WRITING TIPS
Writing can be difficult and discouraging. At Intersections Magazine, we're here to help and provide some positive motivation. Here are some writing tips from our staff members. Come here whenever you need a little extra boost to jumpstart your writing for the day.
Find your first publications via Instagram and social media. These are often more easily accessible. You can reach out to them and even get to know the people behind the magazine. If you start out directly submitting to extremely well known magazines, it's quite a reach and you're likely to get disappointed.
The best tip I ever got from different workshops was to show, don't tell. Of course you should explain in your text, but you also should trust in your reader to understand. For example, you can leave the tension in a room up to the reader's interpretation.
To stay motivated, it helps to have workshops and groups to get and give feedback. The social aspect motivates to keep up deadlines, and it'll make you a better writer.
Write. Write every day. Just write, write and write. Describe what object you are seeing. Describe your day. Start writing. Don't wait to get inspiration. Don't wait to be motivated. Because the truth is that you won't get motivation unless you have started. Starting a project will inspire you to go forward. So don't wait for motivation, just start it.
Take advantage of and seek out every opportunity! There are tons of online magazines that offer workshops, editing, and publishing opportunities. Many people miss out because they’re to afraid to try.
Don’t be afraid to call yourself a writer and share your ideas with other people. That title is sometimes scary and can come with a lot of expectations, but it also has a lot of power. Becoming comfortable with sharing your writing can be really helpful.
Don’t be afraid to take risks. Writing can be weird or fun or scary. It can truly be whatever you want it to be - start your stories with one line. I normally build entire ideas off of one line that I scramble to write down.
Keep a notebook by your bed, read a lot, and have fun!
Never give up. You will face rejection and be disheartened but this will only make you a better writer, and stronger person.
Use writing prompts such as those found on the Intersections website to warm up your writing muscles.
Jot down ideas immediately when you get them, such as dreams or scenes.
Learn from published writers. Regularly read established literary journals as well as publications you want to submit to.
Join an online writing group like Prose or Write the World to meet other young writers and get feedback! A lot of literary magazines are connected to each other on social media sites like Twitter as well, so checking out their resources, such as publication lists, can help tremendously with finding opportunities.