You don’t have to do what I say. This is only a suggestion. But I have seen firsthand what the benefits of writing can do. I have short stories and poetry published in several anthologies.

It can help you with your grammar skills, help you focus, improve your brain function, and help boost your imagination.

Now, it doesn’t take a genius to begin. If an ape can write Shakespeare, then you can open the notes app on your device or pick up a pen and let loose.

Anybody can take up writing. There’s no age limit and no expectations. As long as you have a story in mind, then you can let it out onto the page. But what do you need?

When you are starting out, you need to focus on short stories. These will help you get the experience and become familiar with how you should be pacing your story. The best way to follow this would be to follow the three-act rule. There must be a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Work on your characters. You don’t want bland, boring characters. You want them to capture people’s attention and have readers connect with them or relate to them.

You need dialogue to be believable. You don’t want flat lines or dialogue that feels unnatural that puts the readers off. Think about the characters and what you would say if you were in their shoes.

Get used to descriptive language. Describe where the characters are. What do they see, hear, and smell? What colour is the wallpaper, or what sounds does an alley at night make? Don’t be afraid to spice it up. Instead of saying a doorway was black and led into a house, say it was a black maw ready to swallow you into a dimension of the unknown. Avoid using words ending in “y” like “safely” or “sadly.” But you can use them on occasion.

Show, don’t tell. This is a mistake that’s easy to make and one I find myself doing sometimes. Describe what’s happening, but don’t tell us outright; the reader is intelligent and can figure it out for themselves. If someone is confused, say their eyebrows knitted together. Upset, tears welled up in their eyes, threatening to burst.

Tie up those loose ends when the story finishes. With short stories, you only need to focus on one plot. When you expand to longer stories and novels, you can start looking into B plots, which can drive a story on longer while continuing the A plot.

Think about the genre. Your tone and language will be affected depending on what genre you’re writing. You don’t want a happy-go-lucky vibe when you are writing horror. Use descriptives and a tone that fit.

Draft. When you write a story, don’t leave it and think it’s ready. Look over it. Read it out loud. Does it sound right? You can change words or change characters whenever you feel it will help the story. Also, dedicate a draft to making sure the grammar is correct.

Now, you will be ready to start, but you don’t know how. My advice is to use a prompt. Prompts can be found everywhere on the internet. These will give you a sentence or two to help kick-start an idea.

Join Facebook groups and attend workshops. No matter your experience, going to a workshop will help any writer. These groups are useful for feedback and letting you know how to improve.

Good luck writing.