What's more important to become a successful writer?
>reading and researching a lot
>writing a lot and learning from yourself
>studying writing theory
>????
The first two, as well as observing people and events.
>>8206663
Writing well
you have to both read and write a lot. i mean a lot.
>studying writing theory
tripe.
>>8206675
This.
It's the only thing pretty much all successful authors have in common.
Even Kerouac did that, so he could train spontanious writing. Even though he was "classically trained/educated".
Research can become a huge time sink, before you know you'll have 69 tabs open.
>>8206686
>gives writing advice
>"spontanious"
>>8206663
>reading and researching a lot
Helps a fuckton.
>writing a lot and learning from yourself
Helps you find your own voice
>studying writing theory
Lol, no. That just masturbation for academics.
Basically read a lot and write a lot.
If you have it, it will show. If you dont... then you can always write for an idiotic market, like teens or YA.
>>8207705
>spontanious
English is my second language and even I could tell he wrote that wrong. Funny because my pc auto-corrects what I write.
>>8206663
>inborn talent
What's wrong with writing theory?
>>8206663
The first two simultaneously. The third is just wankery.
>>8207748
It tends to be bullshit by hacks who have no idea what they're talking about. You'll learn more from just reading many different authors and trying to incorporate aspects of their styles into your writing when appropriate.
Same thing as being a good speaker or communicator. Listen twice as much as you speak. Same thing goes for writing. Read twice more than what you write. You will become more well-rounded, find your own mistakes quicker, break out of your shell.
To till the same soil, regardless of whatever flawless training and education on writing you have received, uncovers nothing and is not worthwhile for anybody.
What reading does is help you find your aesthetic. It lets you figure out what you really like, but always you find that it's not quite what you want; that's when writing comes in. But writing is certainly the main way to get good at writing. That being said, I don't think it needs to be an orderly process. E.g., you can read for 6 months, then write for 6 months, then take a break again, etc. The main reason you need to write a lot is to develop your process. Are you going to think through the words as you write them, or just write what first comes to mind? Are you going to write dialogue, description, plot, or what? How do you choose the write words? How do you mix emotion and subjectivity into objective description, and what balance of those do you seek? These are examples of questions that are integral to the writing process, and can only really be answered through practice. Of course, lots of shit tier (successful) writers have no cognizance of these things and just write the first shit that comes to their mind ... but that's what makes them shit tier. Even if you are just going to be a spontaneous writer, like someone like Kerouac or something, just describing the events of his life, you still need lots of practice to be able to articulate things well when the moment for the narrative comes.
Writing theory is generally interesting, but the problem with it is that it always hopelessly fails. There are just so many ways to write and so much going on with the use of language that attempting analysis on the subject tends to be little more than an exercise of the intellect. So it can still be very interesting, but you are deluded if you think you find out any real answers. On the other hand, elementary writing theory like autobiographies of writers can be quite helpful and informative. Just don't think you're actually going to get some recipe that you can just whip out from that straightaway. God knows I wish that you could. Ultimately you have to forge ahead, come to a sufficient confidence and appreciation in your own process that you find a method and style that accomplishes the aesthetic which you hope to achieve.
