Things I've Learned Through Writing

Every writer knows this: writing is hard.

Yet many people take the challenge of writing a novel. When I first started writing, I honestly had no idea how hard it would be to complete a 70,000 word novel. Who knew it would take so much patience and perseverance?

*raises hand* I didn't.

But somehow I finished the journey and ended up with a novel in my hands. (an unedited novel, I must point out.) And on the way, writing taught me a few things.

- Perseverance

I got inspired to write stories when I was little, but they never turned out to be much. I usually got a half a page done, considered that a chapter, and then gave up. But with growing older and having more determination, I finally climbed the first ledge of a towering mountain and breached the half a page chapter point. I was on my way to finishing a novel.

Not quite.

After a couple months I started to burn out rather quickly. I was writing a couple hundred words a day, and that word count was dwindling fast. (Keep in mind that a hundred words is a lot for a girl that detested writing a few months before) The manuscript might have been put aside for awhile if I hadn't discovered Go Teen Writers. (More on that site later. There's too much to put in this post. :P) They held a Five-Day Word War on their blog, and on the spur of the moment I decided to join.

Best. Decision. EVER.

Over that weekend I wrote over 10,000 words and made a huge leap in my novel. I am so thankful that I discovered that blog.

After that rejuvenation of inspiration, (try saying that ten times fast) I continued working on my novel. That was the push I needed to keep going so I could complete the daunting, yet satisfying, task.

I write daily now, and writing isn't considered such a "scary" task as it was before. It's more like a time-consuming project that is SO worth it in the end. I think my perseverance in tasks is bigger than it was before I started writing. If you don't persevere through a project, you'll never get that satisfying feeling of saying to yourself, "I did it. I finished."

- Time Management

You may just need to set aside a fair amount of time to write a novel. But, of course, that's just my tip. Maybe you have a super power which allows you to finish a book in a couple hours. But I'm afraid the rest of us are cursed with human limitations and are unable to do that.

And maybe you don't have mountains of school and other projects and passions that you are interested. You might have unlimited time to do all the writing you want.

I wish I was that way.

But I'm not, so I have to make time through my many activities for writing. Writing is a time-consuming activity, so it is very hard to make time.  I quickly realized that if I wanted to write a novel, that I would need to manage my time more productively. There would be no more taking unnecessary breaks during school (homeschooled), and Pinterest and reading would fall down my list of priorities.

But then summer came along, so without school hanging over my head, it was a lot easier for me to write (along with the help of Camp NaNoWriMo). That's when I finished my first novel.

And now we're back into the busy school year, and I have dived into edits. *ahem* More like rewriting every single written word that I ever imagined up. It's still hard to find time, but I feel as if writing has also helped me manage my school schedule. I am able to plan out my day a little bit easier, and that has greatly assisted me in finishing my school subjects so I have time for the rest of the things I want to do with my day.

- The Skills of...Writing

Obviously.

But seriously. While I'm editing, I can already see a huge leap in progress. ...That's partially why I have to rewrite it all. xP Writing is so useful in life, and my fiction writing skills can be transferred to school essays, papers, and research projects. I'm learning new words I had never even heard of before, and my grammar skills have improved immensely. I'm getting better at knowing where to put a comma, rules of punctuation, when to start a new paragraph--there are so many minute details that are all mixed in.

Writing is hard...

... But I love it.

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I am so thankful that I have started writing. It's also taught me determination, how to tackle a huge project, start a blog, tips and tricks in Microsoft Word, a bigger vocabulary, and the knowledge of the publishing process. I'm sure there are a million other things... But my mind is going blank. (There's one thing writing hasn't helped me with: A quick thinking mind. :P)

What have you learned through writing? Tell me in the comments below!

Byeeee!
- Katie