Having accepted the fact that I am unskilled yet ardent in my pursuit of noteworthy prose, I give you the two-pronged process that is guaranteed to make me (and you) a better writer: reading a lot and writing a lot.
Step one, read a lot. While some people will advise you to read anything and everything, I offer a cautionary note. I could go all PHIL 102 on you and explain the relation of the imagination and the intellect and how crucial it is to fill your imagination with good things, but it took weeks of study and one fork-truck-thing analogy (compliments of Emily, whose dad works in construction) to make sense of it, so I'll just give you the general idea. Your imagination determines what images you have to think about and contemplate. So if you constantly fill your mind with trashy romance novels and the like, well, those are the images and words you'll have to think about and work with. By all means, take notes and learn from that poorly written mystery novel you had to read in seventh grade, but be selective in your reading. Learn from the poor books that come your way. However, I personally believe a focus on the "good stuff" is essential. Fill your imagination with beautiful imagery, good character development, quality dialogue, and a rich vocabulary and you'll be able to rearrange all those lovely things into a mosaic-story that is entirely your own. First principle: Read what you want to write.
Step two, write a lot. At some point, you are going to write something and absolutely loathe it. It's inevitable. There is a disconnect between that intangible image in your mind of what your story ought to be and the concrete print of what your story really is. You are bound to get lost in translation at some point. But if you sit around, waiting for blue skies before setting a pen to paper, all that poor writing will make up a much higher percentage of what writing you have to work with. It will take you twice as long to reach the editing phase, which is where the real magic happens and your diamond in the rough becomes a polished gleaming stone. Write on good days. Write on bad days. Write to yourself about how you have no idea what to write. Every day, you'll be the slightest hint better at the craft, and eventually that will add up to something marvelous. First principle: Write as often as you can manage.
I am hardly a master of these two principles. I say these things with borrowed authority from authors more impressive than I. This post, more than anything, is a promise to myself: to read more and write often. I'm going back to the first principles. Should be fun.
Images: one, two, three, four
