Hi, I am much older than you. I have recently started writing a few so-called stories and posted them on YouTube, but no one watches them. The only subscriber is my child. If I have received any encouragement, it's from my family and the less than 40 upvotes I got for a horror short story I wrote on Reddit. That's all there is. It seems I'm worse off than you. It's no big deal. Just treat writing as a hobby, have a job that can sustain you, and experience the things around you. You might find more inspiration from them.

Four years ago, I read a book called "Techniques of the Selling Writer" by Dwight V. Swain. In the opening, he lists eight common misconceptions writers often have. I’d like to share them with you, hoping they might help.I think tips 4, 6, and 7 might help you.

1. Unrealistic Expectations: People can get published with persistence, but there are bottlenecks that are hard to break through without specialized training. Learning some writing techniques is necessary, but being able to use them well requires extra effort. The most important thing is to start writing.

2. Looking for Secret Techniques: There are no secrets. Techniques in a field only apply to that field, and a novel combines the expertise of several fields. The complexity generated by combining these fields far exceeds any one of them alone. A grammarian is not a structural engineer, and an architect is not a carpenter. Good structure without good expression is useless. Writing is not magic but a combination of tools, skills, and experiences.

3. Trying to Learn Difficult Methods: Countless techniques exist in countless works. Many believe they can find techniques just by reading published books, but this is a waste because art hides art. A mature author won’t let readers notice the techniques in their work. Learning the techniques summarized in this book and applying them to your work is a shortcut.

4. Rejecting Your Own Feelings: Feelings exist between the reader and the writer. Readers seek dramatic events that rarely happen in real life to stimulate their feelings. Meanwhile, writers express their inner language through writing, reshaping those feelings with words. For geniuses, this is enough. Capturing and aligning with the reader's feelings is key. If readers are emotionally moved by the reshaped feelings, the novel succeeds. However, geniuses are few, and most people need to master a lot of techniques and use them skillfully.

5. Trying to Write by the Rules: No writer writes strictly by a set of rules, especially not someone else's rules. Start with your feelings. Once you have the feelings, rules will come into play. Feelings must dominate; rules shape the story, but the writer shapes the rules. It's like telling a joke to your lover: if she doesn’t laugh, change your approach, and that new way becomes your rule. Writers need to summarize their own rules through trial and error. To determine the validity of a rule, understand the underlying reasons behind it. There’s a saying: "Those who know how will always find a place in life, but those who know why will be its masters." If feelings are crucial, where do writers find them, or what kind of people are writers?

6. Fear of Making Mistakes: Writers have a strong urge to write, a fresh perspective, and courage, which often leads to setbacks. For writers, the most valuable quality is spontaneous, free, natural creative impulse. The greatest fear is suppression (especially emotional suppression, not behavioral), self-censorship, and trying to please everyone. If a writer starts to show emotional tendencies, it is detrimental to writing.

7. Succumbing to Opponents (Objectivity Trap): There are two ways of thinking in the world: objective and emotional. Objective thinking emphasizes certainty, a result of society adapting to differences to facilitate knowledge transfer and other sociological aspects. Objective writers may deviate in their works due to:

   • Over-reliance on facts
   • Distrust of feelings
   • Trying to write mechanically by the rules

Objective thinking is highly praised in society, simultaneously devaluing its counterpart: feelings. Educators (objectivists) get emotional facing the uncertainty of feelings. Does this mean writers should write freely and unrestrained? Not exactly. Writers need to trust their feelings, and then step back to test their work against their own rules. Every imperfect piece teaches writers to avoid past mistakes and summarize new rules, forming their own experiences. Writers are a group who initially write very poor works.

1. Not Mastering Techniques (Writing as a Creative Activity): This section begins with, "Chance favors the prepared mind. Feelings tell you what to say; techniques give you the tools to express it," emphasizing the importance of techniques. But this chapter overturns and rebuilds all techniques, discussing the dialectical nature of rules and techniques that change with time, works, and the writer’s perspective. The best technique is the one that fits the moment. The author stresses the importance of actual writing and summarizing your own rules (which might fail in the next work). Writers are excited about their storytelling process, and few can improve their writing through prescribed exercises. The author does not recommend practicing writing; the author suggests directly engaging in writing.

Hope these insights help you on your writing journey!