How can I learn to write better?

How to learn to write is a widespread dilemma. Most people sit in front of a computer screen and type whatever comes to mind, then wrap it up with a catchy title, and voilà, my book is written. This is a serious mistake. Anyone can write. All it takes is doing what I just described. However, the challenge arises with the next question: how can I learn to write better?

There are many answers to this question, each as valid as the previous one.

Some people believe that to write well, you must know every single grammar rules. You need a master’s degree in literature or an exceptional mind. Calm down; let's not get elitist here. Everything you need to know about typography can be found online. It's affordable for everyone. But, as always, there’s an important nuance: for this process to go well, you have to want to do it well. And that means a lot of time dedicated to typographical correction, and not everyone is willing to do that. If you’re the restless type, who can't stand waiting to get your novel out into the world, forget everything I’m saying and do whatever you want. I’ll just say that your responsibility and reputation are at stake.

Others believe that writing well requires a lot of practice. That's obvious. No professional in any art (or field) can say that everything comes out perfect the first time. With a lot of luck, they’ll tell you it turned out well after many previous mistakes. You have to work hard on the text, on the ideas, on the characters, on what you want to convey... This takes a lot of time. It’s the most tedious part, but believe me when I say that all the time invested will be worth it.

There are also people who are convinced that only those who know how to read well can write well. And they don't mean reading aloud or understanding the text and interpreting your opinion on it. It’s about extracting the essence of the ideas, understanding the context that led the person to write their novel, what they really wanted to convey, and why, among many other mysteries you’ll have to investigate.

My point of view is to "blend" these options and forge them into one. Writing is complicated. I won’t lie to you. You need motivation, time, and patience. Because, despite the popular belief that writing is sitting quietly and piecing words together like a puzzle with ideas flowing in waves, writing is actually one of the hardest jobs out there. Especially when the muses disappear, and it becomes a job of perseverance and wracking your brain to write two coherent sentences in a row. Some people get blocked for months (or even years), and that’s not bad. It’s simply that the mind limits creativity, and with luck, everything eventually falls back into place, and you can continue. That is if you write without a publisher, because if you add the pressure of deadlines, it can be a terrible odyssey.

First, you have to ask yourself the following: what does it mean to write well?

Depending on whom you ask, you’ll get a different answer. Maybe from the person who knows the most grammar, the one with the best ideas, the most imaginative person, the one who dedicates the most time, or the one who revises the text the most times... If we’re realistic and unfair, it will always be the person who has the best editors at their disposal. Because let's face it, not having people to handle the most tedious part makes everything more difficult. Those lucky enough to have a good team can afford not to think of writing well as the first or most fundamental task. But this post is written from the point of view that you are the one doing all the work, so let’s get to it.

My humble opinion is this: writing well is not about having perfect grammar, nor is it about having the most specialized studies on the subject. The latter is nonsense. Why should I care if you have a master’s degree in literature if you then have no original ideas and end up plagiarizing other people's work? Literature goes beyond the medals the publisher hangs on you because two million copies of your book were sold last month. Because here’s another thing: people confuse sales with literary quality, and the two have nothing to do with each other. Everyone knows that whoever has the best marketing and the most money becomes a bestseller, even if the book's quality isn’t worth a dime. Let’s set money and fame aside—that's another topic. Let's get back to what concerns us.

What does it mean to write well? Writing well means that once the idea is on paper, the work will go through a long and tedious revision process. Then it will fall into the hands of beta readers, who will not only give their point of view but will also catch the mistakes you missed during the revision.

Writing well means hard work

It means swallowing your pride and accepting that it needs another round of editing because the plot is weak or there are unresolved (or poorly resolved) threads. Writing well means finding the time and strength from somewhere to perfect your work. If after ten revisions you throw it away, let it be only for a few days or months, and then return to the attack. It means patience, perseverance, and confidence that every change is for the better. It means battling the demons that whisper to you that deep down, you don't know how to write. It’s about losing the fear, being vulnerable, crying, and returning to the text revision to give the best version of yourself. That’s writing well.

A very different thing is whether your novel will be liked by the public. That’s something subjective. It depends on who reads it and their previous reading experiences. Each person will tell you something different, but that doesn’t make it good or bad literature. Don’t confuse opinions with literary quality. Just as a lack of sales doesn’t make you a failure.

To learn to write better, you must read a lot

Not the newspaper or a magazine, unless you feel like writing articles instead of novels. Nourish your mind with other stories, other worlds, other eras. Write down in a notebook what catches your attention from other authors. But beware. I don't mean writing down a scene you liked a lot to insert it into your story. That’s plagiarism, no matter how fashionable it is, and even if people think they can get away with it, it’s still wrong. Another thing is to note down a scene because it helps you think of another one that fits perfectly into your story. Oh! That’s another thing. Copying a text and changing the characters' names or changing eye color, skin color, specific words, varying dialogues, etc., is STILL PLAGIARISM. There are laws that protect the people who wrote it before you. Respect other people’s work as if it were your own. You wouldn’t like anyone to publish your book claiming they wrote it, and neither would the person whose ideas you’re “borrowing” so innocently.

I know, we all drink from the same well. No one is inventing anything that hasn’t been written before. I know. But don’t use that as an excuse to "borrow" part of someone else’s work and have the nerve to say you wracked your brains writing the scene. There’s a difference between a retelling of a public domain work and plagiarism. If you want to rewrite Romeo and Juliet with a fresh twist, don’t steal Shakespeare's world. Create your own dilemma, your own plots, think about what you want to tell with that story, and do it with your own voice and structure.

Read other authors you like. Read their works, study the ways they narrate their stories, learn from the framework they used, research who wrote them to get to know them better, and jot down what you consider relevant. For example, the narrative voice they use. On this note, in another post, we’ll discuss why not all voices work for all stories. You have to know how to choose the right one so your novel has a greater impact.

“That’s a lot of work, Gabriel! I don't have that much time if I want to write my own story!” I know. But it’s very important work that you can’t avoid, and if you find works that fit the literary genre you’re going to use, even better. It’s always good to know what others have written on the topic you’ve chosen. It’s not just about being informed; it’s about nourishing your mind with thousands of new ideas that will help you be more original or stand out.

Here’s a tip: embrace the imaginative whirlwind when it hits you, but make sure you have paper and pencil nearby.

I have a question for you: what motivates you to write? Don’t give me that crap about how in life, you have to plant a tree, have descendants, and write a book. And don’t even think about using phrases describing yourself in a cabin with your coffee and blanket to explain yourself. Seriously think about what drives you to write because what comes out of your mouth will dictate your success or failure. Yes, I’m radical about this. If your motivation is nothing more than telling the world that you’re a writer because the romantic idea of creating appeals to you, it’s better to start by writing short stories so that, at least, you don’t get so frustrated by the density of the work. You’ll have time to tackle major works when you have a routine, consistency, and fluency. And above all, after deciding whether it’s worth pursuing professionally. No one starts by building the roof of a house unless they want it to collapse on them. The pillars have their time to harden and support the weight that’s coming. Go slowly; there’s no rush. Remember: the person who writes a six-hundred-page novel is not more valuable than one who writes two-page stories. Quality. Think about quality, not quantity. That is the reason for this post. To write well, you must know how to do it with quality.

I hope you enjoyed it and that it helps you in your literary endeavors. Thank you once again for reading. I wish you the best of luck with your writing!