Tips from a Writer part I

So, I've been recently asked by my good friend Sea-Chan ( Link in the description. Go look her up you derps. She's awesome.) to part with the secrets to my writing. Since I've been asked this by a few people, I'll put it here (it's also just long in general, so this helps.) for any aspiring author that's plagued by the dreaded writer's block!

1) Q: How long do you write in a day, and when do you do it?
Generally, I try to give myself a few hours a day. During weekdays when I have school, I dedicate two or three hours to writing when I get home. Weekends, I write whenever I feel like it.
During school, though, I keep a pencil and notebook handy just in case I get an idea – I don't trust my memory, see. The moment I get an idea, I drop whatever I'm going and write it down. Whether it be in point form or details doesn't matter – get the point across!
During holidays, that time fluctuates. I sometimes go days without writing and then write for eight hours straight (that usually turns out to be the case… I get distracted too easily.) So, in brief, I don't stick to a schedule! I write whenever I feel like writing – if I don't feel like it, I close the document and do something else. The urge to write usually comes when it feels like it. Quality work only comes when you want to write and are willing to dedicate hours to it.

2) Q: Where do you get your ideas?
Believe it or not, I honestly don't know! Generally my ideas come from the fact that the subjects I stick to writing are passions of mine (like, say, astronomy. Travelling to different universes and preventing two galaxies from merging.) and I constantly keep the subject of my book at the back of my mind, so that I'm always thinking about it. Whenever I go somewhere, I look around and I check for things that could give me inspirations – a bird flying in the sky: a boy with the ability to change into a bird; a cloud shaped like a mushroom cloud: an explosion on planet WTHAR (Where The Hell Are We C: ) – and that way, your options for inspiration are limitless.
There are other ways I get inspiration other than the things around me. Whenever I read a book, I always ask myself what could I have done better? in order to see the ups and downs of a book (it also helps if you have a vivid imagination and can picture the scenes in your mind.) I constantly listen to music, and I make sure to have a range of selections in my playlists – such as compositions from a game, Goth rock, pop, alternative… just not anything that gets on my nerves. It's helpful to have soothing music pop in from time to time (like the one playing right now… well played, iTunes, well played.)
Simply put, I surround myself in creativity.

3) Q:I write hours on end but I still don't get anywhere!
Relax. Take a deep breath and hold it – okay, you can let it out now! Geez, don't asphyxiate yourself.
Find yourself another hobby, silly! You may be a writer, but you're still human (even though writers tend to be a little loopy) and still have needs. Take a break, take a piss, eat for the love of Ra, and take a step in the sun! You're not a vampire – you won't burn (and no, you won't sparkle, either. That particular race was annihilated last month.)
You can start drawing (even if you're not good at it – it's an escape from writing and you get to draw your characters if you feel up for it! It's a good memory aid) or singing, dancing, walking in the forest… anything's possible. All that stops you is your own self and the shitty economy (seriously shitty – I'm about to have to downgrade from the world's oldest desktop to a typewriter.)
So socialize a little and don't expect to speed-write a novel in a month (it's seriously hard, trust me – see: NaNoWriMo (Sod off auto-correct NaNoWriMo is totes a thing)) and the end result will most likely be complete and utter poo. There are too many novels out there that are just horrid (point in case: Vampires do NOT sparkle.)

4) Q: Should I stick to the same genre?
*SMACK* BAD. NO.
Expand your horizons! I myself have written multiple one-shots, stand-alones and novels in multiple genres. I keep it all under one type I am most comfortable with – Fiction.
Always decide first which type you'll be in: Fiction, or non? After that, will it be Historical? (In the case of non-fiction, it tends to be.) Will it be Fantasy, Action, Adventure? There are a million possibilities and branches – don't stick to just one. You could do Fictional Fantasy, Horror, Action and Mystery for one, and then Fictional Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Humour, Romance, ect. You can have a million different types (but please, keep it realistic – or at least keep it under a believable concept. No glittering vampires. Once was enough.)

