awww! first of all anon you’re a brilliant friend and she’s really lucky to have you! secondly, who is your friend and where can i shake her warmly by the hand and thank her endlessly for liking my writing. seriously when people like what i write i feel weirdly indebted to them? like they’re doing me a personal favor idk it’s weird it’s like WOW YOURE DOING SO MUCH FOR MY SELF CONFIDENCE LET ME BUY YOU A DRINK OR SOMETHING

although if your friend’s 14 or 15 i probably shouldn’t buy her a drink. maybe a virgin pina colada. i’m a bad influence but i try to keep it vaguely legal.

anyway! i’m sure she’s very good and even if she isn’t, you’re right that work and time makes all the difference. i mean, if there are people on this earth with god given natural talent then i am certainly not one of them. anything i produce that’s vaguely decent is something i spent years working towards. the nice thing about writing is that, like most things, the 99% perspiration thing very much applies. it’s a craft, like carpentry or something. you learn by doing and you improve by just trying over and over again and slowly you get there. and if you love it enough, the work doesn’t feel like work it just becomes a part of what you are and what you do.

and so yes, i was a terrible writer not too long ago and i’m still not that good really but i’ve definitely improved because i do it every day. in order to try to encourage your friend and to amuse the general populous, here are some samples of my awful fanfic circa 2008 - 2009 (when i was 13-14)

here’s one of the first fics i wrote (for veronica mars fandom) there was one before it but i took it off years after bc it was terrible and it got no ff.net review poor bb jaye

this is gossip girl fic thanks jaye

wow more gossip girl fic

actually there’s tons more at the old lj account where these are posted browse to your heart’s content. i’m trusting you all not to tease me mercilessly here okay