How to Start Writing Fiction: 7 Tips for Early Success

[@federicopalacios7439]

"Covering" is how Tarantino learnt how to write dialogue. He used to try and write the script of movies he liked as accurate as possible and eventually he came to understand how dialogue worked. I think there's an interview of him telling a story about him forgetting a play' script and just improvising the dialogue. The actors ending up liking his version more than the original.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

No kidding? Thanks for sharing this. I'll have to look up that interview

[@RM-yw6xe]

A writer is simply a dungeon master.

[@GayFurryFromROA]

So Van Darkholm is a writer? So that's what he meant when he said he's an artist. Still don't get whole 300$ thing

[@PPDJ2137]

Deep dark fantasies

[@He-Who-Died]

If that's the case, I need to get D&D so I can play and learn. Well, that's probably not going to happen. Unless it exists in video game form for free on Android or PS4.

[@King_Crown-x7p]

@@He-Who-DiedYou could find online groups of people. Tons of randos playing with randos just for fun. Or play with chat gpt, if you’re looking for chaos

[@stevecarter8810]

​@@King_Crown-x7pjust used chat got to try to fill in my dnd guys back story. It's generic, but gets you to a first draft. And it's embarrassing when you make a hint or two and it extrapolates your whole genius character motivation idea

[@Creadigol1863]

I keep marathoning your videos. Honestly nothing helps me more when it comes to getting past my writers block. Please never stop making these 😊 Also, your books are amazing!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thank you so much! And please leave brief Amazon reviews for my books--reviews are a huge help!

[@arzabael]

Same. Nothing helps more as a writer than other writers uploading videos on writing. The more consistent (closer to daily) the better. The all time is a channel that posts once a day. You hear that brandino!? If you can somehow set up a schedule that allows you to film seven videos once a week or like three videos twice a week with say Monday’s off or something, you’ll explode. You have exploded though as far as my terms go. My man. Write another book!

[@TheMadBelmont]

I'm currently in the middle of my first novel ever and this video is giving me a TON of motivation to keep going! I''ll admit, the thought of me having a horrible first draft is what's keeping me from finishing it but now I know that it's alright to have a bad draft. Please keep making these writing advice videos, they're amazing!!

[@damolaadelore]

Hello @TheMadBelmont. How did your novel go? Were you able to complete it?

[@TheMadBelmont]

@@damolaadelore Not yet no, life and doing content creation took up a lot of my time so I haven't been able to go back to it

[@damolaadelore]

@@TheMadBelmont Would you like an extra hand in doing it? Or helping to complete it?

[@TheZetaKai]

Number 3 is great life advice for any and every endeavor. Whenever I do something new, I tell everyone "I will make every mistake in the book... once." I will screw up, sometimes quite badly, and that's okay, because I am dedicated to learning from those mistakes, to internalize those lessons, and to implement what I have learned from them to do better next time, and thus eventually become great at what I choose to do.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yeah, it's a shame that society frowns upon failure so much.

[@jarbles5098]

“Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now.” -Ernest Hemingway

[@alexbadeau5027]

Great advice ! In addition to your tips, Stephen King’s “if you can’t read, you can’t write, period” I find also rings true. Feeding my subconscious by expanding my palette and consuming material I love has made a massive impact on my writing

[@satana8157]

This is great advice. I actually got back in the habit of reading books after a period of just watching movies and TV series because of Stephen King, and as I did that, ideas just kept coming to me and I eventually started writing again. I also lost respect for writers who don't read, because they're probably getting their ideas from movies and don't understand the powers and short coming of their own medium.

[@tunebeat3809]

Does reading fanfiction stories count?

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

When will you start (or continue) writing? Let us know!

[@nathanblue5548]

Going to start writing this weekend. Your videos have been a great help.

[@eliben4066]

I should start writing less tbh to save my bachelors degree lmao, I’m really motivated to finish my Wattpad stories right now. Superhero meets horror

[@obrother9919]

I'm planning about writing like a fictional first person pov story(and yes, I'm a beginner) Btw what these two writing style is best when you're a beginner? Fantasy/sci fi story or a story with real life objects?

[@matt_valentine]

I'm on Day 4 of a writing week stay-cation. It's been brutal, but also rewarding, and fun. Thank you so much for these tips! I've binge-watched so many of your videos lately, have learned a lot, and you're an incredible source of inspiration to me. I'll definitely be picking up Entry Wounds, as well, as I'm fascinated by its premise. Thank you for all that you do!

