Firetongue Writing Blog: Intro and Common Questions on the Sub

“Can I write a story?”

Lurking on the r/dragons sub, I encounter this question continuously. Someone has an idea—a new dragon story or a solution to a common pop-culture issue—and they are ecstatic! Not many opportunities like that come around—but—what if it isn’t good enough? What if their writing isn’t any good? Is the style the problem? The tropes? The characters? They don’t know, so they take that question to the sub. And it makes sense. If you have a problem that you can’t answer on your own, why not ask for peer help? For critiques? Perhaps someone else who loves dragons will answer their call?

The problem stems from the fact that not many people answer these questions. Many actively ignore them—and that is no offense to anyone. Not many people can easily answer unless they are directly pop-culture related. They may themselves be in the same boat as the first person. For many of those questions, only another writer can answer them.

That’s what I hope to do with this column. If you are a dreamer hoping to write stories with dragons—about mystical places of castles and demons, other planets and stars in the void of space, or even a 711 down the street—this is your place. A come-one-come-all place where even the “stupidest” questions will be treated with respect.

So, to answer the question above: Yes. You can write a story. And not just an easily forgettable tale, an anecdote to talk about once in a while at your cousin’s third marriage reception or on a meme post on r/losercity, but something that will leave a keystone in your life, an unforgettable memory you and maybe someone else one day will always cherish. That starts not by being the best, but by taking the first step—learning, asking questions, and then, most importantly, trying and failing to actually write, because you will learn much more by doing than by thinking.

So, go forth, my friends of scale and fur, and try! Write! Next time, I will be focusing on the basis of storytelling, and the thing you should focus the most on: Characters.

 

Kind regards,

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