I journal three pages every morning Sunday-Friday. Sometimes I write about the coming day or how I’m feeling, other times I give myself a prompt to generate new thoughts and ideas.
Recently, I asked myself “What’s the best writing advice I can give?”
Many of the bullet points were things I wish I understood when I started out. It also challenged me to write down the things I need to remember when I’m having a hard time or lacking direction.
I wrote this for myself, but in the event it can help inspire you, I’ll share my journaling here.
The Best Writing Advice I Can Give
- Start writing right now. Don’t wait. You’ll always wish you had started earlier.
- Read widely.
- Read short stories and write some of your own.
- Read essays and write essays of your own.
- Pay attention to what a reader is hungry for. Put that up front.
- Your character rules the story. Figure out their personality and motives. Write about those in a clear way.
- Stay away from general language. Don’t summarize, get specific. If there are lines or dialogue or description that could be popped in someone else’s story, you’re in trouble.
- Build the habit of finishing stories. If you didn’t write “The End”, you didn’t learn enough.
- Don’t edit while you’re drafting.
- Be open to making big changes when you do start to edit. Anything you feel uneasy and hope will go unnoticed by readers will definitely be noticed by readers.
- Ask yourself if you started the story in the right place. The opening has to be clear, hooky, and fun.
- Don’t get precious about saving deleted bits of text.
- Write the book in a season, edit each pass in a month.
- Get sleep, healthy foods, movement, and massages.
- When you edit, strive to keep it all within the same tone. Cut what doesn’t fit.
- Trust your reader but don’t expect them to read your character’s mind.
- Cut any iteration of “thing” and replace with a more colorful word.
- Don’t get lost in the worldbuilding weeds. Keep it to what your character needs to know for the story.
- Hire professional editors.
- Take feedback lightly but pay attention to what you nod along to or feel disappointed about. That’s the work.
- If people get jealous, criticize your work, or otherwise show ill will, ignore them.
- Vet professionals carefully.
- Focus on building a backlist.
- Track your finances and deductibles.
- Hire help—cleaner, assistant, editor, designer—and learn from them.
- Don’t fall prey to the myth of writer’s block. Face your fears.
- Don’t tell yourself writing isn’t fun. If it isn’t fun, something is wrong.
- Don’t seek validation.
- Network and put yourself out there. Attend local events. Travel.
- Be an artist.
