Read Lovely Books
You know, just in case one of them helps me see the light, or at least points
Now in some cases, the universally accepted stuff is the right stuff
Most people recommend exercise, for instance, as part of a healthy lifestyle, and it’s true — you
But sometimes, tips just get circulated over and over and people assume that they’re universally true,
Good writing advice, in my opinion, should be something that provides direction for writers without tying them
And as a literary fiction writer who’s also a blogger and copywriter, I couldn’t just
So here are five of those over-circulated writing tips — ones you’ve probably encountered a hundred times —
They’ve certainly brought me some great results, and I hope they will for you too
Problem is, you might spend ages working out the details of Character X, only to realise you
For instance, the girl in the plane crash might see charred body parts, which reminds her — gruesomely —
That’s a vivid bit of detail that also tells you a little more about the girl
I think this was originally a Hemingway quote, but it’s spread across the Internet like a
More helpful version: Borrow details from people and places you know to add colour
This helps to make those aspects of your story feel more vivid — because they are people and
A lot of writers advocate having a set time and place for writing every day — the idea
However, while your brain will certainly be trained into thinking ‘hey, it’s story time’ (Pavlovian conditioning
Writing down the first few lines or points is an essential part of this — if I were
Be sure to have a ritual that’s easy to execute at once — the more complex it
Just as our muscles need recovery time after workouts, our creativity needs rest days too
And I know that if I try to write, what I write will be meaningless
All of us have times when we like to procrastinate with our writing even if we have
So make yourself sit down, open the page, and write the first few lines
These are perhaps the two words that I am most triggered by 😁
Think about trying to make lemonade out of a hundred-year-old lemon — that’s what it feels like
We often let go of great ideas because we don’t immediately note them down — don’t
Make as many notes as you can about what’s in your head — sentences, character details, bits
That way, when you have the time and energy later for an extended writing session, you have
I’d like to clarify that I am by no means being prescriptive, and one or more
And of course, if you’ve got other writing tips that have worked miracles for you, go