Photo courtesy of Canva Writing a book is hard. Really hard. And messy and crazy. And there's no right way to do it. Everyone's process is different. There's no roadmap, no step-by-step guide, no formula. But that's also what's so fun about it! Even though there's no "right way", I still wish I would've heard these pieces of advice before I embarked on writing my first book. Master the art of Crap First Drafts Seriously. Get really good at just writing. Did you use the word 'door' fifty times in the past chapter? Good. Did you forget the word for pencil so you just wrote 'that pointy stick'? Excellent. Practice writing without a plan, writing without thinking, just getting that narrative that's in your head on paper. If it sucks, that's okay. Give yourself the freedom to write shitty. If you edit the whole time you write or obsess over details, you'll never get anywhere. In my opinion, this is the prime cause of writer's block. If you can't think of something, write "insert the fight scene here" and keep on going. The important thing is that you're writing and getting your story on a page. Edits come later. Write crappy. If you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write Stephen King said this in his book, On Writing, and it seems like common sense. To be honest, I don't know why it was such a revolutionary piece of advice. But it was. And following this advice really changed my writing for the better. When you think about it, it's like studying for a test or researching for an experiment. You need to know the art of writing and gather the tools you need through observing other people's work. And this is best done through reading - and reading a lot! But I would like to add to this. You need to read a lot of books in your genre (especially before you pitch to agents), but you also should read outside of your genre. Why? Because other writers have tools for you as well, some that are best seen in other genres! For example, I write fantasy, but I sometimes have romantic subplots. Studying only fantasy won't necessarily give me the tools I need to write good romance scenes, so I pick up a few romance books to study how the pros do it. This, in turn, makes my writing stronger. So read. A lot. A variety. Read read read. Write Daily (or as often as you can) Sitting in front of the TV? Have your laptop on. Write during commercials. Write on your lunch breaks, or on the bus. Write while you're waiting for your dinner at a restaurant. There are so many opportunities to find little snippets of time. And by conditioning yourself to write everyday, you work that imagination muscle same as you would your lungs when running- that muscle will get stronger! You have to make time for writing and practice your craft in order to improve. When I write every day (regardless of what I'm writing), I find it easier to write, I end up with higher word counts, and my writing sounds better in the first draft. Make time to write! If it's important to you, you need to find time and make time to hone your craft! Find a Writing group or Critique Partner Writing is a lonely endeavor. It's just you and those people in your head. And sometimes, you'll get so stuck in this world, that you can't see what's wrong with it. Writing will inevitably get frustrating, annoying, and boring. You'll want to quit or pull your hair out or bang your head against the wall. That's why it's important to have people you can talk to, people who will support you and people who are going through the same struggles. It's such a relief to have others to bounce ideas off of, to have someone to read your first drafts, or to just have someone to complain to who understands! Find writers through social media (I personally love @The_Writer_Community on Instagram), through your local library, or through local events. While it's great having family or close friends read your work, try to find another writer who can understand the actual struggles of writing a book. Write Your weird Ideas Don't quell your ideas before you've even written them. I used to self critique so much that my writing ended up flat and the storylines boring. Only after forcing myself to write out those crazy ideas and sharing them with others, I found that my weird ideas are what make my writing what it is (and some of those ideas ended up not even being that weird - self doubt is real, friends). So don't pre-edit your ideas. Let them flow! Yes, some will be a bit too weird. And they won't work out. But that's okay. Let your imagination flow so it can grow (I should get that stitched on a pillow - ha!). Plus, it's not like if you write something, you have to show it to anyone! So write away, fellow weirdos! In Conclusion 1. Master the Art of Shitty Drafts
2. If You Don't Have Time to Read then You Don't Have Time to Write 3. Write Daily 4. Find a Writing Group or Critique Partner 5. Write all the Weird Ideas What advice would you give to someone who wants to write a book? Let me know in the comments!
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