Top Three Writing Tips
I've been thinking a lot about how to succeed in writing. My current goal in life is to move from working for others to working for myself, creating a decent brand and product that others will enjoy and that gives me a sense of achievement and enjoyment.
With this in mind, I'm going to share my thoughts, successes and difficulties here. At I stand at the present moment, my top three writing tips are:
1. Simply the Best
Write the best you can.
This means read your work, reread, edit. Get others (beta readers) to read your work. Get an editor.
Some authors may be gifted with the ability to write a best seller from the start, others (like myself) need to research, learn, study and practice. Remember if any of this feels like a chore or hard work, then maybe writing isn’t for you, but if you love what you’re doing, keep at it.
2. Stay Positive
Cultivate the right mindset.
I put this in second place because, over the years, I’ve struggled (and still do) with depression and a wonderful horde of other negative emotions. Honestly, and I don't think I am the only one here, I sometimes feel pretty low when I see where I want to get to and how far away I feel that I am. This inner critic is like the boss or schoolteacher who, no matter what you do or how hard you try, tells you that it is still not good enough!
This morning I read a tweet that asserted the need for positivity; feel good for others ahead of you and others behind you. I liked that, it had a good vibe to it.
When things aren't working out how I perceive they should, I ask myself: Do I really want to do this? Do I want to succeed? My answer is YES! I may take a break from writing and all writing work, or I may switch to research or promotional work. Whatever I do, the aim is to keep working and learning and use the success of others as a guiding light to my own success.
3. Detachment
Step away from the book!
It’s hard to step away from the baby you have written/created/birthed/spawned, but in my opinion, it's necessary in order for it to be polished to as close to perfection as possible.
Remember the advice of leaving your work to rest for a few weeks before you return to edit or rewrite? That’s detachment. It needs space and the author needs time to settle the mind. That’s writers detachment 101.
Level up and ask for others to examine, rip apart, dissect and criticise your offspring. Let them tell you where it doesn't work, what characters are not nice (when they perhaps should be) and what you need to do to improve and ultimately succeed.
But, you gotta be able to take a step back to get the best results from this. Remember not all critics, beta readers, editors will necessarily care if they help or hinder.
Although it wasn't deliberate misguidance, I went off on a wild goose chase based on feedback from one of my beta readers. I invested money in investigating how my story would work if taken in an alternative direction and asked other beta readers to look at my work from this point of view. In the end, I returned to exactly where I was in the first place. Not the best of help for sure, but it gave me experience and insight and that is now put to good use in being certain that my story is what it is.
The same beta reader helpfully criticised one of my character's (a character who develops through the series). That feedback helped me bring in a much stronger backstory and thereby enhanced this character. But, I had to step away from my work and listen to criticism and feedback objectively.
These are my thoughts and views on part of the writing process, based on my own successes and difficulties.