Five Pieces of Writing Advice to Ignore (Or At Least Take with a Grain of Salt)
- jacintahudson
- Jul 25, 2018
- 3 min read
Writing advice is abundant. There will always be bloggers, writers, youtubers, podcasters, etc. who will try to bombard you with writing advice. (This includes me!) However, as with all pieces of advice, there are definitely tips you should take with a grain of salt.
Tip One: Write everyday: When I first started in my writing journey, I took this advice as law. I started a writing chain and committed myself to writing for at least fifteen minutes a day, every day. For a while, things were good. I was able to batch blog posts, consistently work on my WIP (work-in-progress), and draft content for my newsletter.
However, after a couple of months, writing everyday seemed to turn into a chore. I wrote just to write and the work I was putting out wasn’t my best. I felt like I was forcing creativity and my work was suffering as a result. To combat this, I took a step back, and only wrote when I was inspired, or on average three times a week, and my writing improved considerably. Therefore, if you can write daily, and consistently produce quality work, then by all means write every day. If you can’t, then don’t. The point is to write. How often or how little is up to you.
Tip Two: Show don’t tell: I hear this advice so much! While it’s true the majority of the time, there are exceptions to this rule. If you’re transitioning, being redundant, or need to state something important, then it may be best to simply tell the reader what’s going on. Confused? Check out the following article for more information: Show vs Tell - What's the Difference and How Can I Master Both?
Tip Three: Don’t read reviews: I completely understand why this piece of advice exists. It is a horrible feeling to read a negative review about something that you put your heart and soul into. Worse yet, if that review causes you to feel like you need to stop writing, or that your future work will never be good enough. However, not all reviews are bad reviews. Some reviews can be enlightening or interesting. They show you what your readers think about certain characters and may help you decide what direction to write in next. Also, some criticism can be helpful. If multiple readers are critiquing your grammar, then maybe it’s time to invest in a proper editor. Or, if multiple readers feel one or more of your characters are flat, it might be best to work on character development a little more as your write your next book.
Tip Four: Write Like No One Will Read Your Work: I take offense with this entire statement because deep down I write with the hope that one day, someone will pick up my book, fall in love with my characters, and be touched. In fact, don’t all of us have the same dream – to publish our book(s)? We want people to read our works. If not disciplined, many who follow the advice above may produce work that is half written or isn’t cohesive.
On the other hand, I understand that many writers need to write this way in order to write a first draft at all. Therefore, I have only one piece of additional advice – as C.J. Cherryh said, “It is perfectly okay to write garbage as long as you edit brilliantly.”
Tip Five: Write What You Know: If writers only wrote what they know, we would never have books like Harry Potter, Twilight, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Cinder, and more. I love books that transport me into another world or into the mind of another “being” entirely. When writers use their imagination to create new worlds with unique populations, the results can oftentimes be wonderful.
However, writing does need to be authentic. If I’ve never participated in a sword fight, then I need to do a bit of research before I decide to put my characters in that particular situation. Or, if I’m writing a historical novel, I need to research what my characters likely saw, ate, wore, etc. during that time to do my novel justice.
I hope this blog article was helpful, but in all honesty, even my advice should be taken with a grain of salt. The point is for you to trust your process and use all writing advice as a guideline, but not necessarily a rule. If you have any other suggestions, or additional questions, please leave them in the comments down below.
Happy writing!
P.S. Looking for more writing inspiration? Check out the article below:
Jade Young is a blogger, and writing coach, currently working on her debut novel. You can find helpful tips, writing advice, and more information about her services on her website at www.theeducatedwriter.com.
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