Useful Tricks. And Weird Info.

How to write

wikiHow to Write
Writing can be an amazing world to explore! From realistic fiction to mysteries to sci-fi to poetry, your writing is only limited by your imagination. Keep in mind that writing is a lot more than putting pen to paper: it takes reading, research, thinking, and revision. While not all writing methods work for everyone, these tips should get you started on your path to writing.

Part One of Three:
Getting Started
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Read a lot. Read a variety of authors and genres to expand your understanding of what different writing looks like and what each author's "voice" sounds. This will help you think about and develop what you want to write about, how you want your writing to sound, and, even as important, how you don't want to sound.
Read what you want to write. If you want to write a sci-fi novel, for instance, start reading the masters of the genre like Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick and Ray Bradbury.
Keep up a regular reading schedule. Even if it's only 20 minutes a day before you go to sleep, you'll notice an improvement in your writing.
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Find a place to write. As you start writing, try writing in different places to find what works best for you. Where can you concentrate best? Where do you find inspiration? Where can you focus? It could be at your desk at home, at a busy coffee shop, in a secluded corner of a library, in a park or anywhere you feel like.
You might find that different places work for you based on your mood or what writing step you're in.
Different locations might lend themselves to different activities. For instance, you might brainstorm best on your bed at home and edit best at a library.
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Choose a way to write. Will you write everything down by hand or use a laptop? As with finding a place to write, finding your way to write will develop over time.
Be wary of distractions. While typing may be quicker, it can also lead to distractions such as checking your email or websites.
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Brainstorm. Write down plot ideas. There's always an idea before a well-written book, and the possibilities are endless. You could write about calculus. You could write about Mercury. You could even write about yourself. There is nothing you can't write about. Try answering these questions:
What happens in your story?
What's the main topic?
Who's the main character?
Why should the reader be interested?
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Research. If you're writing about a subject you're not an expert on and want to make sure you are presenting the topic or information realistically, look up the information or seek out an expert to ask questions.
Search for information online. Type your topic into a search engine and sift through the top 10 or 20 results.
Note: Be cautious about information you retrieve online, especially if you are writing a research paper or an article that relies on factual information. Internet sources can be unreliable. Published books, or works found in a journal, have to undergo a much more thorough vetting process before they reach publication, and are therefore safer to use as sources.
Check out a library. Yes, believe it or not, there is still information to be found in a library that hasn't made its way to the Web. For an even greater breadth of resources, try a college or university library.

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Part Two of Three:
Writing Drafts
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Write a rough draft. It doesn't matter how many spelling errors or weak adjectives you have in it. This copy is just jotting down those random uncategorized thoughts. Write down anything you think of that you want included in your writing, and worry about organizing everything where it belongs later.
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If you're having trouble, try freewriting. Set a timer and write continuously until that time is up. You won't have time to worry about errors and mistakes if you're rushing to get the words out. It doesn't matter if you never use it, just beat the writer's block by filling the blank page and get your writer's muscles writing.
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Edit for your second draft.. Review the rough draft and begin to put what you've written in the order you'll want it in. Clean up misspellings, grammatical errors and weak writing such as repetitive words. Flesh out the plot and start thinking of anything you want to cut out.
Edit ruthlessly. If it doesn't fit in with the overall story, if it's unnecessary, or if you don't like what you've written, cut it out.
Check for coherency. Do all parts of the story make sense together? If so, continue. If not, consider revising whatever doesn't fit in.
Check for necessity. Do all parts of the story contribute? Does each section give necessary background, advance the plot, build suspense, or develop an important character?
Check for anything missing. Are all your characters properly introduced? Do the plot points flow smoothly into one another, or are there some logical gaps?
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Proofread. Remember that spell check alone doesn't always do the job. Only you can catch the difference between to, too, and two, or their, there, and they're. Although they may be spelled correctly, they may not be used in the correct context.
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Write a third draft. For this draft, take more time thinking about each section as you analyze, edit or re-write it. Think about bigger changes like moving sections of the story around.
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Keep rewriting until you're ready for a second opinion. This is an important step, as other people will see what you actually wrote, and not just what you think you wrote.
Get feedback from someone whose opinion you respect and trust, and who either reads a lot or writes themselves.
Ask them to be honest and thorough. Only honest feedback, even if it's a wholesale criticism of your entire story, can make you a better writer.
If they need some guidance, give them the same questions you've been asking yourself.
This is particularly critical if any aspect of your story revolves around a technical area in which you're not an expert. Make sure at least one of your readers is an expert in that area.
Join a writer's group in your area or online to share your writing, read others' writing, and provide mutual feedback.
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Evaluate the response you received. You don't have to like or agree with everything that's said to you about your work. On the other hand, if you get the same comment from more than one person, you should probably take it very seriously. Strike a balance between keeping aspects that you want and making changes based on input you trust.
Re-read the story with your readers' comments in the back of your head. Note any gaps, places that need to be cut, or areas needing revision.
Re-write using the insights gained from your readers and from your own subsequent critical reading.