I've always wanted to start writing (in a totally amateur way), but whenever I want to start something I instantly get blocked having a lot of questions and doubts.
Are there some resources on how to start becoming a writer?
I'm thinking something with tips and easy exercises to get the ball rolling.
When I'm thinking about where I learned most how to write, I think that reading was the most important guide to me. This may sound silly, but by reading good written newspaper articles (facts, opinions, scientific articles and most of all, criticisms of films and music), I learned how others did the job, what works and what doesn't. In my own writing, I try to mimic other people's styles that I liked. Moreover, I learn new things by reading, giving me a broader background that I need when reflecting a certain topic.
Every now and then I still read the free, local tabloid and recognize many mistakes I would have made when I would not have read quality material earlier in life. Of course there are books about journalistic writing and I read some (titles will be added later), but I guess that reading forms the best learning school until today.
I now see that I didn't answer your actual question about online guides, but I hope it's helpful after all.
BeginningWriters.com (via archive.org) has some good articles for beginning writers.
Have a look at 750words.com, maybe you'll find it useful. At least it's all about writing, not reading. (I agree with @John Smithers' comment)
I particularly like The Snowflake Method and most of what Randy writes, including his book.
Reading a lot and loving to read are most important of course, but have you tried writing-related podcasts?
Writing Excuses got me into writing fiction again. It's a short podcast about how to write fiction well and how to "break in" to the industry, from 3 guys who do and did. (I wrote a bit more about it on my blog)
I just wanted to add this resource as an answer for this question, even though the question is quite old, because the resource was created exactly for new writers to help them learn the craft of writing while writing their first novel.
Disclosure - this is my website.
https://www.novel-software.com/novelwritingroadmap
This is basically a step-by-step guide to writing a novel, starting with the premise and expanding it into a story skeleton, then synopsis, then full plot, with advice at every stage.
I originally created the steps for myself, to keep track of all the theory I'd read and what I'd learned from my own experience, and to have all the right info at my fingertips at just the right point in the novel writing process.
Once I'd created the method / process I thought about how much I'd have liked to have had it when I was starting out, so thought other people might like to use it.
Writer's Digest has many good articles.
John Smithers's comment is spot-on. Start writing now, and you can work on being a better writer as you go. It's like running competitively. Professional runners run a lot, every single day. They don't worry too much about if they're reading the right books about running, they just practice. Practice writing, then practice editing what you wrote, again and again.
That said, there are a lot of resources out there that can make a fine supplement to your writing practice. A couple of my favorites:
And finally, I would add that the second best way to improve your writing is to join a good critique group. This sounds scary to a lot of new writers, but it doesn't have to be. A good group is supportive and polite, while not being afraid to offer criticism.
Getting your work critiqued helps you improve, and it also helps you develop a thick skin. As a writer, you need to be able to accept criticism and use it to your advantage. And critiquing other people's work will probably improve your writing even more than being critiqued. It helps you develop a strong internal editor.
There are lots of groups out there. Some meet in person. If you're in a metropolitan area, there's probably one or two nearby. Otherwise, there are many on the web too. As a spec-fic author, I use Critters, one of the larger online critique groups. Conveniently, Critters is currently in the process of expanding to cover genres other than sci-fi/fantasy/horror, so you may want to check it out.
I would say: Just start writing. Any body can write, not everyone can write well.
By practicing writing, it will get easier. You will got more comfortable with it.
Then, the magic starts to happen. As you write, you will realize what you don't know how to do, which will stick in your mind. Then, as you read, you will start to notice how those sentences are constructed. You'll start to have "Ah-Ha" moments. "Oh, THAT'S how you do that!"
The more you write, the better you will be at it. The more diverse literature you read, the more you will learn. They go hand in hand.
I have found that the best advice for a beginning writer is to just sit down and write.
Before you have attempted your first text, you will have no idea what your individual difficulties might be, and asking a general question as you do here will get you advice that you may not know how to implement and that may even hinder you in your learning.
It is much more helpful to begin to write and to experience specific difficulties and then ask for help in overcoming them.
Just write your first text in any way that you like, and then look at it and consider what went well and where you struggled, what turned out to your liking and where your test readers got confused. And then go and find answers for how to do better next time.
Because the most learning in writing comes from writing the next novel.
