Hi!There’s no set standard that you can compare yourself to in order to figure out how ‘good’ of a writer you truly are. ‘Good’ is a very subjective term when it comes to writing.You can, however, figure out how good your English is (or whatever language it is you prefer to write in) by taking an English test or by having an editor go over your work.You can also compare yourself to the writers you look up to -those you deem ‘good’- and look for thing they are doing differently.In general, people tend to measure how ‘good’ they are at writing by their success. This success is again, very subjective. For some, success means writing something that their friends enjoy reading. Others might feel successful by having an X number of likes on their blog post.If you are successful in your own way, you’re a ‘good’ writer.Do remember that there is no ‘best’ when it comes to writing. There are always ways for anyone to improve. If you’re interested in learning more about writing, consider visiting Blog - Left Hand Writing - All your writing resources! for all kinds of writing resources.Good luck!Dave
Am I good writer?
You are trying way too hard to make your writing sound intelligent. As Cogito said, cut out the adjectives and adverbs. And while you're at it, look up purple prose. Your entire excerpt demonstrates it. Big time. ETA: If you're going to get defensive and pissy why did you bother asking in the first place? Let me guess: All you wanted was glowing praise and told you're a good writer when you're clearly not. ETA 2: *waves* Hi, Brandon! You're such an arrogant little attention whore. Can't take criticism and think you're so much smarter than everyone else. Whatever, bro. FYI: "In literary criticism, purple prose is prose text that is so extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw excessive attention to itself. Purple prose is characterized by the extensive use of adjectives, adverbs, and metaphors." ETA 3: Brandon, I am done with you. You are nothing more than a petulant child who cannot stand being told he needs improvement. You will not go far as a writer with that attitude. With you, I have nothing to be jealous of at any time. I have been published several times (and paid for it), I've been employed as a full-time writer for a few companies, and I have the respect and credibility from numerous peers. Furthermore, I have been writing for 22 years, 14 of those seriously, and have had the privilege of working with excellent writers who have all taught me well. Several of those writers have handed me my a** and I am grateful for it because it made me a better writer.
Unfortunately there are some groups of people, usually politically right wing and fundamentalist Christians, who will use the downvote and reporting capabilities of Quora to silence people they disagree with. I am not sure how many reports or downvotes it takes to collapse an answer or to ban an account. I have seen many trolls who post troll answers and questions that never get collapsed and, mostly, left leaning or atheist answers that get reported quickly. I have had a 3 BNBR warnings and every time it was due to answers that were in relation to politics or religion. I am always very careful to stay within the BNBR guidelines but that does not seem to matter to the Quora bots. I was recently edit blocked for 1 week because of an answer to a troll question from a fundamentalist evangelical Christian person. She did not like my answer so she and her friends reported my answer and got it collapsed.So now I do not answer as many political or religion oriented questions. These people have been successful in their attempts to silence those who disagree with them while they destroy the websites they do not like, like Quora. I was instructed to report questions and answers from trolls rather than respond to them. So that is what I am doing lately. Unfortunately it seldom does any good. The Christian troll who reported my answer is still going strong and harassing others. I just refuse to engage now and feed the trolls.I suppose if we all just reported trolls and did not respond to them they would cease their efforts.
Please Be Honest - Am I A Good Writer?!?! (:?
Wow, good job. You have a decent talent at writing if you can write like that at nine and a half :o). I'm impressed, but I just have a few critique's so that you can improve your story: 1. Paragraphs. Just so you know, it is a knew paragraph every time somebody else speaks. For example-- --“Well, I was cleaning the ashes, and one of them flew up into my eye.” “Oooh! That HAD to hurt. Let’s go get Papa.” “Ok,” --Should be-- --"Well, I was cleaning the ashes, and one of them flew up into my eye." "Oooh! That HAD to hurt. Let's go get Papa" "Ok," 2. Add a little more description. Ask your teacher for a list of descriptive words, than add them into your story, it will make it more 3D, and more interesting to the reader. For example-- --'We were behind the cabin, almost back where the fields were. That’s where Papa spends most of his days. He kept on bending down and putting something in the soil. Seeds' --Could become-- --'Alex walked me behind the cabin, holding my hand for support. We were almost in the field, which was rich with soil and thriving with beautiful tendrils of wild grass. Papa spends most of his days back here, tending to the crops and planting tiny seeds into the dark dirt. {Tendrils means- a thin, leafless plant.} You obviously have a good grasp on grammar and spelling so great job there, just read threw it to someone and they can help you edit and revise it fully. Awesome Best of Luck for Future Writing
I'm passionate about writing but I'm not really good at it?
