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ENTITY shares advice on how to write.

Dedicating your life to writing can be quite intimidating.

I was terrified when I set off for UCLA to study creative writing. With a thick Slavic accent and without a decent writing portfolio, I was convinced I’d fail in this foreign country. But the program quickly taught me one of its main dogmas: good writers are made and not born.

I worked hard and “survived.” And this is what I learned, from two amazing years spent with pen and ink.

Follow these steps and learn how to write like a pro.

1 Read Like There is No Tomorrow.

Before learning how to write, you need to master critical analysis of the text.

In his memoir “On Writing,” Stephen King says, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

UCLA creative writing students read at least one short story per week. And then we deconstruct and analyze it to derive useful writing techniques and strategies.

Being thirsty for the written word helps determine the form, genre and structure of your future works. Read one book per week, take notes and notice the mechanics of the text. You’ll be able to polish your plotting and writing skills in no time.

ENTITY explains how to write through nine effective techniques

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2 Become a Graphomaniac.

When first learning how to write, we often romanticize the routine. We imagine authors waking up at noon, sipping on black coffee and typing a new masterpiece on a collectible vintage typewriter. But it is important to remember that “writer” is a profession and not a film noir character.

In her book “Everybody Writes,” Ann Handley stresses that writing should be a habit instead of an art. She quotes slam poet Taylor Mali’s hilarious response to a question about where he chooses to write.

“I’d love to say I have handmade Japanese paper and a 200-year-old fountain pen… and… [at] the top of our house, there’s an old cupola, and I watch the sunrise up there, in the nude, and I write my poems longhand.”

In reality, though:

“I just sit in front of my computer.”

In other words, you should write when you have time rather than when you have inspiration. This requires military discipline and dedication. Haruki Murakami once told The Paris Review that when he is in his writing mode, he wakes up at 4 a.m. and works for five-six hours straight.

Scribble at least a paragraph every day to improve your discipline and further develop your talent.

ENTITY explains how to write through nine effective techniques

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3 Copy. Copy. Copy.

Careful, thoughtful copying is not the same as plagiarism. All famous writers had to emulate someone else before having the ability to create their own unique masterpieces. Dostoyevsky read and copied Dickens. And 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Alice Munro is compared to Anton Chekhov to this day.

The most important part in emulating your beloved authors is to create the works that you would stay up all night reading. Only then will your work be compelling and authentic.

ENTITY explains how to write through nine effective techniques

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4 Generate Ideas.

You never know when the wind of inspiration will hit you, so be prepared 24/7. Always have a pen and a notebook ready, or use Notes in your phone to record your thoughts, ideas, memories and curious observations.

If you struggle with the brainstorming and idea process, there are numerous creative journals available to help you out. Try Austin Kleon’s “Steal Like an Artist Journal: A Notebook for Creative Kleptomaniacs.” Or “A Book of Brilliant Ideas: And How to Have Them” by The Brothers McLeod. These creative writers and artists know how to catch inspiration by its colorful, slippery tail!

ENTITY explains how to write through nine effective techniques

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5 Seduce the Muse.

In my program, we were often told that inspiration can hit as long as you sit down and start writing. And although I agree with the effectiveness of this strategy, I came up with a few other tricks to seduce the muse for a passionate rendezvous. Here they are:

Go for a walk. Evidence from a study conducted at Stanford University indicates that walking boosts creative inspiration.

Surround yourself with aesthetically pleasing objects. It can be a cute mug or a pile of books. Or maybe you have a magic hat that helps you think? Put it on!

Do something crazy for your creative work. Once, I was writing a realistic short story about a girl who threw up her dinner. She ate duck. It was crucial to the plot that she specifically eats duck meat. But I am a vegetarian, and I don’t remember the taste of duck meat, or the look of it after digestion. So, I suffered over the description of vomit for weeks. But, eventually, eager to fight this brutal writer’s block, I bought myself some duck, and… Can you guess what happened next?

Sacrificing something for your stories pushes you to the limit, increases the value of your work and improves your creative confidence. But inspiration comes differently to everyone. Try out unique ways to get your creative juices flowing, and hone them to discover your own perfect process of inspiration.

ENTITY explains how to write through nine effective techniques

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6 Grow Thick Skin.

If you want to learn how to write in the publishing industry, growing a thick skin is crucial. In the future, you will have to put up with criticism from literary agents, publishers and readers. Sometimes it’s constructive, and sometimes it’s not.

To develop this ear for criticism, it’s common practice in the UCLA program to read your work out loud every week and get feedback from peers and professors. And at the end of the quarter, the students edit their best short story and read it to a large audience of family and friends. This practice helps to adequately evaluate your oeuvre and defend it if needed.

Remember, you can’t please everyone, even if your book is an ultimate bestseller. So be flexible, but also believe in yourself and your work.

ENTITY explains how to write through nine effective techniques

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7 Get Out of Your Den.

Visit readings at bookstores, volunteer in libraries, listen to performances of leading experts in the industry, take workshops and participate in writing programs. All this will help you grow professionally and personally.

We gain invaluable knowledge when we open ourselves up to others. And most importantly, by being involved, we meet like-minded people and stay on top of the main trends of the literary world.

ENTITY explains how to write through nine effective techniques

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8 Understand the Industry.

How can I improve my online presence? What’s a writer’s platform? Do I know how to write a mind-blowing query? Is my marketing strategy effective? These questions should be on the mind of every aspiring writer. And the answers to them are not always easy to find.

Right after graduation, I got an internship at a literary agency. My work started at 8 a.m. every Monday and never ended. But I was rewarded with precious, insider knowledge that helped me find my own responses to these questions.

Of course, although it certainly would help, you don’t necessarily have to seek employment to understand how to write for the industry. However, if you aren’t employed in publishing, it is absolutely essential that you do your research. Look up contemporary writers, spend an hour a day studying publishers’ websites, follow them on social media, write fan letters to your favorite authors (even if they are no longer with us) and subscribe to related YouTube channels.

ENTITY explains how to write through nine effective techniques

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9 Have a backup plan.

One time, our creative writing group was invited to an event dedicated to a famous literary journal. At the panel with the editor-in-chief, I asked if it was realistic to make money writing. “No lady, marry well,” he joked inappropriately.

Many people took offense, but I understood what he really meant. It takes years to write, edit, illustrate, publish and promote a novel. And there’s no guaranteed money bag at the end of the journey.

Unless you are a modern-day Francois Sagan who wrote her books in a few months, your writing will take a long time to get published. So get a stable job to pay your bills while you are heading to your literary Olympus.

ENTITY explains how to write through nine effective techniques

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Regardless of what direction you’ll take with your writing, enjoy the process! Be curious about the world around you, explore your inner self and have fun throughout the experience.

And never miss an opportunity to show off your creative work!

If you’re looking for more useful resources on how to write, try The Book Doctors for studying industry mechanics, NaNoWriMo to take on your first writing project and Ann Handley for polishing your writing skills. And for more tips from ENTITY, check out these articles.

5 Best Writing Prompts to Promote Positive Thinking.

7 Writing Apps to Turn You Into the Next J.K. Rowling.

These Two Women Are Writing Loud and We Can Hear Them.

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