[@MortonFMurphy]

I have been itching to try my hand at some horror themed short stories for months now and have been keeping my notebook of scary things handy. This just may get me to dive into my first.

[@TimRG]

#3 is so important. I didn't make many mistakes when starting out... I did, but no one really pointed them out. Much of the work I shared got great responses and the only bad was more on grammar. There were mistakes there, but since no one made me aware of them, I got a big head. When I started to be aware of those I ignored it believing things were fine. When I put that project away to let my brain have time to fix it. I moved on and made those same mistakes and more all because of my big head. This put me behind my goals by a decade. The takeaway from this is if you share only get good feedback and ask for negative feedback. If they don't kick them to the curb and go find people who will.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yeah, early on I used to share my stories with my family and close friends, and they'd all be like "That was really good!" Then I started swapping with other writers, and they taught me so brutal (yet necessary) truths.

[@TimRG]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty I got the good stuff from other writers online.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

@@DeusExMachina50 Don't know about "brutal" in the honesty. There's no call to be an ass about it... I don't need "The Gordon Ramsey Routine" to tell me how my cooking is imprecise or that an attempt to "rescue" a box-mix for a decent dinner just didn't work out... Nobody needs a Ramsey-wannabe to find out they're punching down, too wordy, or letting in a bunch of unnecessary passive tense and adverbs where they intended to raise the tension and action... When critiquing, just giving something positive at the beginning and/or ending can help encourage an artist forward, written or graphic... It doesn't have to be applause or cheering... just positive... so they don't assume everything they've done was a waste of time. The critique should include coaching, BUT if you run someone out of the hobby OR business, you've just wasted ALL YOUR TIME from the moment you started reading the g** d*** thing. Just don't butter them up. They don't need candy coating any more than they need their work derided and sh*t upon... They need to know that it's a competitive world, a saturated market, and that it's double tough to get ahead of the curve... SO as much as they need a story they can get excited about, they need to clean and polish their "style" or sense of style, to deliver their best possible work... not just starting a career off on the right foot, but to put the right foot forward EVERY TIME. Family and many friends, can be hard because they flop from one extreme to the other... They're either heaping up the praise and taking WAY too much pride in their relationship to you "THE Writer" or whatever... OR they're picking your sh*t apart just to "keep you in your place"... It can go both ways... and it SUCKS both ways. ;o)

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

@@DeusExMachina50 Cute... SO have you figured out how NOT to be the donkey, yet??? You certainly seem to be braying around this thread... ...OR is it just another pissant excuse to tear others down when you're busy NOT actually writing or editing anything??? ;o)

[@tautvydastamasauskas]

Thanks for the tips, Brandon! I am currently at the early stages of writing my epic fantasy series. I've noticed thay the writing I do is more of notetaking and writing a wiki style pieces on different aspects of my world. I am currently at the world-building stage. I'm worried that I am not practising my skills of actual storytelling. Do you think it's better to add a side project? As in, maybe writing some non-related short stories in addition to worldbuilding? In this case, I would keep working on my worldbuilding but also would be practising other skills such as writing an actual story, dialogue, etc. I'm a bit lost on this.

[@connorgregory5625]

I'm working on a fantasy book, about 300 pages in and 150k words, and it feels like a legitimate book. It's one of many projects I've had, and in comparison all the things I've written before are absolutely terrible, but getting through the terrible thinking it's good is such an important part of this process. Now, looking on to my next project in anticipation, it will make my current project feel like a 3rd grader wrote it. That's been the beauty of the journey for me!

[@damolaadelore]

Hello @Connor. Were you able to complete the project?

[@connorgregory5625]

@@damolaadelore I'm at about 430 pages and 200k words, I'm getting there! Double majoring in college makes it hard to make fast progress

[@damolaadelore]

@@connorgregory5625 😅😅😅. Somehow I can relate with that as a college student myself. Would you like some help with it?

[@dinodan7770]

So true, getting into a habit of writing every day is the most important thing do. I started writing every day over a year ago and now it is just a natural thing to do like brushing my teeth.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Like brushing teeth… that’s a perfect way of putting it

[@professorx3060]

I recently discovered your channel and I immediately subscribed! Can't wait to write my first novel! I have hundreds of pages of various short stories, half finished chapters and lore, but never tied it together.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Awesome, best of luck!

[@Melleanah]

I’ve started to seek outside advice and it’s insightful. My thoughts on writing is you can’t edit a blank page. Gotta start somewhere.

