You can analyze your favourite writers' techniques. You all know that right?
When you read a book or fic or whatever and are blown away by how amazing the writing is you can just go, "huh, how is the writer doing this? what things are they doing to get this effect?"
And if you can't figure it out you are allowed to google it. Check out YouTube videos, blog posts, and the wealth of posts on Tumblr even. If the writer is famous enough there might even be full-length academic papers on Google Scholar or JSTOR, or even 100+ page published books dissecting their style (Tolkien, for example, if you like his style). If you still can't find the information, ask someone. Ask more experienced writers or writers who write in a similar style. Ask writing advice blogs/channels. Ask the writer/author themselves.
And if you still can't figure it out, you can keep trying things and reading similar stuff, observing until it clicks.
I just say this because, well, reading someone else's writing and feeling like yours is horrible in comparison is pretty much a universal writer experience. I see a lot a posts on Tumblr offering encouragement like, "it is okay if you writing isn't like theirs, you just have different strengths," and "actually your writing is better than you think it is, you've just been staring at it too long." And these are valid.
But also, just because you can't write like that now doesn't mean you can't learn. You don't have to resign yourself to a particular style just because it comes easier to you. It is completely okay to be happy with the style you have, but it is also okay to not be happy with it and wish you could write like your favourite writers instead.
Just... when you get that, "oh my gosh, I will never be as good as them," feeling, maybe try figuring out what it is they are doing that you like so much. Maybe being patient with yourself doesn't mean accepting that this is your best work. Maybe it means accepting that this isn't and that it will take time, knowledge, and practice to get there. But you will, you just have to keep trying.
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secret admirer part three
646 words
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Eddie is wearing a white shirt. It wouldn’t be weird if Steve wasn’t so sure that the boy was allergic to color.
Steve pauses his chewing. He turns to Carol where she sits next to Tommy across from him. “Is white a color?”
She looks at him in boredom. “It’s a mix of all of the colors.”
Steve shares a confused glance with Tommy before nodding slowly. “...Right.”
Anyway, his point stands - Eddie is wearing a white shirt. He also seems to be back in high spirits and it wasn’t until Steve walked in and saw him in a heated discussion with his buddies at his table that he realized how much he missed the boy’s usual energy.
For as sure as he was that Eddie didn’t not want his notes, it’s relieving to know he’s probably fine. The realization draws him out of his head a bit and puts it all into a better perspective. The world doesn’t revolve around him.
Over the weekend, Steve invites Tommy over to hangout and when he shows up, he has Carol with him. Steve idly wonders how long that’s gonna last. Tommy has been interested in her for a while. She made him work for it and honestly, Steve thinks they’re perfect for each other.
He'd thought that whenever they made it official, that Tommy would be spending less time with Steve. If anything, though, the opposite is true. Tommy seems to hang around Steve more now than ever. He goes on and on about what he and Carol get up to, and Steve finds it kind of odd but assumes his friend is just excited. Still, Steve truly doesn’t need to know every detail from when Tommy and Carol hooked up under the bleachers.
Steve has always gotten along with Carol in school. She’s a bit bitchy but that only means she can keep up with him and Tommy just fine.
The weekend isn’t half-bad but come Monday, Steve is revved up. He’s already had his note written for days.
He delivers it without a hitch and excitedly waits.
Eddie
it’s hard to look away from you sometimes, i never would if i could get away with that without getting my ass kicked
you don’t seem to care what people think about you or the things you like and i find that really impressive
i wish i was more like you
your books always look really interesting, do you have a favorite?
-H
Steve wonders how hard it would be to get his schedule changed so he has at least one class with Eddie in the morning, too.
Then he comes to his senses and realizes that would make him insanely creepy and weird. Which makes him wonder if he’s already doing that.
He spirals.
What if Eddie had looked so troubled because he doesn’t want to be receiving notes from some random person he doesn’t even know, what if the reason he seemed back to normal on Friday is because he’s resigned to live with the unwanted affection, what if he hasn’t even been reading the notes and he just tosses them immediately, what if, what if, what if.
He goes through his morning classes in a fog that only dissipates when he walks into the cafeteria and sees him.
Eddie is reclined in his chair with his ankles crossed and propped on the table in front of him. When Steve walks past him, he hears the boy whistling obnoxiously and rolls his eyes fondly. It's only when he takes his seat and risks another look that he spots the book in Eddie's hands. The boy is making a show out of reading it; he has the book so close that it's covering his entire face.
Steve thinks it's strange until he remembers his note this morning.
It turns out Eddie's favorite book is The Hobbit.
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