I find great enjoyment in reading blog posts but I especially like them when they are in list form. It is easier to stay on track when there are key points to remember. So here are my top 5 writing tip with some fun quotes to go along with them. (Full disclaimer that I did not think of most of these tips, they came from reading a ton of other posts like this one.)
1. If you don’t enjoy the thing you are writing then you need to take a break from it.
I have written one manuscript and it took me a year to finish it. In that year I was frustrated and angry with every page I wrote and many times I was going to quit. I would find myself feeling anger whenever I sat behind my laptop to start working on it, so about 5 months into writing it I took a break. I put it in my closet and didn’t touch it for three weeks. When I went back to it I realized how much I could do with it and was actually excited to continue working. In those three weeks, I worked on other writing projects until I felt I could go back. I suggest this method to anyone who is working on a long and strenuous project. Sometimes all you need is a little break from it and when you come back with a whole new perspective then it makes continuing much easier.
2. Not everyone is going to love everything you write.
In other words, don’t write for a group of specific people. Chances are there will be one person who doesn’t like the themes you used, another one might not like the plot twist at the end and someone else might hate the way that you write. There is nothing wrong with that! The example I use whenever talking about this is the book The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. This was number one on the bestseller list, was made into a movie, and was loved by thousands of people. I would say that John Green did a good job of writing a book that appealed to a large number of readers. Yet I know for a fact that there are at least three people on this planet who hated that book because I have talked to them. He did not write that book for a specific group of people and did not consider their every opinion. John Green wrote a book because he had a story to tell and he probably doesn’t care about who hates his book or not.
3. It is important to surround yourself with people who support you.
The last thing a writer needs is someone being a critic through each writing phase. It is extremely important to surround yourself with people who will read and critique your writing but with that, they also must supplement it with positive comments. I am guilty of going from one extreme to the other. At first, I shared my writing with everyone and then I shared it with no one. Neither of those will help you have a career in writing! Support and encouragement is the most important thing that someone can do for a writer. “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”― Suzy Kassem
4. Remember why you started writing in the first place.
Did you start to write because you had a story in your head that you had to get down on paper? Or did you write a love poem to someone you had a crush on and then realize you aren’t half bad at poetry? Whatever reason you had for writing in the first place, don’t forget that. That first spark is what will keep you going throughout your entire writing career. Keep in mind that that career may only last a short amount of time. It is the same with almost everything that you do. It is important to remember that initial excitement and why it was there.“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison
5. WRITE!
Ah yes, that is the familiar cliché that I am sure you skipped ahead to see if I used. Well, I did so bear with me. I have found myself in a writing slump the past couple of months and besides this blog, I have not written much else. I have started numerous short stories and outline parts of my next manuscript but nothing that I have felt really excited about. Well, I took the wrong approach to that issue and I just took an extended time away from writing anything. That was the WRONG thing to do. It has been incredibly hard getting back into a consistent writing groove and even when I do write I do not find it as easy as it used to be. So even if you don’t think any of my other advice in the blog is good, I would strongly encourage you to take this piece of advice or at least don’t do what I did. Learn from my mistakes. “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
― Ernest Hemingway
That is most of the advice that I have in my head as of right now. I hope something in this post helps you whether you are a new writer, old writer or someone who is struggling to write essays for classes.
Quote of the day: “You must write every single day of your life… You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads… may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”
― Ray Bradbury