5) Q: I've been wanting to write another book, but if I drop the one I'm working on I'm scared I'll just leave it there! What should I do?
*Continuously smacking forehead*
Quality comes with practice! How will you get any better if you never stop working on the same story? I myself have a literal ton of dropped manuscripts and series that never really quite made it. However, in the process, I learned a little more about what I'm best at writing and I've expanded my experience. I've learned to be descriptive and I've learned the proper rules to grammar through trial and error with those novels. (We're getting to that part. Brace yourselves.)
It gives your mind a chance to take a break from one subject, and just let loose with something else. You might find yourself more comfortable with the newer one you're writing and decide to scrap the other.
DO NOT DELETE IT.
Seriously. Don't. That idea had an iota of coherence somewhere in that talented mind of yours – let it collect dust for a few years and then you might stumble on it one day, and decide to rewrite it. That forgotten manuscript might be your ticket to the best-sellers. By then your mind will have probably forgotten just about every detail you'd thought up of, and shall then come up with better ones.
It's worked for me. I still have the first four and a half manuscripts I've written, silently collecting dust on that shelf right there. One day, I'll complete the hell out of them.
In the meantime, Science-Fiction is my calling!

6)  I make a lot of mistakes and it's just depressing. Do you have any good grammar tips?
If you've made it this far and you're not bored to tears while gouging your eyes out of their sockets, congrats! Here's a cookie.
I'm afraid to inform you that this is where you die.
As an aspiring novelist, I'm a grammar freak. It comes with the job description in the fine print that people can never really read. So please, bear with me (I wanted to be an English teacher eventually… you'll forgive me.)
First of all, I often see people starting pieces of dialogue with three dots (…) and then just rape the sentence with those dots – for example, "…Of course not… how could you say that…?" Pieces of dialogue don't start with three dots unless you're picking up on a piece of dialogue that wasn't written (instead of "Allison and Thomas died in five minutes in Call of Duty," something like this would be acceptable: "…in Call of Duty.") A sentence ends with either a comma or a period, depending if it's an incomplete thought. Comma ( , ) for incomplete; period ( . ) for complete.
When someone shouts a question, it usually only requires the more dominant punctuation (I see a lot of people putting ? and ! together. You're technically alright with it, but it's not proper) so if they're shouting more than asking, it's an exclamation point – and vice versa.
Whenever there's a new piece of dialogue, it's better to start a new paragraph unless it's the same character speaking (and even then, if the paragraph is starting to run for a bit, or if it's in the middle of a paragraph that started with no dialogue, change paragraph anyways. A long paragraph like the ones below cough cough is overwhelming.)
Short sentences. Just… why? Descriptive words, my friends! The grace of the paragraph is ruined with short sentences like these: He stood up. He walked over to the shelf and pulled the book down. He sat back down. Bad author! *Smacks you with meter stick* If it's because you're trying to show the bouncing thoughts of a character as he/she goes from one realization to another, great. Go for it, bro – descriptive words don't bite anyways.
A semi-colon (the thing people seem to assume is good only for winking faces ( ; )) can be used in those cases. Semi-colons are useful when it's part of the same subject (such as surroundings - the stream bubbling in the distance filled the silence; the birds had stopped singing, and everything was quiet.) and has the same point to it. These ( : ) as well, are not eyes. They can be used to extend a thought (shocking, I know!) such as this - there was one thing he knew he could do: he could always just run away - with the intent of showing a suggestion or, say, a solution to a problem (running away is NEVER an option. Not in the real world.)
This fun little gizmo ( - ) can extend a thought too! Here's an example: he laughed despite the sadness he felt and reached up from the floor to take an item from the shelf – a silver disk, or better yet the latest Rise Against album – before slipping it into the music player. Note how if you removed the words between that, the sentence would still be complete and comprehensible. They separate words that add to the sentences description without damaging the context.
Commas ( , ) are either abused or neglected. Seriously. Commas separate sentences up and show where there's a pause. Pretend you're reading the sentence out loud – where would you pause? For example: "She's in a better place, I guess," he whispered, looking to the floor between his feet. If you would've said the dialogue, you would've paused there, wouldn't you? You might not notice it but you pause all the time, depending on your mood. A sad person will hesitate more, while a happy person will just drill through, possibly giving everyone a migraine. If it's part of the same subject – take he whispered, looking to the floor between his feet as an example – if the subject lacks a descriptive word in the space between whispered and looking, put one! You can often replace a comma with while, as, with… not always, though!
Finally, TENSES. *Cue evil music and screaming victims*
I can't stress this enough. PAST TENSE REMAINS IN THE PAST. GODS.
*Ahem* Now, make sure you always keep in mind the tense. Past, present, future? Is the character describing a past event? When people speak, unless they're talking about future plans or past events, they speak in present tense. Keep your descriptions and words in context! I've seen too many amazing authors make these mistakes.
Past tense: Had, offered, cried, laughed… the ed stuff.
Present: Running, have, offer… er and ing is the main stuff.
Future: Will run, try, escape… this is the miscellaneous section. (This is sounding like a French class.) Usually has will in front of it.
This fun description: like if.
If you use this, better run. I'll gut you. (No, really. run.)
Kidding! Replace like if with as if! It's proper and it makes the text sound less… iffy. See: They shone like if they were diamonds as opposed to They shone as if they were diamonds. Which one sounds better?
Lastly, sentences starting with and, because and but.
Just… no. You can if you want it to be an informal sentence, but it gives your text greater impact if you keep the words formal and proper. Replace but with however, nevertheless; because with thanks to, the fact that; and with also… if you want a full list, search up their synonyms on Google.

