Non-writer here, wanting to start a project

I work in a slow lab, love JRPGs and dream about my stories. My advice is to put that novel way up on the shelf and forget about it for awhile because you're going to be at the bottom of a dunning-kruger curve soon.

The first thing I wrote was a 47 page teleplay a few years ago. It's nice not having to worry about prose or narration and just get a story out of your head. It has its own challenges but with free formating software and research, I found it a very satisfying experience.

On reddit I've been trying to do a few r/writingpromts a week. I usually like the daily challenges more than the prompts themselves. You don't get much feedback there but you will get a sense of what people like and what you do well. I also drop the occasional screenplay style fan scene in r/redditwritesseinfeld and the Frasier sub when I catch the right moment. I've actually gotten very reassuring feedback from some of those and it sustains me whenever I think about it.

My proudest Reddit writing moment was probably a Billy Joel verse (we didn't start the fire) about the NFL season. It got 80 awards and sincere praise. I'm telling you, when you write something you know is good and people praise you, it solves all your problems in life.That's what I'm chasing.

Out of work I dump my life story onto my laptop in an rebellious autobiography (the stated purpose of the autobiography is to break writing rules). It's cringe af but it's practice.

But novels are still a dream. I just finished my first short story and getting confident with prose and style. What you have to understand about novels is that it's a meta game. Authors have grinded out so much and found so many effective techniques that have spoiled readers standards (I'm a good way) that there's just no such thing as writing a novel as a non-writer. Not one for the audience of sophisticated readers at least.

You have to start thinking like a writer. Bleed it into other things you like like I do. Probably start with romantic fan fiction with your game characters. Or something that you can share with a community and get feedback from. If you find something resonates with people, lean into that. Find something you can get praise for and build your writing around that. And be patient. Oh and read. You have to read.

/r/writing Thread