, that and tight fisted former owners) so they knew I really wanted to be a journalist.
I'd written for the school magazine and I'd bombarded both my local free paper and the one I eventually went to work for, with stories about things going on at my school.
I love being a journalist, even though the hours are long and the pay is shit, but it's definitely a vocation and not just a 'job'.
I'm a journalist, I've been one since I was 18 and I'm now 36, so that's a lot of experience over a lot of different newspapers and specialities and one thing I can say without any shadow of a doubt is if you're not doing it for the love of the job, don't even think about it.
Journalism is an insanely hard profession to get into, the degrees in communications and media offered by most universities don't mean anything to the newspaper industry, you'll still have to do the NCTJ (National College for the Training of Journalists) or another industry recognised standard (like the independent Editorial Centre in Hastings, which gives out the Diploma in Journalism).
The money in journalism, even for reporters on papers like The News of the World, is horrendously poor compared to other white collar professional careers. At the age of 36 on my last weekly newspaper where I was working as a specialist, I was on £18,800, rising to £19,100 just as my contract ended. The pay is slightly better on daily and evening regional newspapers and marginally better than those on the national dailies, but not by much.
Magazines pay better than newspapers but they're even harder to get into and even more cut throat.
Journalism is hard work for little pay and very long hours and journalists don't get paid overtime, you're expected to work for 'time in lieu' which, if you're lucky, you might get back sometime within the following month.
When I left the first newspaper I worked for, after 11 years, they actually owed me almost two weeks in time in lieu
Get as much writing experience as you can, of all forms, sport, news, features, the boring stuff as well as the exciting and don't expect that if you do get onto a newspaper you'll be off chasing famous people round or you'll be scooping some major story - that only happens on the television or to perhaps one or two per cent of the reporters in the country.
Having said all of the above, if you are deadly serious about it you should visit your local newspaper and arrange for some free work experience, if you're lucky enough and they actually take work experience students.
If not, try and arrange to write something for them free of charge, write up things your school is doing, the rugby union team, the drama students, etc and send it in to the paper and offer it for free.
Being a journalist, for me anyway, has always been about wanting to make a difference by highlighting the issues going on in the local community, helping recognise the work people do in that community and rooting out those who aren't doing what they should be doing.
I didn't do a degree, I started work in the old days, when they still had junior reporters who learnt on the job from senior staff. That doesn't happen anymore and I got my Diploma in Journalism from the old Westminster Press Editorial Centre (now the independent Editorial Centre I mentioned earlier) after three years in the job.
At the end of the day, it's usually a little bit of luck that gets you the break, mine was loving sport when I went for my interview at my local paper as the editor was off after an operation and the sports editor carried out the interview.
Previous to my interview, at the age of 18 as I said, I'd been bugging the editor of the paper since I was 15 to give me summer work experience (they couldn't because of health and safety issues in the building they occupied at the time, that and tight fisted former owners) so they knew I really wanted to be a journalist.
I'd written for the school magazine and I'd bombarded both my local free paper and the one I eventually went to work for, with stories about things going on at my school.
I love being a journalist, even though the hours are long and the pay is shit, but it's definitely a vocation and not just a 'job'.
old.Tohtori
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1: Don't force writing, write when you feel like it.
2: Learn to take crap(critique), you'll get lots of it.
3: Learn to take useful crap(helpful critique), you'll get a bit less of that.
4: Write. Read. Re-write. Get done.
5: It's done when it's done. You never know how long it's going to be.
2: Learn to take crap(critique), you'll get lots of it.
3: Learn to take useful crap(helpful critique), you'll get a bit less of that.
4: Write. Read. Re-write. Get done.
5: It's done when it's done. You never know how long it's going to be.
chretien
Fledgling Freddie
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I used to be a professional writer for GW ages ago. I wrote rulebooks, colour text, White Dwarf articles and all sorts of things.
Mostly you need to be persistant. Keep writing, keep sending people things. Too many people waste their time writing one kickass piece and then trying to sell it unsuccessfully. Write loads of stuff and send them all around. You maximise your chances that one of the pieces will catch an editor's eye that way. Usually it won't be the piece you are most proud of either.
Write all the time. Don't just write when you feel like it. If you want it to be a job you have to be able to do it on your editor's schedule, not your schedule. The more you write, the better you will become at writing and the more pieces you will have for potential publication.
Don't expect everything you write to be a work of art. Accept that sometimes you just can't 'turn on the magic'. Finish it anyway. Come back to it later, rewrite it if you can.
Listen to feedback. Evaluate the worth of that feedback. If it's from an editor who recieves loads of unsolicited pieces for review then his opinion is important and you will do yourself a favour by listening to his advice. Don't feel that everyone knows better than you however. Different editors will be looking for different things and you will often get conflicting advice. It's up to you to filter it.
Don't give up. You will have very little success to start with and this will be very demoralising. You'll have a very big folder full of rejection letters and a very small envelope full of commission cheques. As you learn more about the business, become more confident as a writer and get more experience the balance will start to swing the other way. You will still always get more rejections than anything else though.
Good luck!
Mostly you need to be persistant. Keep writing, keep sending people things. Too many people waste their time writing one kickass piece and then trying to sell it unsuccessfully. Write loads of stuff and send them all around. You maximise your chances that one of the pieces will catch an editor's eye that way. Usually it won't be the piece you are most proud of either.
Write all the time. Don't just write when you feel like it. If you want it to be a job you have to be able to do it on your editor's schedule, not your schedule. The more you write, the better you will become at writing and the more pieces you will have for potential publication.
Don't expect everything you write to be a work of art. Accept that sometimes you just can't 'turn on the magic'. Finish it anyway. Come back to it later, rewrite it if you can.
Listen to feedback. Evaluate the worth of that feedback. If it's from an editor who recieves loads of unsolicited pieces for review then his opinion is important and you will do yourself a favour by listening to his advice. Don't feel that everyone knows better than you however. Different editors will be looking for different things and you will often get conflicting advice. It's up to you to filter it.
Don't give up. You will have very little success to start with and this will be very demoralising. You'll have a very big folder full of rejection letters and a very small envelope full of commission cheques. As you learn more about the business, become more confident as a writer and get more experience the balance will start to swing the other way. You will still always get more rejections than anything else though.
Good luck!
old.Tohtori
FH is my second home
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chretien said:
Also, being the "cold bastard" i am, i have to bring the downside to it.
You might suck at it, BAD. You might be the worse writer there is, in that case, know when to quit.
If everyone who reads your stuff sayes it's not even something to improve on, then it's time to pack up the pens and papers and take on another hobby.
WiiWii
Loyal Freddie
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If you do want to start writing fiction i recommend Stephen Kings book "On Writing" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...ef=sr_1_1/104-4109864-1667908?ie=UTF8&s=books
he has simple tips and pointers that will help new writers get started.
he has simple tips and pointers that will help new writers get started.
chretien
Fledgling Freddie
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One more thing, I thoroughly recommend getting a copy of the Writer's Handbook and the Writer's Yearbook.
There are a lot of books for writers but most of them are crappy rubbish aimed at people who fancy themselves as a writer but will never get off their arses to do it. Those two however are full of vital information and useful essays on various aspects of the publishing business.
There are a lot of books for writers but most of them are crappy rubbish aimed at people who fancy themselves as a writer but will never get off their arses to do it. Those two however are full of vital information and useful essays on various aspects of the publishing business.
Lamp
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Essential Read
This book is your friend:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...-0670019?v=glance&n=266239&s=gateway&v=glance
This book is your friend:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...-0670019?v=glance&n=266239&s=gateway&v=glance