[@Diginixx]

I have written several short stories that I have to say I'm quite proud of. I've been thinking for a while of writing my first full length story, so I'm glad I've found this channel as it is giving me more confidence in doing that! Thanks 🙏

[@WilliamReginaldLucas]

I’ve taught guitar to a few beginners and one of the first things I say is it is gonna suck for the first couple of months, but just sitting down and playing for 15 minutes or so a day makes a world of difference, this advice really resonates with that! I set my daily word goal at 500 and some days it’s a struggle to hit but others I’ll find myself getting lost in the story world and before I know it I’ve reeled off 3,000+! Great advice as always :)

[@charlieholloway71]

Wow. I absolutely love this guy and his advice. Spot on.

[@PhoenixCrown]

I wrote a business planning book for marketing my accounting firm. It was 80 pages, simple and pretty easy to knock out. I realized how much I love writing and how I'm naturally good at it. So I dove into a planned 4-novel fantasy series! Fortunately, I had no trouble sitting down to write. I'm a DOER not a TALKER. So I wrote 130K word book in about a year and didn't watch or read a whole lot of advice throughout that process. Then I looked to improve/edit it, and that's when I realized that--though I had a solid plot and premise--it sucked. Now I've spent a long time learning the craft and applying lessons to my book. What a wonderful masterclass. And the book is turning out great.

[@colinwest8658]

I have been brain storming and plotting out a story I have had in my mind for a few years. Yesterday I finally started and got the first two chapters done.

[@Xandycane]

Number 5 is huge. I made this mistake and kept struggling with my story. It took watching a video where Sanderson said he set aside his Stormlight Archives for ten years to get good before I felt like it was okay to just stop and try something small. I WILL write the other story eventually, but I need to get really good at writing before writing an epic fantasy. 😊

[@TheZetaKai]

You're good enough now to star your first draft. No matter where you are with your skill level, you can get started now. Come up with a couple of characters, put them in a situation, follow a basic story structure, & write. If it works then cool. If it doesn't, then you learned something. Either way, you win, & the only way that you lose is if you don't start.

[@kerri-lynbryant293]

As many mistakes as I can make will help me grow as a writer. I love your videos Brandon. Thanks so much.❤ I will keep trying to build my scenes.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks! Keep at it

[@phubalanarumugam8943]

I've been a devoted follower of your channel for years, and I'm thrilled to announce that I've recently completed my very first novella! I couldn't contain my excitement and decided to share it with the world by uploading it on KZbin. While I'm eager to receive reviews and feedback on my book, I've encountered a small obstacle: most of my friends aren't avid readers, making it challenging to obtain constructive criticism. Can you guide me towards any platforms or communities where I can connect with other aspiring writers like myself, who might be interested in reviewing my work?

[@callmechristian3900]

I’ve just started the journey of writing and I’ve been watching many of your videos. Thank you for being so encouraging in your videos. I feel I’ve learned a lot but more importantly I feel like it’s ok that I don’t know it all right now and that I can begin even though I don’t know it all. I appreciate all you do and how clear and organized you are. Thanks

[@CJ_1406]

Idk if you talk about this type of storytelling but I really want to you to discuss about stories with different variations, alternate routes and endings. I'm really interested in it because it makes me and even the rest of the audience feel that every decision that you or others make matter and that it will impact you and others around you. But, some games or even movies mess up on how to use it. For example, some games will introduce a player an important decision, but at the end, it really didn't change anything at all. Maybe some minor changes but that's it. For movies, some directors add an extended cut at the end and that basically serves as an alternate ending. For example, in the original, the main characters managed to kill the killer and escape, while in the extended cut it goes the same but there's a scene where either killer is watching the characters escape, indicating that the killer didn't really die or where the killer is somehow inside the car without the survivors noticing.

[@williambwright4470]

I have been binge watchingand mirco-learning about writing, creative writing etc. For a few weeks now on KZbin and Master Class. No one has made as big an impression on me as your lessons and videos. I am grateful and will continue to support what you do! Thank you!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thank you! Thrilled to hear the videos are a big help. Best of luck with your writing!

