This week we’ll be talking about the most useful piece of writing advice we’ve ever been given.
Mine?
Write every day.
No piece of advice, warning, encouragement, or flattery about my writing has ever been as important as that one. The reason it’s so important is because the more you write, the more you train your brain to think about writing and get you in the headspace you need to be in to get creative and get your book done. It’s so easy to get out of the habit of writing, and it’s really hard to get back into it. If you write every single day, and set goals for yourself for writing a certain number of words or pages a day and stick to it then you’re well on your way to guaranteeing you actually finish something.
I mean, life happens, and it’s okay to take a day or a week off, but if you let a month go by and you haven’t written, it’s a problem. The most important part of being a writer is writing. You have to want it bad enough to keep going, to not get distracted, to sit in front of the keyboard and make it happen.
So, that’s the best advice I’ve ever gotten. No matter how crappy a day I’ve had, or how much I really want to just not write, I make myself suck it up and do it. I’m a writer, I write. Every. Single. Day.
November 17th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Crys you are sooo right! I think this is the most important thing for a writer as well and one of the most valuable pieces of advice I’ve gotten too. Now…to just follow it.
November 17th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Yeah, the follow through can be a pain.