Improving One's Writing

You may have read that published authors encourage new writers or writers who are not published themselves to write short stories, writer for trade magazines and so forth. All good and well, but I'm encouraging something probably a little controversial.

Write fanfic.

Write fanfic and post it - to your blog, AO3, fanfiction.net (Pit of Voles), to Twitter, Tumblr (yay!) etc. Write flash fics, write long novels and everything in between. Why?

Because the best way to receive feedback is from fans. It may not be the late and great critique that you're expecting - a dissection, but it'll give not only you as the writer a chance to figure out what your audience likes - but it also gives you a chance to figure out what YOU as the writer like to write (and if you like to write for yourself or for others).

Fanfics also are a safe haven to play around with established characters and generic scenarios (and overused tropes too). You get to figure out how you want characters to react within their established framework, build off of that, do a tried and true trope (coffeeshop AU! Time travel AU! Every reads 'x' and figures out the plot AU!, etc.). You don't run into people NOT wanting to publish your stuff, because it's overused, but you can publish it yourself and see what happens.

Then, take those lessons you've learned and build your original world, build your universe and build your actual original novel. Because unlike some authors out there, you know what your audience wants and you know what audience you're writing for.

Of course - marketing said book and finding an agent is harder. Future post to come on that...but that's also what indie publishing is for too.