[@VNightmoon]

I would like to adjust that last one to, "try to write every day" and "figure out what works for you," because there ARE some days where no, you don't even have ten minutes, but maybe on others, you have hours. I have been keeping a word count for three years. Over those three years, I made adjustments as I figured out what worked for me. When I started, my goal was "400 words/day, and try to beat the last month's word count." I got smacked in the face with a reality check *really* fast. For example, one of those years, I got C-19 and literally spent nearly two months *just* focusing on breathing. I got not even 1k words that month, and the month after wasn't great, either. It really hit my confidence trying to catch all that up. I had to basically write it off as health > writing to get rid of that self-imposed guilt. Now, after much trial and error, making adjustments, and figuring out where my limit are, I found my sweet spot: 100 words/day on a work day. Sometimes I have a minute while waiting for something to jot down some dialogue, and if I don't have a moment, I have my lunch break. Then I strive for 400 words/day on days off. I have also adjusted my monthly goal to, "so long as my average is over 400 words/day, I win, and if I happen to beat last month's count, that's a bonus." Trying to beat the previous month's count was too intimidating, and I kept hitting a wall. This is a lot more feasible for me physically and mentally, so if I say, crank out 1,000 words over the course of two days, but then get sick the next day, it's no longer, "I have to write 400 words to make up for yesterday, plus today's 400." It's now, "Oh, I was 200 words ahead of the average, so I just need 200 more to make it up," and this has done wonders for getting things accomplished.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

I always suggest writing every day because it helps maintain that mindset of "I am a writer," but it sounds like you're managed to build a strong commitment to the craft while still missing days here and there, so congrats on that. I'm honestly terrified of what would happen if I skipped a day haha

[@Megawatt]

Haven’t read this guy, but I like his delivery.

[@Fady117]

I'm a relatively new subscriber to your channel and have been sort of binging your content. I just want to thank you tremendously for all the videos you put out. I'm an aspiring writer myself, and having been immersed in my favourite books as of late, the itch to just record my imaginative worlds on paper is just irresistible. Only, I often find the task very daunting because I catch myself caring more about the big picture and worldbuilding, than starting small. Your videos have been great advice in assisting me to structure my thoughts better. I hope I can even share my budding writer's work with you one of these days. On a side note, I heavily prefer fiction, fantasy, high fantasy, medieval fantasy and the likes.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thrilled to hear the videos are helping! One suggestion with the worldbuilding process... Every now and then, write a random "test" scene within your story world--characters, conflict, etc. You'd be surprised how much you can learn about what your story world needs when you have characters interacting/arguing/fighting with each other. You might find yourself wondering, "Wait, why are they upset? Is it because they're fighting over limited resources? Maybe I need to include [special resource] in this world." Best of luck!

[@Fady117]

Thank you so much for this invaluable advice! And I like this thought process. I go ahead and test how the characters relate to each other and to the setting / world the story takes place in, and see what works and what doesn't, and what's missing from the things that do not work. I shall practice this thought process!

[@nathanblue5548]

Thanks for the action/reaction advice. While I already follow it, I never knew there was a term for the structure. That will help greatly when I start a new short story this weekend.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Glad it was helpful!

[@braydendill4261]

I love the idea of covering, and for some reason looking up writing prompts never occurred to me. Can’t thank you enough

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Best of luck!

[@LeeRobJr]

I started writing about a year ago, but I stopped for whatever reason. I'm beginning again so I plan to write every day until I finish what I am working on. Thanks for all the tips.

[@12Blueace]

My favorite tip you gave would have to be write what you love. One thing that catches my attention in stories are animals who can talk and live like people do. I’ve always had this fascination and some of my favorite books contain just that. And so I’m my own work, most of the main characters are animals who wear clothes. If you were to ask me why I write this way, it’s just because I enjoy this.

[@ashwin_ramakrishnan]

Starting today! Love your channel, thanks for the videos.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks! And don't forget to write tomorrow!

[@samhinson9091]

I'm writing my first book now! 17 chapters in, and I have 13 left to finish!!

[@dobanator4501]

I started a new novel, im just under two months in and half done. I go between editing and writing so its in pretty good condition, not as messy as my normal first drafts. Anyway i am writing 1 - 2 hr a day, 4-7 on the weekends!

[@AlastorNahIdWinRadioDemon]

One thing I really enjoy about being both an aspiring writer and a DM for D&D is that I can use things I can learn from one to better my storytelling, action scenes and character writing in the other. I honestly was going to give up on writing before I even finished my first book, but then I started DM'ing and the ideas and things I learned doing that gave me the confidence to get back into writing snd even rework more of my early stuff to enhanced the entire project overall.

[@xxmaej26xx]

Excellent information and presentation. Congrats on hitting 50k!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks!

