One of the best ways to learn how to write after you have read a few books on plotting or taken a few classes (many authors don’t and that’s ok), is to READ, READ, and READ some more. Of course, it is important to find authors who are excellent writers so you can see what it looks like. I feel it is better to see it and experience it, rather than just read about what it should be from a book on writing. Don’t get me wrong, these books have some good points and can help you get started, but I feel it is best to see a great example.
But don’t get carried away with reading everything you can find, much of it won’t get you any closer to your goal. Get a good feel for your genre or subgenre. What works? You’ll know when you read it whether it is correctly written and added to the plot, the setting, or the character. What’s selling? Of course, the books you are reading have sold and were published, but are they selling very well? How does the style of bestsellers differ from those that had mediocre sales? You need to keep this in mind as you develop your own style, plots, characters, and fictional worlds. For example, you may have a great plot and main character, but would it increase your sales significantly if you were to change the historic context from the Late Roman period to 18th Century England?
Which writing techniques work the best for the novel and characters that you want to portray? You know when you find it and exclaim, “Ha! That could work in my early Victorian novel about…” They can provide you with hints, concepts, and ways to turn a bad character point into something that truly interests your readers. “Exactly, I was wondering how I could incorporate ______ into the character’s background and use it effectively.”
Wishing you the best on your writer’s journey,
Josephine