Writing is like anything else. You can have natural talent, but mostly you need to practice. And you’ll be bad at it for a long time, then not very good for a long time, then only ok for a long time. It will be years before you’re really good at it.

People automatically understand this about, say, playing the violin or being a doctor, but for some reason often don’t get that writing takes years of practice just like anything else and there simply is no shortcut.

I think storytelling is a skill apart from being a good writer. I know many people who can write excellent, beautiful prose and snappy dialogue- but the number of writers who can plot a book that keeps me turning the pages are very few. I would say that a really good writer can hone in on the details while managing to keep the bigger picture of the story clearly in their mind as they write. Everything written is there (or not there) for a purpose, whether the reader realises it or not.

I studied creative writing and screenwriting, which is very heavy on structure and plotting. I ended up writing novels (10th published last month!) and I do mlthe majority of my plotting before I evem begin writing the book, but I will often change and the plot will evolve as I spend more time with the characters. I don’t initially worry about the prose. I worry about telling the story. You end up developing a kind of sixth sense for when to stop a scene, knowing when a character’s action (however minor) becomes something that will impact later events, etc. I don’t sit down and write lists of adjectives to describe my characters, but I can tell within a few seconds of writing a line whether it’s something they would say or whether it’s just convenient for the plot to have them say it. Editor meetings are exhausting because when she suggests a change to a particular moment, I can see instantly the knock-on effect it will have on other sections of the text and it’s a rush to record all of this so I can go back and edit later.

I don’t study plotting conventions beyond the basic Aristotlian 3 act structure. I’m only vaguely aware of tropes and current trends in publishing. A lot of storytelling comes from having simply read hundreds and hundreds of books over the years and absorbing what works and what doesn’t in terms of plot and style. It’s rare I’ll actually put it into words, (unless I’ve been asked to review a book), but it’s there regardless in the reference library of my brain.

I know it’s an unpopular opinion in the writing community, who would like to believe that anyone can learn to become a great writer; but I do believe that some of us are just born with a brain that makes storytelling inherently easier. For some people our information retrieval mechanisms, capacity for abstract thought, vivid imaginations, linguistic skills etc all just come together to make telling stories and writing them down easy - then it’s largely a case of perseverance and good luck. I’m friends and acquaintances with many writers and although they all talk about how much self-discipline is needed to write, none of them find it particularly challenging. It has always felt like something I’m meant to do and something that brings me pleasure, even as I was practising putting the nuts and bolts together. We enjoy doing it, so it doesn’t really feel like hard work.

Don’t forget that Bram Stoker also wrote The Lair of the White Worm, a novel considered one of the worst books ever written.

Almost done with my first book but I’ve done a lot of scripts, and the thing that stopped me from even trying was exactly what you just said. It seems like a herculean task. And yes, it isn’t easy to write something good, but all it takes is an idea that you want to explore. Then you sit your ass down and start writing.

The thing that helped me the most was to never edit until the story or complete outline are done. Even leave spelling mistakes. Just get through it. Once you have that rough draft, that’s when you can go back and make it look like you knew what you were doing all along.

But even still I have no idea how someone like George RR Martin does it. He has to keep track of so much stuff he literally has a staff of people to keep it straight.

It doesn’t have to be good the first time, you just have to be smart enough to incrementally make it less bad with each pass.

While some writers may seem to have a natural gift, the majority of successful authors have dedicated years to developing their skills. Unfortunately, I do not possess any of those skills. That is why I prefer to just read books.

I don’t think I’ll ever write a book but I’ve written code used and read by thousands so I’ll take what I can get.

You have to like a lot of alone time, you have to be a bit traumatised and you have to write - that’s it- writing becomes part of life

Dickens wrote his books chapter to chapter as monthly serials, with the plot roughly in his head. I hate knowing this.

Writers don’t write in one draft. They can tweak the book as much as they want, so they can add or modify hints or foreshadowing or clues to fine tune the story, for your usually more linear reading experience.

Back in the day only the well educated we’re able to publish books. The bar was high for manuscript acceptance. Nowadays anybody can get a book published and people buy them.

I’ve written my share of screenplays that I’ve turned into little indie movies. The trick is after that first draft going back and placing hints at the ending act earlier in the story. Someone shoots someone else with a hunting rifle at the end? Go back and make that character’s father an avid game hunter with a throwaway line or two in act 1. Stuff like that. IMO nothing good ever goes out before draft 3. First draft’s for groundwork, second draft’s for smoothing and clarity, third draft’s for details. (The after that it’s all about technicals like grammar, etc.)