I have spent many days reading and writing to arrive at this point in my life. Sadly, this point is that grey area where I am simply a writing enthusiast. By a profession standpoint I am not a professional writer, nor do I make myself out to be. I’m neither published or widely popular. But I have done lots of research into the craft of writing and how to be a better one in all aspects from the writing itself to the mentality itself. Since so many people really love top ten lists, I figured, why not give it a shot? But this list is a summary of all of the many tips and hints I have seen along with what has helped inspire me. Some published authors say if you believe your work is fantastic, then it most assuredly is not. I disagree to an extent. Confidence is key in any job, and if you want writing to be your profession, then it is indeed a job. In no particular order, here is my top ten list.
1) Read often, write more.
This should be your main practice. Do I necessarily mean read fiction? No. Expand past what you want to write. Read reviews, poems, essays and even newspaper articles for not only ideas but flow and rhythm. I have found that reading from authors who have as much passion as I do for writing has helped. Ray Bradbury has done wonders for me and I cannot stress reading his Zen in the Art of Writing enough.
2) Be confident and humble.
Be proud of the work you do, it is the love child of your labours and your creativity and you have every right to be. Now that you’ve inflated your ego, take criticisms well. It will sting at first but if you consider every criticism even with a grain of salt then you may find a new spark of creativity for your story. After all, while we write our sub conscious fills in gaps for us. We secretly know the information sometimes even before we know that we do. These assumptions are not evident to the reader and despite your implying of events, they may miss critical information that throws the story for them.
3) Write, Hack, Slash, Re-Write.
You’ve just written a twenty page short story? That’s fantastic. Now go through and cut any word that does not need to be there. You may think we want high word counts to create big books, but if two thousand words in a ten thousand word story were unnecessary, it would fall flat. Cut scenes that don’t move the story, change descriptions to actions or experiences and move words around to create smaller concise sentences.
4) Find a writing group.
This is important. I have only placed one short story up for critique on a web based writing group and while much of the feedback has been positive and cheerful, the ones that have been overly critical have actually stuck out in my mind. Just as my first ten out of ten rating made my heart skip a beat, the first three out of ten made my blood boil. I went straight in and changed many of the things they disagreed with and some of them I passed over as they were meaningless. The whole experience however has been extremely positive, getting feedback on what people not only dislike but enjoy about your writing is unparalleled. Also, make sure you have no friends there. The reason I say that is because as much as we believe our friends aren’t biased, they are. They see our passion for our story and they want to let us down easy. These people critiquing your story should have no ties to you so you can be assured of their honesty.
5) Write everyday.
Pick a number. Ten? Two Hundred and five? One thousand? Pick a goal and stick to it. It must be attainable and you must do it every single day. Don’t have much time? Pick a small number and ensure you make time (You can type two hundred words with one hand on your cell phone over the course of your meals and washroom breaks for the day), write anywhere and everywhere that you can. When you can’t write, think about it. Think about what you are going to write as soon as you get home or near something to write on. Also, if your muse is working overtime, let them. You may have to give them time off in lieu but if you go from writing a hundred words to two thousand for one day, just go for it.
6) Reread your writing aloud.
This can be both fun and annoying. Pick a method for how you will read certain punctuation and stick with it. I prefer to give finality to my voice as I approach a period. Pause at every comma. With an exclamation mark, consider yelling it with excitement. This will help keep your characters from sounding excited all the time, even if they are reminiscing about an awesome summer they had. This also helps with tone, flow and can also spark your creativity amid conversations between characters.
7) Do not do research unless the story is hinging on it.
Research is a fantastic tool. It can provide depth to stories and allow your world to fit into ours. Think of how the Matrix changed the way we considered the world? That being said, Wikipedia is the devil. It is a tool designed as a map leading you away from productivity and into knowledge. Every article has dozens of links which contain more information and better sources. Click on these at your own risk. Every time you research you begin distracting yourself from the main idea of your story and you run the risk of coming up with a newer shinier idea which will leave the other to collect dust. Unless it is absolutely necessary perhaps leave the research for the first edit. This way you may focus on the creative portion of your writing and at least make it through the first leg of the race.
8) Write down
idea.
When I say every, I mean every. What was that? A piece of music just inspired you to see a beautiful garden? Write that down and the song it came in on. In all honesty, keep what is called a creativity or inspiration journal. My method is between a four by three inch notepad and post it notes. I convert them to digital notes on my desktop and then I can see them all the time. Having so many ideas around is also fantastic for your own creativity because perhaps the story you are writing gets caught up and you cannot get past that point for the life of you. Jump into another story idea and perhaps there you will find the solution for your issue.
9) Never limit yourself to one piece of writing at a time.
I cannot stress this enough. It feels great to finish one story, but to make progress on many is rewarding both creatively and mentally. Sometimes we writers are hit with a block that completely destroys our ability to continue. This can most times be avoided by a shift into a different gear or world. If you are constantly working a novel, then by all means set your word goal accordingly. But never forget about the other ideas in your head or other writing that you may feel compelled to write.
10) Follow your heart.
Many of the now considered greatest writers were at one point shunned by publishers and critics alike. If you enjoy a certain simile or metaphor, keep it. This is your writing. Every time we write something whether it be a short story, poem or essay; we pour our blood, sweat and tears into it. Our goosebumps are in these stories. That tingling sensation when something goes according to plan, we put that in there too. Your writing is your writing. As long as you follow the rules of language, then anything is possible.
That about rounds up my own personal top ten list for writing’s helpful hints. As I said in the beginning I have yet to be published aside from a poem, but this is a single stepping stone in my path to becoming a professional writer. I leave you with my poem that was published, its single inspiration was a small photo handed to me in year twelve english with the challenge to write exactly what I felt. I loved the challenge and wrote this in less than a minute to full marks. Sometimes I miss how easy high school was.
A sea of hope, a beach of sand.
Some have never seen nor heard,
The whispering winds across the land.
Though I have seen many a time,
The lapping waves, in rhythmic beauty,
Rising and falling, almost in rhyme.
The tide across the sandy beach,
No worries or cares, just silent sounds.
No lesson to learn, nor to teach,
Not quite nostalgic, yet my heart still pounds.