[@Casper0123]

This channel has been my favorite channel for writing! It’s very honest and has no fat. I’m not writing in English since I’m from Japan but wisdoms are same! I’m very thankful for your videos ! Thank you 🎉

[@shikishinobi]

I’ve been writing almost every day. I have nearly 3 notebooks of stories planned out. Some for publishing, some for fan fiction. It is merely the structure and movement of story and character, but not all the detail. Another good writing exercise is to take a scene from a movie, television show or a cartoon short (no more than 5-10 minutes) and write it out as a story. It helps with description and finding words to describe conversation tone and so on. Helps free things up.

[@decades1912]

I've been writing for a year now & I love it, thank you for the tips

[@SpinoSam]

Im gonna try right now. Thanks for the tips.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Keep at it!

[@genjutsuASMR]

Some of the things you said really hit close to gome for me. I have so much self doubt and don't have the confidence to write, but I love the idea of writing. I don't mind being bad at it at first, I just have such a hard time getting the motivation and confidence to do it.

[@00700790210]

Very glad I found this channel. It's not only helping me a lot, but it's also pushed me to start writing again. This isn't relevant to this particular video, but if anyone is planning a series or something with a lot of lore then I found Tiddlywink to be a really handy tool. It doesn't seem to be all that popular so it can take a little getting used to because there aren't a lot of tutorials out there. Basically it's a private offline version of Wikipedia that can help you keep everything in your world organised into their own entries just like on Wikipedia. You can add images, links to websites, links to other tiddlers you've created etc. It sounds like I'm a Tiddlywiki shill, but I'm not. I just think it's useful for anyone who has trouble keeping things organised when they're creating something and I want to help them if I can. Most people use it for generic note taking or like a journal, but I think it's much better suited for anyone writing a book(s). Anyway, thanks Brandon. You've been a big help to me already.

[@Ergand]

I've been meaning to start writing for around 13 years now. Once in a while I'll get this strong urge to write and end up writing out a whole first draft in a few days, but those are pretty rare. I'm gonna take your advice and start writing at least a little every day.

[@Admiral_Kay_Markus]

I watch these videos to improve my writing, and it helps. I read other books to gain knowledge on how a story is usually set, and it helps. I talk to a friend of mine who is an author who encourages my work, and it helps. You, my friend and other peoples work has helped me make my own work. “Dreams are ideas that never come to light.”

[@Malkil75]

Thank you for this shot in the arm. Enthusiasm mixed with practical advice; love it.

[@gtube6913]

Thanks for taking the time to share some tips. I think it's a neat way to promote your books too. Please keep the tips coming, much appreciated.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for watching!

[@pauligrossinoz]

Thank you! That "covering" concept is _brilliant!_ I feel I'm so much better at writing after doing it over and over and over again with different novels from different authors. I like to get several paragraphs from "The DaVinci Code", and my wife points me to interesting pages in the novels she likes. Then, with each try, I write and rewrite from memory until I get a very close match to the original. Then I do another version that I think is more natural to me, yet still conveys exactly the same concept as the original. For example, I feel that Dan Brown can be extremely long-winded, so I end up with a more compact version of his style when covering his paragraphs. The end result is that I'm subconsciously internalising what it is that these different authors are doing to achieve their scene goals, while at the same time developing my own unique style. Then, going back to my own novel, the translation from my outline to the prose is starting to feel really smooth and natural. For the first time ever I had a beta reader tell me that it was "easy and fun to read" my chapter. 😮 _Now that's a nice feeling!!!_ I suddenly feel like I might actually get to the end of the novel after 3 years!!! 😂

[@bufordghoons9981]

This was helpful and straight to the point.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks!

[@patriciagray484]

Just found you. Very impressed with your channel. Been writing many years. Had one book of stories published. My challenge, no computer. No car. Still witing

[@papyrus_12]

You are such an amazing resource man, thank you for all of these videos. Would you do a video on exposition, and how to add it to a story that requires a lot without making it boring? P.S, gonna pick up Bad Parts and Entry Wounds. I'll tell you what I think after I'm done :)

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

I’ll add that request to my list, thanks! And thanks for checking out my books! Please leave brief reviews when you finish

[@enoch7775]

I plan to start writing after watching your "5 worst ways to start a story" and also a video about lethal company!

[@j.a.velarde5901]

The written and numbered prompts at the bottom in the video helped a lot. Please continue to employ this.

