Free writing is a helpful exercise.

https://writingprocess.mit.edu/process/step-1-generate-ideas/instructions/freewriting/

Most people don´t have the patience for large vocabulary. If you want to write pretentious award-bait literature, there’s different things to chase after. But most people don´t care about vocabulary or even competent prose, they just want a good story and relatable characters.

I was until recently writing sci-fi short stories based on my maladaptive daydreams, but I’m trying to quit.

On the day-to-day, I write notes in my journal for work:

• what I’m doing
• what I need to do
• things ive learnt
• things I don’t understand
• opinions about these things

Maybe not exactly what your asking about, but it is what I write

Right now, it’s a slow march writing a rewrite of an old Summer Camp Island fanfiction I never even finished all the parts to. It focuses on an OC as the main character of this story. That’s despite him still technically being a side character overall. Kind of like a side story for this OC to basically have his own adventures that sometimes end up coinciding with the main characters.

No need for me to really do much research outside of rewatching episodes of the show. I’ve also been trying to make my writing less bland than I usually write, which is why I am doing a rewrite instead of a continuation. That, and a later season episode set a timeframe for the show and I am trying to respect that timeframe more than I did for the original fanfic since it came out before that episode. I’m also not sure if I could say I’m copying another authors style, though, since anymore I mostly read fanfiction and manga.

I used to write in my journal almost every morning. Did so for years but I’ve recently fallen out of the habit.

I also used to write science or fantasy fiction but haven’t done that in decades.

I do frequently write very short essays, more like in-depth blog posts, on a gaming forum. Usually how the game reflects aspects of real life on a philosophical level.

I struggle with the craft of writing and my more serious stuff gets, at best, a lukewarm reception.

Ironically, my handcrafted memes, joke posts, and quips are very popular there and I have a knack for conjuring up ‘likes’ by doing so but it doesn’t interest me on a deep level.

I have been blogging on and off since I was a teenager. These days I keep an occasional log of my media consumption and write short commentary about each. Shameless plug: https://buttondown.com/readme.txt/archive/we-are-so-back-bestie/

i write comments on niche subs that are not part of current events. things like atopic dermatitis subs, and another zoster subs, and various others. like similar things giving comprehensive responses to things personal niches.

i had to write science research papers in school, that was definitely a new experience as it was counterintuitive compared to an english course(basically you have to do the exact opposite of an essay)., in general im not well versed in english writing essays yet some people can write an essay so naturally they dont have to proofread or have too much wordy mistakes, i suck at those, often time its based on teacher preferences what they want in the essay.

I sometimes waste uncopious amounts of time writing comments on Lemmy. I choose my words extremely carefully and fact check all the claims only to then be willfully misunderstood by someone who didn’t even bother to read what it is that I actually said.

Boiled down, I’d say I write cheap porn but I get easily bored with describing the act and widening the scope and end up with more complex stories. Still cheesy as it can be but I enjoy it. Erotica with a sprinkle of bad jokes.

I don’t care about a theme. I grab an idea from thin air and allow things to carry on. I have a couple of romances, a zombie apocalypse themed story, a BDSM heavy (hardest to write for me, as I have zero contact with the practice and lifestyle) historical romance and a project that naturally forked itself from the same concept into two different stories.

The amount of Lemmy (previously Reddit) commenting I do has legitimately improved my writing, I think.

Vocabulary is more from reading, or listening to other people who use “big” words. Although, if you just read, you make a fool out of yourself with how things are pronounced (like I do).

Hot take, but “small” words are better anyway, unless you need technical jargon.

I keep a dream diary, and sometimes like every few months when I feel like it write a bit of some silly fanfic, & even less so write tiny portion of an essay I won’t finish & as for how I write I just kinda write without thinking about it a lot, guess I’m not WILDlY passionate about writing.

I journal in my free time. It’s a good practice to have, even if I don’t do it as often as I feel I should. Some is better than none. Sometimes I do it in the morning and set my goals and to do list for the day. Other times I’ll usually write how I’m feeling, what’s been going on, revisiting my notes from therapy to find what may help me at the moment. I’ve found journalling to be really helpful for quieting my mind when I’m feeling anxious or overwhelmed.

I write science fiction, mostly, and dip my toes into other genres of speculative fiction (horror, fantasy, alt history, etc). I read these genres extensively, which has made me realize what “works” and what doesn’t from a story/character/concept standpoint. Reading in general has also greatly contributed to my vocabulary. I definitely take a lot of inspiration from other writers - currently some of my biggest inspos are Kim Stanley Robinson, Sheri S. Tepper, JG Ballard, and Ray Bradbury - but I find that the more you read, the easier it is to interweave elements of different authors without being an obvious imitation.

I should also note that I’m not a published author, just someone who writes for fun lol

Song lyrics. Not necessarily very good ones, but songs.

I write essays about common stuff and poetry when prose doesn’t fit. It isn’t meant to be published but I do like finding new ways of saying things which writing helps me discover.