: Craft group exercises or chapters in critique groups? I am an aspiring writer who feels blocked in terms of writing a novel because I am lacking knowledge of craft. I have taken two continuing

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Although Lauren and what have pretty much covered it, I also want to add - read. I don't mean craft books, either. I mean, read what you want to write. Read, and read a lot. Hell, read what you don't want to write, so you know what to avoid. Read a lot, and read widely. Writing is so subjective, and you'll find that there are many authors who break the rules - yet you still love their work with a fiery passion.

Don't simply read, either. When you get to the end, pull it apart. What did you like? How did the author make it work? It could be something as simple as the cadence of their sentences or the perfection of their metaphors. Perhaps it's how they structured the plot so everything came together in the end. Analyse how they pulled it off, what kind of methods they used.

Then think about what didn't you like, and why? Perhaps there was nothing, which is cool. But there'll be other books where certain elements grate at you, and you find yourself jerked out of the story or rolling your eyes at things. What is it that didn't work for you? Was it the flat characters or dialogue? The lack of world-building? The awkward sentences?

In the end, you should be writing things you personally want to read, things you enjoy. All the writing craft books, while providing a fantastic foundation, can't give the the answer to that. You need to read a lot to know what you like and what you don't. What styles you like, perhaps even what genres. And that will come across in your own writing as you find your own voice and structures.

And as everyone else has said, don't stop writing. Keep writing, keep churning out pieces even if you think they're crap. After all, sometimes you need to burn through all the crap before you get to the gold. You'll only improve from it, and slowly learn to find your voice.

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Get out of your own head. Write. Just write.

Stop worrying about whether it's perfect. Stop worrying about which book to follow. You've got a list taller than the coffee table and they can contradict each other. Just write.

Get something on paper. If you're really flailing around, pick your first book about plotting, follow some of the advice there, and put your plot together. Just write.

You cannot edit, improve, or critique a blank page. You need actual text to work with. Just write.

Once you have a novel written, never mind the first chapter, then you can go back and worry about setting, description, characters, a critique group, etc. etc. But until then... just write.

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