[@Tony_Calvert]

I wrote a short story but not sure where to publish it. I’m also writing an epic fantasy. It’s been a blast to work on.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

For the short story, search for open submissions on The Submission Grinder. Best of luck!

[@nasirjawed3608]

I learned a lot today from your video. I keep writing but will make it regular from today.

[@Hehe-zg1eq]

You help me a lot with motivation for my writing Thank you very much

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thrilled to hear it. Keep working hard!

[@raylinville4220]

Thank you for making this, and all your other videos! I've been thinking about writing for years. My biggest excuse has been that I don't have a premise, just a vague idea for a setting, and a bit of a timeline. I think I'll try riffing from some writing prompts and see if I can place them in my universe. Maybe it will get me to flesh the place out some more.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Freewrite until you find something that excites you

[@sandal9405]

Thanks. I`m going to start writing tomorrow.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Start today if possible--even if it's just a few paragraphs. Good luck either way!

[@-441-]

Hey Brandon love your videos bro. I just got put on to you maybe 2 weeks ago and I binged A BUNCH of your content now you have me watching movies completely differently now checking to see if the dialogue ATTACKS & DEFENDS. Kepp going. 👏🏿👏🏿✊🏿✊🏿

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Haha that’s awesome! Glad to hear the videos are helping

[@ibanezmaestro5630]

Hey Brandon. I'm a big fan of your channel and your videos have given me some great ideas for my own first book. It's been a bit of a disastrous journey however, because it's been nearly 12 years since I started it at the Denver International Airport. I had planned on writing a whole trilogy, And though the creative process was pretty tough, I ended up writing 11 chapters before I lost everything when my external hard drive got corrupted and I didn't know how to recover any of the files. The only work that was left was what I had saved on my laptop. After that,i sort of just shelved the whole thing for quite some years up until now. I still have a couple chapters left on my current computer,and since I started reading Stephen King very heavily recently, I've been pretty inspired to get back at writing. Which has caused me to look for advice on great writing, which is how I found your channel. Of course, in the early days, I committed all of the atrocities of the first time writer and as much as I would love to keep some of my old ideas and definitely the old characters, I worry that my story will be just too derivative of the stories that really inspired me like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. What I wonder is if I'm thinking too hard about it and maybe I should just jump back into it like I'm 26 again. Lol. Do you have any advice or earlier videos covering this particular dilemma?

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

You’re overthinking. If you want to write that story, start it fresh now. Remember, you’re a different person than the one who wrote the story at the Denver airport. You can bring a new perspective to it now. Think of it as a rewrite. Just let it rip.

[@ibanezmaestro5630]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Thanks Brandon. Can't wait to get started!

[@emmanuellaeledu]

WONDERFUL AS ALWAYS, SIR 🎉!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thank you!

[@bluechipBBN]

yooo brandon i’m excited to see you ride in the tour de france this year for team UAE!!! Represent the USA with style brotha 🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@Theyarefulloffear]

I’ve been bad with words by whole life and never really enjoyed reading books because I’ve sucked at mental visuals, but I loved movies and comics and good stories, I’ve been wanting to make my own comic but recently I realized to do that I need to learn how to _actually write,_ so here I am trying to start

[@ORCANORCA881]

Hey Brandon! Great advice as always! I was wondering if you had any plans to make a video about cutting out dead weight? Basically how to know when to cut something out of a story whether it's a scene, character, or maybe even an entire plotline?

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Hmm I might’ve already covered that. Check out my video on “5 Reasons to Cut Scenes”. I think the principles would apply to things other than scenes

[@ORCANORCA881]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty I ended up finding it after this comment cause I can't stop binging your videos. Thanks!

[@AnthonySmyth-LogG-]

Writing every day is my new year's resolution. First one I'm gonna keep I think

[@TheEldritchGoth]

This was the perfect video to come out for me right now. Thank you, Brandon!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thrilled to hear it! Best of luck with your writing

[@pokelover02]

THANK YOU so much. I desperately needed this

[@Bella-cv5wx]

Hi!! What would be your advice for TIME SKIPS in a comic or show? In my case, I need around 10 years to pass in the series. How would you tackle this? Thank you so much btw, I love your videos! :)

[@bobstanley8376]

As a teacher, I love listening to writing tips and as they translate surprisingly well to the classroom.

[@strugle5930]

I am not a reader or writer but i want to develop both these as my hobby so that my brain has challenges to deal whit.

