When I write I try to write about what I know about.  Number one, it is easier to write about, and two, if you are just making things up about a certain period of time, then readers who do know about that time will find that you are only making that up.  For example if I tried to write a ten page paper on rocket science, not a single real rocket expert would read half of the paper.  If, however I wrote about the Civil War I might not do so badly, of course I don't claim to be a historian (though I would like that) I would not sound as bad as if I just made some thing up about rockets.
But of course at the right times we all have to write about stuff we don't know to much about, well at least if you are writing a fiction writing.  When you write a historical-fiction it is a requirement to look up as much as you can about that time period or country or culture.  If you don't, it might just end up as a fiction writing slightly based on real places and events.
Anyway, even if you don't know exactly what you are writing about, it's okay because you can't know everything.
Throughout all forty thousand words of a novel or more, the characters in it need to stay consistent unless you (being the writer for example) want that person to change.  And, when you are intentionally changing the personality of a character, you will want to do it gently and have someone or something to inspire, or train, the character.  I'm not trying to be harsh, but inconsistent writings do seem like they definitely could be a lot better.  And that is one reason why finishing book is taking so long (that and I'm finding distractions!)  I have watched movies that are the same.  There is someone who is just the ordinary person and suddenly finds strength and beats the "Bad Guy" but where does this unexpected strength come from?  Well nowhere in those movies, but if you are writing a book you can have those reasons so the whole thing makes much more sense.  So that's what I'm trying to do, and if you are writing something, I think you should too.
Don't throw an idea away.  Of course, you can get rid of things that you absolutely know you won't use later, but any idea that seems reasonable, don't throw away.  Even if that idea or small writing can't be used now, who knows, it could be the perfect thing later.  Save all your writings, and if you don't keep them on paper make sure to at least keep them safely hidden in the "random writings" folder that you have on your computer, please tell me you do have a "random writings" folder on your computer!

Disclaimer:  Good Ideas were never really harmed in the picture above.

This is a writing I wrote for Writing Club.  The assignment was to write about summer for ten minutes, here's what I came up with.

Heat, sweat, work, summer, they all mean the same thing, agony.  the scorching sun never relenting as it beats down upon you.  It saps your energy.  Pushing the heavy mower all over the yard in the hottest part of the day.  Some say summer is good because there is no school, I say there is work.  Others say it is good because flowers bloom, but I say there is no time to watch flowers grow.  The only good thing about it is it isn't cold.

Okay, I don't really believe all that, but it sure was fun to write!
So I have started on my fourth draft.  I know I probably should have done all of these drafts in the first draft, but I didn't really have time to think of other things to ad to my novel and that are only coming top me now.  Nevertheless, I thought of another big, very important idea.  I (and if your are writing something too then you also) need to get the reader involved in the story.  Showing what's happening, not just saying.  It can take time, lots of time!  But don't get discouraged because each time you re-write it gets better, doesn't it?  Showing is being descriptive, yet not boring.  Showing the reader is actually fairly easy once you get used to it.  Comedy, intense pain, exhaustion, they are all easy enough to describe, and comedy wakes the reader up from their sluggish trance of reading unexciting word after unexciting word.  The same with pain and exhaustion, as long as it is worded right, see for yourself how big of a difference showing is than just saying, this is saying.  "The mountain range was so huge and reached so hih John couldn't see their tops."  That sounds pretty bad to me, but showing sounds more like this.  "John strained his eyes to see the tops of the endless dark mountain range that stretched high up into the murky morning clouds.  Fear struck John as he almost felt himself shrinkling beneath the mountains gigantic size.  His hope forsook him, he fell to his knees in despair, crying on the black rocks of the mountains foothills."  Which gives you a stronger image?  You can clearly see the difference, showing is far better than saying.




Recently I have started a writing club, only me and my one friend are coming but soon others are going to come.   My friend made this logo for the writing club.  I named it, "The WC."  Anyway, a writing club is really cool, you get encouragement (as long as you aren't in a bad writing club) and it's a fun way to share your writings.  from time to time I'll post writings, so here's a writing I wrote about summer, we call it a ten minute writing because we have ten minutes to write about one word.

Maybe to start writing you need sometime away from the crazy world.  Time to relax and think.  Maybe, or you could just write anywhere from the park or your office, but I suggest shutting the door, distractions can really mess up your writing, especially your beginnings or writings.  Beginning a writing, whether it would be a novel or just a short short story, is hard because you can easily lack direction, that's what I found out in writing my first novel.  And if you do continue writing, it will be much harder because you have to re-write a lot more.  But if you lack direction at first then you can easily be discouraged, I was.  But then I started to re-write, and once I finished the second draft I could see my whole writing was significantly improved.  So you see that when you are writing from the beginning it is good to have some direction already in mind.