Things I learned thanks to writing stories

Writing can be not only relaxing hobby (ehm, who am I kidding it's a torturous device designed by the biggest evil in the world because one cannot stop but suffers so much), but also learn a lesson about this confusing little world we live in. Or life in general. One can't have enough of life lessons.

Now I will kindly share wisdoms I learned throught those numerous years I've been writting... ok, I've been trying to write stories.

ONE DON'T NEED 8 HOURS OF SLEEP... OR SLEEP AT ALL

When you're a writer, you know that sleep is overrated. I learned that if I want that book done (which hopefully will happen if Mr. Writer's Block stops seeking my attention all the time and I could write in peace...) I need to write at night because hello, school, work, friends, blogs, books... it takes a lot of time. And then, when I finally get to sit down and write that chapter, I type like a mad woman. There's amazingly comfortable bed right beside me and I want to get to it as soon as I can. Though, if I have to choose between sleep and writing a scene with Kyrian, I will definitely choose Kyrian. #writingcrush. Who needs sleep when there's perfectly handsome and charismatic man right in front of you? Oh, he's fictional? That's just a detail.

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE TOO MUCH PICTURES ON MY STORY'S PINTEREST BOARD

No. No, no, no, no. Whoever told you that you have too many pictures for your WIP, which you haven't even started writing, is wrong. There's nothing like too much pictures. What IS too much pictures, that's the question! Pinterest boards are an amazing source of inspiration. Well... up until the moment when they suck you in like a monster and devour your innocent soul and you loose track of time and suddenly the whole day went by and you haven't done anything productive and you start stressing out. Yeah, sure, it can be a dangerous sport.
But if you actually want to get some writing done, DO. NOT. GO. THERE. Save yourself!

HOW TO MURDER SOMEONE... AND OTHER LIFE HACKS

As you can see, writing will teach you some basic survival stuff such.

• How to estimate whether a person will live according to their blood loss. 
• Where to stab a person in order to kill him. 
• How to torture people creatively. 
• How to get away with murder.
• How to tie a corset. 
• How to take control over the world. 
• How to train the dragons.
• How to domesticate an owl. (Yeah, that's right. I want to have an owl as a pet. Don't judge me.)

After this we can establish that my works are pretty dark. And that I'd love to have an owl. Seriously, I wouldn't be able to deal with the cuteness overload and I would die instantly (but utterly happy) so it's probably better I don't have one. Also, I guess I'd be scared of her beak. 

What was I talking about? Oh, the life hacks. Well, for a writer to master a certain scene, she/he must look up some useful facts. I did a whole research on corsets because I couldn't figure out how to describe them and how they function. I don't want my main heroine parading around men inadequatly dressed and embarrassing herself. Sometimes writer needs to kill a character and he needs to know how, so he research that information. Well, if he knows how... I don't want to know how he discovered that. 

MAGIC IS THE MOST AMAZING THING THAT HUMANS CREATED

Whoever came up with magic and witches the first, was a genius. I don't want to offend any other genres but fantasy, especially the one that has magic in it, is the best. I mean, you can literally do whatever you want to do. Is your heroine trapped in a dungeon? Well, if she has magic, she can easily escape. Just look at The Vampire Diaries TV show. There's always some loophole in the spell or some ancient book that will turn everything you know about magic into one big lie and then all of a sudden another magical artefact will come and everything goes to hell... you see my point? No wonder there are so many books and seasons in that series. Magic is all mighty and if you know how to handle it, it will bow before you like a puppy and show you all of her mysteries. But don't forget to feed her with your fantasy, otherwise it will get pretty bad. Also, it can bite you. It's a wild beast.

CRITICISM IS QUITE PAINFULL

Imagine you wrote the story. You watered it with your tears for a long time, you gave it a lot of sleepless nights and eventually you sold your soul to the devil. The last trial of its perfection is the approval of critic. It's a rare ingredient and only the best novels are able to achieve it.
So you dress the novel in finest clothes (because critics can be quite shallow and they like pretty and pleasingly looking things) and send it on the dangerous adventure.

In the best case your book will came like a hero, with a crown on its head and the rest of the novels will bow before it. In the worst case, it will came back torn and dirty and humiliated. Criticism is hard. People dive into your story, they will turn it upside down, looking for every single mistake, they will see your bare soul and then shred it to pieces. That's why we writers must have thick skin.

In all seriousness, criticism can be traumatizing but you have to keep in mind, that constructive criticism is there to help you. You may not like it, but it´s there to improve your writing and help your novel to be better. Then there are hating comments which you shouldn't listen to.

Now it's your turn. What did writing stories teach you? Do you have crush on some of your characters? Would you like to have an owl as a pet? How do you take criticism? I'd love to hear your thoughts.