7) I repeat myself over and over with the same words. Help!
No, this wasn't going to be all about grammar. You can breathe again.
Expand your dictionary, silly! Don't be afraid to pick up a dictionary and leaf through it (I did that once when I was bored… don't judge me.) and don't ever be afraid of looking up a word you don't know. Afterwards, the descriptions you come up with can be extra-sensory!
Here's a good example as to what big words can do.
The wings stretching from her back became ethereal as they shone with an iridescent glow. The moon's light, hitting their membranes just perfectly, made the wings look as if they were diamonds.
If you didn't have to look any of those up and knew what the words ethereal, iridescent, membranes and wings meant, congrats! Here's a cookie.

8) Novelists make a lot of money, right? I'll be able to live off of just that.
Unless you're the next J. K. Rowling, no. Get that out of your head right now.
To be able to properly live off of your books, you'd need to write best-seller after best-seller (see: Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling, or Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. If you don't know what LOTR is, better run.) and live in the world's shabbiest condo (not really, but still.)
No, I suggest just getting a degree in Literature (in whatever language you're writing in) if you're going to be serious and be a novelist, and also get a side-job that you can live off of while still having free time to write. Don't become an astronaut, because we all know laptops get terrible Wi-Fi in space.
For example… SPCA, a mythology teacher if mythology's your thing, astronomer (I actually would do that if you didn't need physics)… the options are endless! Find whatever you're amazed by and discover the shit out of that thing. I myself am still hesitating between historian, mythology teacher and astronomer, and I actually have to make up my mind, like, fast. It's alright if you don't know what you want to do yet other than be a writer (though writers tend to go into more creatively-demanding jobs like manga artist or musician (pianos are boss 'kaythanksbai)) and you're still only in high school.
If you're thirty… well… the hell are you waiting for? An asteroid to fall at your feet with the words employment written in big, fat, alien letters?

Anyways, thanks for putting up with my shenanigans! I hope this helped someone somewhere, and know that the things other than the grammar rules and income are my personal thoughts and ways of doing things. Don't take my word for it – there are a million authors out there, though not many are willing to part with their secrets…
For now, I hope a four-year-running author is enough!
Ask me anything if you have questions, and I'll answer you as best as I can! Let's show the world that books aren't a waste of talent, one book to the face at a time.
Good luck, and happy writing!
~ Marie-Ange