[@naomismart5940]

Could you do a video on verb tenses in writing. I get hit on this every single time in writing group. Thank you. You’re videos have helped me so much!

[@kristinaeftimova2751]

I've been writing for years, I used to make one dimensional characters but one day i kept building new characters that are more three dimensional i've never regreted it. I always improved/improving and honestly I am so proud of myself. It's okay to make mistakes, I've done plenty but improving and Making mistakes, in the long run its great.

[@maxaustin145]

Honestly, I've dived headfirst into a fictional story that I currently envision as a series. The planning process is well underway, and I'm making great progress. In about 2 months I will be asking family, friends, and (most importantly) strangers to heavily critique and compliment my work to see where I am. I have never been so motivated by something and keep getting blown away by what I come up with. Thanks for the tips and I have subbed :)

[@JSpade85]

This guy spoke into my soul

[@lolahphoi7005]

Thank you for the tips . Highly appreciated! I have been so afraid of making mistakes , I needed to hear this.

[@zhadebarnet3773]

Yay, think I'm finally caught up on your content (only found you a few weeks ago). Thanks for all the great vids.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for watching!

[@christianmcallister660]

Thank you Brian, this actually was really helpful. I've had an idea for a while now for a book but as a high school student, I didn't feel like I was qualified yet to write it. I intended to wait until I took a creative writing class to continue but I see now that the class was just an excuse to wait until I had something unnecessary. If my book hits it big, you're definitely finding yourself first and foremost in the acknowledgements segment (after my family of course). If you ever see this comment, and become interested, the book will be entitled "The Actor".

[@nickllama5296]

Be warned that writing is hard, and it sucks most of the time. It's hard, difficult work. Everyone can write a few scenes that are cool, but it's the hard work of making those few scenes into a story, with all the stuff that goes in between, that tends to catch a lot of people out. It used to do that for me too, until I finally sat down and said to myself "I'm starting this story, and I'm finishing it come hell or high water." And so I did. I honestly would also recommend taking your first few stories, and posting them online, like Archive Of Our Own or somewhere. You'll get feedback (usually not a lot, but some), and for me at least, the knowledge that there's a few thousand people reading my stuff keeps me motivated to finish it for them.

[@ii8239]

I've been trying to get the first chapter of my post apocalyptic story off the ground. Occasionally I have bursts of inspiration, but it just isn't enough. I want to do much more with myself. I'm envious but also grateful and happy for those that can. Writer's block isn't something I would wish on anybody. I only recently subscribed to your channel, so I'll be seeing more of your videos soon : )

[@NancySherer-t9v]

Writers' groups are essential. Look for info on them at the library or book stores.

[@xHxSs]

I actualy got started with fanfiction. So I first had characters and a world to play with, then I started to play with my own characters in worlds that were established then I went to build on the worlds intruduced new places in this worlds. And after 4, 5 years I started writing my own stuff. And now my first complete Novel is almost finished and I am realy happy

[@katherinejanusch2328]

Your videos are definitely helpful. I doing national novel writing month and it’s definitely hard at times to write even on a day when I was busy I still got a hundred words in. This is helpful to give me motivation to keep writing,

[@WriterGuy1]

I've been working on my project for nearly three years, but never made progress until the start of this year. At the beginning, it was supposed to be a hobby, and I started on many completely different versions of the project, but never took it as something serious. Now, I actually want to do this for a living. My goal is to be a full time writer, and I'm lucky enough to have the talent for it. I'm writing what I plan to be a 4 book series, and I think the story is solid and engaging. I just need to have more discipline and work harder, and I know that I'll see my name on a bestseller list some day. Wish me luck 💪

[@emberashton975]

For starters, I just discovered your channel and I’ve been deep diving into your videos! They have been so helpful and I’m excited to incorporate your tips into my writing. I do have a small inquiry for you, should you see this message. I have a novel stuck in my head. I’ve written character descriptions, setting descriptions, even paired up character relationships with songs and explained the meaning behind them. For the life of me, I still can’t bring myself to actually write it. Believe me, I’ve tried. I ended up sitting down at my computer, even with paper and pen just to shake things up, and my mind goes blank. What would your advice be to combat that? Thank you so much! Take care!

