The following was an email I crafted to a young writer/fan of mine on this exact date in 2005. All of these tips are relevant even now, so I thought I would share.
A few very important basic facts to remember about writing, and the writing talent are going to be listed below. You might want to post these someplace as a reminder, which you will need. 
1) “I’ve been writing stories my whole life and I’ve been told I’m very good, mostly by my family and English teachers, but I honestly don’t think I am.”
Our family members and teachers often see beyond the writing to the talent hidden beneath. We, on the other hand, are our own worst critic; forever and always we will go through phases when we abhor something we previously thought was pure literature. I have come to believe that this is one of the basic instincts a writer needs in order to continually strive for improvement (and eventual, unattainable perfection). It is okay to hate your writing; just don’t allow yourself to throw anything away. Especially not when you’re in a phase of hating everything that you’ve written. You will never know when you can use it, maybe not even in the original form you had intended it. Believe me, I’m speaking from long and hard-learned experience (mourns over lost scenes).
2) “I mean there are authors on fanfiction.net that write so well I almost want to give up writing.”
Never allow another writer’s ability persuade you to give up. If writing is your passion, truly, then you should instead use these writers as a guide. A way to learn and absorb different styles and genres so that you may eventually find your own, if you haven’t already. Each writer has their own unique ability, as well as a singular influence (life experience), that no other writer will have. Perceptions are also different, and these differences will affect your style as well as the story you have to tell.
3) “I know part of my problem is I just start writing on a whim, like I’ll get an idea and start writing without planning anything out so eventually I have all these plot holes and stuff later.”
Believe it or not, writing on a whim is something that is encouraged by writing magazines such as Writer’s Digest, and even my college writing professors. It’s a writing exercise that is very important to the duty of honing our ability. Believe it or not, sometimes the best story ideas are found when “writing on a whim” and “without planning anything out”.
In addition, when first attacking a storyline or story idea, it is best to write out all that comes to mind, plot holes and everything. This is called a “rough draft” or what I call the basic skeleton. Once you have that down, your mind is more freely able to wrap itself around what is yet needing to be written; the flesh waiting to be added and those pesky holes waiting to be filled. Sometimes a book/story will go through several “filling out” stages, which is par for the course. You can’t see a next step until you take the previous ones. It’s all part and parcel to the writing process.
Oh, and another thing to note, a writer is never EVER “done”. There is always something to be found, changed, or made better. In fact, I was told this by a published author, who then proceeded to show me the corrections in his *published* book. Why are we never truly done? Because we’re never truly done learning about the craft of writing. Which should be an exciting prospect, and not a depressing one!
4) “I also think I have a problem with holding back, like I don’t want to fully put all my potential into a story because I’m scared that if it isn’t liked then I suck, because if I don’t use all my potential and it isn’t liked I can just say I didn’t put a lot of work into it.”
This is a mindset that is very dangerous for your future potential, as I’m sure you’re aware. Unfortunately, writing with abandon will take time. Once you become more firmly comfortable with yourself as a person, this will be seen, also, in your writing. This will be something that we’ll work on little by little. Once I read your writing, I’ll give you some phrases/mantras that you will be required to repeat each morning/evening/whenever you write. It will seem silly, but once it’s a habit, you might begin to see the difference in your writing.
I hope these little bits help you.
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