A while back I presented a talk about writing, and to prepare myself I sat down and tried to come up with a list of writing advice that has worked for me. I thought it might be of interest to other folks so here it is:

Five things I recommend most highly:

READ: This is, in my opinion, THE most important thing to do if you want to write. Read books. And I mean all kind of books, not just the type or genre you like best. When you read, think about your reactions. What is it about your favorite books that makes them so good? What things don’t work so well?

OBSERVE: Good writing feels real (even fantasy!). Reality is based on strong grounding details. One of the most important things you can do as a writer is to learn to really observe the world around you. Pay attention to smells, colors, textures, sounds, and take notice of the different ways people talk and walk, and how it feels physically when you are sad or happy. Think about what details define a physical place or an experience. If you make a habit of this, you can store up a treasure-trove of details to use in your writing. (Observing is also a great place to get story ideas!).

WRITE: Most people can’t pick up a violin, step onstage and play a concerto. Likewise most writers are not going to sell the first thing they write. The important thing to remember is that nothing you write is truly wasted. It’s all part of the learning process. So keep writing!

STAY DETERMINED: That learning process might take a long time. And it’s tough. A lot of writers end up tossing away whole novels. And even when you finally write something you believe in, the process of submitting to literary agents or editors usually involves a lot of rejections. I received over a hundred rejections before I finally found my agent and editor. It is hard to get your book or story published. But it’s impossible if you give up. So stay determined!

FIND OTHERS: Staying determined can be a lot easier if you have the company of other people who will understand your frustrations and cheer you onward. It’s also really helpful to find other people who are willing to read your work and offer feedback. These people might be a local writing group, or members of one of the many online critique groups out there.

And here are six things that can stand in your way:

GETTING DISTRACTED: It can be very easy to put off writing when we live in a world full of fascinating distractions like TV and the internet and other hobbies, not to mention important things like family, friends, work, school and daily life maintenance. So it is vital to determine just how important writing is to you. If you really want to write, you need to make it a priority. That might mean sacrificing something else, or writing only 15 minutes at a time, or really early or really late. Don’t say you have no time to write. Make the time to write.

WAITING FOR INSPIRATION: It would be nice if we could sit down and have a brilliant story flow out from our fingers from start to finish. The reality is, there are almost always times when you don’t want to sit down and write. Maybe you don’t know what happens next, or maybe the words won’t come out, or maybe you just don’t want to do it. This is not the time to shrug and walk away and assume that the inspiration fairy is going to find you while you are off watching TV and tap you with her wand and fill you with brilliance. This is the time when writing is WORK. And unfortunately, there’s no single solution to a creative block. Sometimes you just need to get that first sentence out to release the rest of the story. Sometimes the problem is that you’re on the wrong path and your subconscious knows it. You can handle blockage in different ways, including: talking to other writers or friends about the project, writing down notes, re-reading what you’ve already written, or doing something completely non-writing related like going on a walk or washing dishes. But the most important thing is to keep coming back and trying to write. Eventually you will break through the block, and it may feel like magic when it happens. But it’s magic that’s built on top of a lot of hard work.

NOT REVISING ENOUGH: Finishing the first draft of a story is a victory and should be celebrated! But it doesn’t mean the story is ready to go out the door (unless you are one of those rare and envy-inspiring geniuses who write perfect prose on the first pass). You need to be able to re-read your first draft critically — almost as if it were written by someone else. Some writers need to put a draft aside for a few days, weeks, or even months before we can come back to it with “fresh eyes”. Whatever it takes, you need to be willing and able to revise your first draft: cut out scenes and characters that don’t add to the story, add more details where they are needed, make sure your characters drive the action and act believably, and ensure that the plot makes sense. Revision is not just about tweaking word choice and spell-checking.

REVISING TOO MUCH: There is a danger in spending too much time and energy polishing a single story. Some times, revision can become a safety blanket, as you revise and revise to delay that frightening moment when you let someone else read your work. Other times, you can polish a story for years, but it simply may never sell, usually because it is flawed in some deep and central way. You need to be able to put those stories aside, treat them as learning experiences, and move on to something new.

FOLLOWING THE RULES: There is never any shortage of lists of rules about “how to write”. These lists and rules contain a lot of good advice. But every writer works differently: some people write from detailed outlines, some people plunge into a story without knowing anything about what is going to happen next. Some people write slow, others write fast. It’s important to recognize what works FOR YOU, and not to force yourself to do something that isn’t your style.

NOT FOLLOWING THE RULES: There is a time when rules are very important: when you get to the point where you are ready to start submitting your work. This is when you do want to make sure you read submission guidelines carefully, format your manuscript according to directions, and make sure you have done everything you can to avoid typos.

Tags: writing