[@stellarischloride7522]

I'm guessing that your problem is not knowing where to start. There is a simple solution for this that takes two steps. 1: ask yourself questions. Who's the main character you're following? What's the first major event they encounter? Start from questions like these, and slowly push the plot forward alongside the things you've plotted. 2: shut up and write the beginning. Doesn't have to be really specific, a few simple words are enough, but you have to know what's going on. This gives you something to work with, and as we all know, working with something is much simpler than working on nothing. You must know how to start before you can write more, and judging from your comment, the rest should be a piece of cake.

[@jasonmatthews1303]

I've just recently started writing. I've been good for about 300 words a day. I haven't published anything yet, but I am hopeful that after I finish a few short stories that pass the "First reader" test, my wife, that I can start looking for places to publish. Do you have a video on how new writers can get published? Thanks again. I love your stuff.

[@sobersportsman]

I've written a page a day for two days but couldn't yesterday. New meds made me feel like shit. I want to write today and this entire weekend, if possible.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Keep at it

[@XxCocomelonNurseryRhymesFanxX]

I gotta say, I hate writing, not much of an english major by any stretch. But damn, your content is fascinating

[@malcolmgdavis]

The hardest part about yoga is getting to the gym. I will start today. Thanks for the motivation!

[@aarondelgado3421]

Great video! I am currently working on my first novel! It is a good advice to write everyday. I'd also give the advice that one should just write freely without being bogged down with sentence structure, punctuation, etc. Just write freely then come back and make the edits.

[@isabellak.8365]

what helped me a lot with my first book was this tip: If you're not sure yet where to start or thinking about all the things you want to get perfect is overwhelming, then just right out what is on your mind in small portions. For example, that scene in the diner/ battle station/ city street/ etc. you're excited about, or that one piece of dialogue your mind keeps coming back to, or maybe you wanted to describe the dwelling of a character that you see clearly before your eyes and that inspires you. I ended up with an assortment of scenes and bits and pieces, later even the occasional rough chapter. All very beginner style 😂 But I learned that I really enjoyed the actual writing part and just kept on with that method, with each new bite sized piece of writing being a little bit better than the last. Also, through writing out some ideas they developed into storylines kind of by themselves, I almost feel like I can't take credit for them 😂 It was also a good test run: do I like the idea of being an author or do I actually enjoy writing? I only had this one burning idea in my mind, so writing other short stories or novels first was not appealing to me. But writing scenes, short stories, etc. of my actual idea did help very much, as a variation of the tip from the advice above (in the video). Did anyone else try this method aswell?

[@mickbrown7793]

even if what you write early on is bad, keep it as a reminder of the idea. because you may go back to it later, take the idea, and write something much better. Keep your trash, there may be gems in it.

[@checkmoth6402]

Answer: Right now actually! I've got a visual novel in the making and its about time to stop procrastnating and finally get to it!

[@koolkid2342]

This video was very helpful! Thank you!

[@king-of-a-thing]

Love your stuff, dude! Very helpful!❤

[@He-Who-Died]

3:33 Oh man, this part of the video feels like it was made specifically for me because of how i want to make this one super epic story with zero flaws.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Spoiler alert. You’ll never be completely happy with any story. There’s always the potential for improvement. Just gotta do the best you can

[@queenalex2815]

I have the same problem 😅

[@He-Who-Died]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty . Thanks. And actually I see it as a good thing if a story can always be better no matter how good it already is. If I found or reached an absolute limit to how good a story can be, it would just be disappointing because there would kinda be no more progress to make. I would want to keep improving infinitely for eternity without any limits.

[@He-Who-Died]

@@queenalex2815 . Ever look at a story that you see a lot of potential in that it fails to meet and then wish you could make your own reboot of it that does meet the potential you see for it? For me, that would be every Dragon Ball series.

[@stevecarter8810]

Terry Pratchett said something like people say they want to be a writer, but really they want to *have written*. Either way, you're right: the next step is to write.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Haha I know that feeling. Having the writing behind you is sweet, but having it in front of you is rough

[@angelabertrand9684]

In 40 mins...thank you, im going to do it!

[@MsWillowbayOrelse]

Hopefully my library will order your books in audio format. They sound interesting.

[@mortengu1385]

Reminds me of this quote…. *bad writing over time, if you do enough of it, can’t persist. Good writing will slip through.* -Seth Goden

[@J_Baxter]

I think writing is the easy part. I'm working on a book series and I wrote three books so far, I'm on the editing process for book 1, everytime I go back and read it I want to change some peice of information or story line. A book series is more time consuming but worth it. My characters have definitely grown since book 1!

[@benjamindover4337]

Love this advice

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Glad it helped!