Common Writing Advice?
I have lately started following the r/writing subreddit. It has definitely been a learning experience in the challenges that other writers face. Some of the posts are inquisitive and helpful, some are good advice, some are cringe-worthy. But then again, it’s a subreddit, so the last goes without saying.
I decided that today I wanted to go over the most common writing advice I’ve heard. Some of it is valid and helpful! Some of it is less so!
1) Reading makes you a better writer.
This I have found to be true, in my experience. Just like any artist or musician, writers draw upon their influences in their style. For example, not only has Mercedes Lackey been a huge influence in my life choices(her stories and frank warnings about working with birds of prey and horses drove my desire to do both as an adult), but her writing influences me also. I’ve read most of her Valdemar books (there’s a lot) and I learn new skills as I read them, and re-read them.
2) Writing makes you a better writer.
This is also true! Practice helps immensely. The more I write stories, the better they get! They say perfect practice makes perfect, but in writing, nothing is perfect. Which leads me to:
3) Your first draft will suck.
Ouch. Unfortunately, this is also true. First drafts are just that, the first words to come out of your head and onto the page. As a result, sometimes it’s chaos, sometimes it’s jumbled. Sometimes, even, it comes out close to right on the first try, and you just need to tweak the words juuuuuust a little. And, of course, the next step in the process:
4) You can edit a bad page, but you can’t edit a blank one.
This is my favorite motivating saying. I know it sounds weird that considering your first draft as ‘bad’ is motivating, but if you’re staring at a blank page (which I often do on these blog posts), sometimes it helps to realize that it’s all going to be edited. If not by you, then by a reader or an editor. So when I’m staring at a blank blog post, or a scene that just isn’t flowing freely, I try to write anything at all, just to get started. One word will break a blank page.
5) Don’t be ashamed if your taste improves faster than your writing.
I don’t know any authors, published or otherwise, that disagree with this one. Your earlier works are going to make you cringe reading them. Mine certainly do! Heck, just looking back at the beginning of Ancient Sands is enough to make me realize just how much I’ve improved just during the writing of it.
6) Write every day!
This is the first one that I have a little issue with. On average, writing every day is a good habit to be in. Keep the rhythm, don’t overdo it. I used to swear by this. And then I realized that I wrote every day. No weekends, no days off. I made it through my first draft of Ancient Sands in record time, right? You can tell when I start burning out and getting tired with it. I have a confession to make: the writing sucks. It’s so bad. I burnt out horribly trying to edit right after writing the book. Breaks are important and necessary. Even breaks that last days.
You can work on anything you want—I just take exception to this, because I took it literally. You don’t have to write every single day. Edit. Research. Read! Just don’t burn yourself out, or you won’t get anything done at all.
This is getting a bit long, and I’m out of the bits of advice I really enjoy. Next week: BAD writing advice!