Good writing comes with experience. If you write often, no matter how poor the quality, you'll eventually improve. In the last four years, I've gotten substantially better at writing. I've gone from the worst grammar and spelling in the history of English to taking home young writer's awards. If it's something you're passionate about, just keep working at it. Write a bad draft and edit it once, twice, three times. Keep editing. Edit until it's perfect. Do this with everything you write, from essays to short stories to novels. If you can't think of what to write, write about the room you're in. What are you wearing? What is the weather like? Just write whenever you can, for as long as you can. Don't worry about other people, and how skilled other people are. You'll only get yourself down that way. I feel like I'm being surpassed every day of my life, by friends and family members who seem to put words to paper as easily as breathing. In the end, though, the people who are surpassing you are as insecure and self-doubting when it comes to their own writing. Something else I've learned, that helped me get over this constantly comparing myself to others, is understanding that no two writers will write the same. There's not a leveling system for this. You just have to find your style and improve on it, edit your work until you're comfortable with what you've written. A friend of mine also told me that the things you write will always be the worst to you, as it is with any artist. You can see the flaws because you wrote it, even when others might not see them. And if others do, don't be insulted by their criticisms - learn from them. Maybe you don't agree with what they're saying, but there's always something to improve on, and they could be shedding light on exactly the thing you should focus on bettering. Hopefully this helped you! xD
I need good ideas for a fictional story i'm writing?
I won't give you ideas because I am saving them for my own writing. I can, however, give some advice about where to find your own ideas. Newspaper stories are always a good source. Here is an example: Recently a 17 year old girl was arrested for causing an accident while she was driving while drunk. Who is the girl? Why was she drunk? Who gave her the drink? Did she drink it on purpose or was her cola spiked? If spiked, who spiked it and why? Who was in the other car? How badly were they hurt? What was the weather like? Were the roads wet? Icy? Was it foggy? Or leave out the drink. She was sober when she wrecked. Again, what were the weather conditions? Was she distracted? By what? Was she angry? Talking on her cell? To whom? Fiction is sometimes about extraordinary people in extraordinary situations. Superheros and all that. But more often is about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. In Alfred Hitchcock's film North by Northwest an ordinary man is mistaken for, first, someone who he is not and is then implicated in a murder. That is generally the case with most Hitchcock films. Ordinary people in extraordinary situations.
HELP! EASY 10 P0iiNTS! i REALLY NEED HELP!?
i REALLY need help and FAST! this is due tommorow.! i will pick best answer, probably the first answers. i will list directions after i am done. writing the questions. i need help on : 1. what section of the lithosphere carries crust? 2. whats the mantle below the lithosphere called? 3. what kind of wave is realesed during an earthquake? 4. what forms earths hard surface? 5. what is used to map the mid ocean ridge 6. what is a layer that is part crust and part mantle 7. what is rock that makes up oceanic crust 8. what is the study of planet earth 9. what is a valley where places move appart 10. whats earths middle layer 11. whars earths outer layer DiRECTiONS: write the number and the answer. thats it! THANKS S0000000 MUCH!!!!
How to write a good story???
All the answers I've read here so far are very good. Thirteen is young enough to write a story with your heart engaged and not to angst over whether the plot or characters or the first paragraph is good enough or the factual details are "right" (not at the composition stage, anyway). Write your first story for fun and for yourself and forget about publication. Get inside your main character's head. If she is watching someone about to be burned at the stake, describe what rivets Her attention and what She feels and thinks. When you have finished writing your story, and want your friends to read it, set it aside for a day or so; then read it again. Clean up the spelling and grammar mistakes. Get rid of the words, sentences and paragraphs you don't need (the redundant passages, the narrator telling the reader that "Joe was a good guy" when the action of the story showed that Joe was a good guy,) the dull bits that don't move the story or do not tell us something about the character that we need to know (such as Joe waking up and dressing himself, or Baby Joe's fondness for his blanket. Those things not move the story and don't tell us anything important about Joe unless Joe is still carrying that blanket at age 16.), and unnecessary adjectives and passive verbs (such as "The ball was rolling toward the pins." Something like "The bowling ball smacked into the pins." is better.) Think of your English homework. "What did the author mean by ....?" "How did the main character show she was angry at her boyfriend?" "How did what happened to Red Riding Hood's grandma influence her conduct towards the Wolf?" Now you are "the Author". You get to make your readers think about what you mean by the words and scenes you write. Oh, and my mantra: "Use Your Library!" Plenty of good stuff at your fingertips online; but the library not only has online access, it has other resources, including a reference librarian and inter-library loan. Dewey Decimal 808.8 for books about creative writing. Grammar and Rhetoric books in the 400s. Books about other subjects elsewhere in the building. Various types of fiction as well.