Hi! I like to write. I've been doing it as a hobby for quite a long time. If you're just getting started in writing, or if you're a writer looking to improve, YOU'RE GONNA NEED SOME TIPS!

So here I am, an amateur writer--who's absolutely not a professional--will give you some tips you may, or may not, have known or tried before. With these tips, I'm not going to tell you HOW to write. I'm not going to talk about vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, composition and all that jazz. I'm just going to list a few GOOD HABITS that writers might want to acquire. Try them at your own risk.

These tips come from my own personal experience. I have tried all of these and they do help with creating ideas, improving narrative, developing a writing style, etc. to some extent.

1. Listen to Music

You may think, "What the heck does music even have to do with writing?" Music is an art form driven with emotion. Now, anyone knows that a writer who is highly in tune with emotions and imagination is usually a lot better at descriptions. If you can't feel your characters emotion, or if you cannot see what your characters see, you won't be able to translate that into words.

If you close your eyes and just listen to music, you can be transported to different worlds and alternate universes. Through the movements and patterns in the notes, your own emotions can be altered if you let yourself drift with the soundwaves. Music can take you to a chaotic, hopeless world where you can experience heart-ripping misery and unbearable pain, or it can take you to a world of fluffy clouds and rainbows with magically bouncing unicorns that leave a trail of candy canes everywhere they go. Music helps a lot with ideas.

It also helps get into the right mood for certain scenes. For example, I listen to sad songs and A LOT OF TAEYEON for sad scenes. (Taeyeon's voice is highly expressive.) I feel like when I write while listening to the appropriate music, I am able to get in touch with emotions more, thus, making it a lot easier to describe how I want the characters to feel. With music, it is possible to feel something you may have never experienced before. If you want to write about, let's say, a death of a loved one, but never actually experienced that, just listen to a bunch of sad songs about death, and you might be able to feel the same pain. Or if you're just in a bad mood but you need to write a fluff scene, well, go find a light pop song or something. For romance, search for love songs. As for destruction and impending doom, heavy rock or metal will work perfectly.

2. People Watch

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. You can't write about people if you don't see people often. Go out and sit on a park bench, or hang out in the subway--anywhere--as long at there will be people, and just WATCH. It sounds boring as hell for people who cannot sit still, but trust me, it's good for you. If you've never people-watched before, you might think nothing ever happens, but actually, that's not the case. A lot of things are happening. As some skinny middle-aged man runs down the paved street at mid-noon, you should start asking yourself, Why? Why is he running? Or when a young high school lass sulks on the way home one afternoon, ask yourself, Why does she seem upset? The more you watch, the more you see how people act a certain way. You don't even have to be watching strangers. If you're in a classroom, just sit there and subtly watch what people are doing. Start noticing details. Like that kid who keeps spinning his pen. Or that girl who likes to take selfies whenever there is an opportunity. Or that guy/girl who has been secretly taking glances at you when you aren't looking. ;) Notice habits, movements, responses, etc. You can incorporate these observations in your stories!

If you write about animals or something, then WATCH ANIMALS. If you write about vampires, idk watch Twilight? I'm sure vampires sparkle. *sarcasm* (But with mythology, you should just study mythology. Or make your own mythology. But still, vampires are kinda human-ish so you still need to people-watch. There are plenty of people in the real world who act like aliens/zombies/monsters/witches/a$$es/b**ches on a daily basis too, so people-watching is still very much important in writing literature that involve mythical humaniod freaks.)

3. Talk to Different People

I know a lot of writers are introverted, (but not all). I'm an introvert as well, so I hate having to talk to people I am not close to. But if you want to have a diverse range of characters, you need to know people. This is different from people-watching, because with people watching, you only see actions and scenes. By talking to people, you get to understand thoughts, dreams, opinions, experiences, personalities, etc. of other people. Start meeting people who you have nothing in common with. It is possible to be inspired by hearing people's personal stories. Once again, you cannot write about people if you don't know people and how they work. You cannot make decent character development if you don't know how their brains work. You don't have to be a psychology major to understand patterns in people's behaviour.

4. Travel

You don't have to fly a plane to places, but if you can, that's good. If you can't go far away, just go to the grocery, or walk down an alley, or go to your neighbour's house, or explore some corner in your neighbourhood you've never been to. It is better to go see different places than to stay locked in your room, especially when experiencing writer's block. Go out, breathe some fresh air, and take in the feelings, the sights, the sounds, the smells... Notice the weather, notice the buildings, notice the trees... Just look around. You might find the perfect setting for a romantic dinner date, or the perfect setting for an unexpected theft. If you're feeling brave, go to that old abandoned hospital that was rumored to be haunted. Vampires might be living there. lol

5. Explore other Media

TV, movies, other books, magazines... heck, even Wikipedia. Explore other people's work. It is okay to get ideas and inspiration from others' work, but IT IS NEVER OKAY TO PLAGIARIZE. If you want to be good at a certain art form, you have to study by looking at the ones that are already there. As for writing, go read other literary works. By doing that, you can understand different forms and styles. Since writing is purely creative, there is no "one right way" of doing it. Each writer will have his/her own unique mark on the pages. Maybe by examining different styles, you might find one or a few that work best for you. Or you can try all of them, if you're feeling ambitious. (But you'll probably die trying.)

Lol, I wrote all of this because I am bored and I needed to procrastinate from studying. I hope this helps. And if you have some tips of your own, comment! :D