How do I start writing if I'm honestly bad at it?
Yash Tiwari11th Sample
15 Sept 2026 · 2 min read
Bhai, so here is my problem. I want to start writing. Not for marks, just because I see people on this site writing these posts and poems and stories and I think "yaar, mujhe bhi kuch likhna hai". But every time I sit down with a blank page, my brain just gives me nothing. Or it gives me something so cringe that I delete it immediately.
What I've tried:
- Opened a notes app and wrote "Today I felt..." and then sat there for 10 minutes. Closed the app.
- Tried writing a letter to my future self. Wrote two lines, both of them were "hello, how are you". Deleted.
- Tried copying how my favourite writers write. It sounded like someone doing a bad accent.
The thing is, in school my Hindi and English teachers always said my compositions are "ordinary". My spelling is okay, grammar is okay, but no spark. I'm also a backbencher turned serious (at least I'm trying), so I don't have a "writer" personality. My friends think I'm a joker.
And also, should I write in English or Hinglish? Because when I think, it's mostly Hinglish. But everything "serious" is supposed to be in proper English, no?
So basically, if you're bad at writing, where do you even begin? Any small exercise that works? Like, an actual first step, not "just write every day" (I know that, but what do I write???).
Thanks bhai log, and sorry for the long message.
12 answers & replies
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[+][–]Riya Singh12thSample· 1mo ago
Hi Yash! Okay, first thing: you already wrote a funny, clear, honest 250-word post just now. That is writing. You just did it while thinking you weren't.
Here's what helped me. Stop trying to write "something." Write about one specific thing that happened today. Not "I felt tired", but "the chai at the canteen was cold and the aunty gave me a look". A small, ugly, real detail. Sparks come from details, not from feelings.
And write in the language you think in. Hinglish is totally fine. Some of the best writing I've read here is in it.
[+][–]Yash Tiwari11thSample· 1mo agoAuthor
Riya this makes sense. So like... write the cold chai thing. I can do the cold chai thing. 😅
[+][–]Rohan Sharma11thSample· 1mo ago
Pro tip: make sure grammar is perfect first, then add details. Fix everything before you move on to the next sentence, otherwise it'll look bad.
[+][–]Riya Singh12thSample· 1mo ago
Rohan, please, no. That is exactly how people get stuck. Write first, ugly and fast. Fix later. If you edit every sentence as it comes out, your brain starts being a judge and a writer at the same time, and the judge always wins.
[+][–]Rohan Sharma11thSample· 1mo ago
fair, I do this with coding too and it's why I have 4 files named "final_v2_actualfinal". ok retracting my tip
[+][–]Zoya Khan12thSample· 1mo ago
A gentle suggestion: start with a very small container. For one week, write exactly three sentences every night. Not four, not a page. Sentence one: what happened. Sentence two: one thing you noticed that nobody else probably would have. Sentence three: how you felt, in plain words.
It takes two minutes, so you can't say you're too tired. But it trains the exact skill you're missing, which is noticing. Most people who feel "bad at writing" aren't bad at sentences, they just haven't practised paying attention.
[+][–]Yash Tiwari11thSample· 1mo agoAuthor
Zoya di this is exactly what I needed, "three sentences" feels doable. Starting tonight.
[+][–]Yash Tiwari11thSample· 1mo agoAuthor
Update: wrote my three sentences last night. "The power cut happened during dinner. My dadi lit a diya and told the same story about the 1989 flood for the fourth time, and I noticed my dad mouthing the words. Honestly I felt warm, like the story was a blanket." Is this okay?? 😭
[+][–]Riya Singh12thSample· 1mo ago
Yash. YASH. That's not just okay, "the story was a blanket" is a good line and "my dad mouthing the words" is exactly the kind of detail I was talking about. You've been a writer this whole time, bro.
[+][–]Siddharth RaoDropperSample· 1mo ago
Big-brother note, Yash. I was also the "ordinary compositions" kid. What changed things for me was speaking, not writing. Open the voice recorder on your phone, talk about your day for two minutes like you're telling a friend, then type out what you said. Boom, instant draft, in your actual voice. You'll see that you're funnier and more specific in speech than on paper.
Then edit it a little. That's it. That's the secret. Your voice is already there, you're just scared to write it down.
[+][–]Kavya NaikDropperSample· 1mo ago
This works SO well, Siddharth anna. Also Yash, one more thing: read your sentences aloud once. If you'd feel embarrassed saying it to a friend's face, rewrite it. If it sounds like you, keep it.
[+][–]Meera Patel11thSample· 1mo ago
Small addition from me: a lot of people think writing needs "big ideas". It does not. Pick a tiny topic and explain it clearly, like how you'd tell your younger cousin how a cell works, or why your cricket team lost. Clarity is a great starting skill. Style comes later, sometimes only after a year.
Also your posting is already well-structured, to be honest. Better than half my class.
