A few weeks ago, I was asked if I had any tips for aspiring or new writers. Two things immediately came to mind: read a lot and work with a mentor. I then decided to work on a list because I knew two tips weren’t nearly enough.
- Read. Read a lot. Read genres with which you’re unfamiliar. Read authors you think you hate. Read authors you love. Develop, as Dean Young says, a critical sensibility. Ask people, especially other writers, you admire for a reading list.
- Write. Write a lot, too. Write for yourself first and others second. Write without stopping. Write without worrying about how good or bad a piece is. Let the work reach a conclusion before passing judgment.
- Find a mentor. Find someone who will criticize your work but will do so in a way that causes you to grow. Listen to your mentor. Let that person or people guide you. They often see what you can’t.
- Imitate. Forget about style and imitate for a while. Your style and voice will begin to emerge as you do the work.
- Steal from everywhere. Writing is not an entity unto itself. It’s affected by everything else. Let your writing reflect your other interests. Learn from those things and apply the lessons to your writing and vice versa.
- Take your time. You don’t have to know your style or voice or any of that in a month’s time. Settle into the work. Rest in it. Recognize that your perspective, while more or less solid at all times, is in flux. It’s okay to change; in fact, welcome it and start to worry when you’ve been in stasis for too long.
- Proofread your work. Don’t turn in shoddy work and don’t rely on spell check. You’ll feel better about yourself and your work, and your mentors, editors, and readers will love you, too.
- Listen to criticism. Learn to judge between constructive and destructive criticism but recognize that lessons can be found in both. Develop a necessary toughness to withstand the criticism, which is not a “tough man” sort of bravado but a toughness that keeps you listening when all you want to do is stop up your ears. Learn to defend the choices you make in your writing – not in a defensive way but in a way that allows you to answer questions when they arise.
- Own your writing. Own every part of it: its flaws and successes. Be responsible for yourself and your words.
- Ask questions. You do not know everything. Be humble. Ask questions. People want to help you, but they can’t if they don’t know you need it or know that you won’t listen even if you ask.
- Work with others. Writing may be a solitary act, but learn to work with others. Collaboration and listening to others open you to seeing things in new ways and to finding new ideas and ways of talking about things.
- Get outside. Do not become a writing or reading automaton. Get outside. Take up a hobby. Form new friendships outside your community of writers and editors. Remember that your writing is enriched by other interests and people who see the world differently than you.
- Form a community of support. The writing life is tough, so you’ll want to form a community. This community may consist of mentors and other writers, but it must include people who are going to support you and lift you up on the bad days when you’re discouraged or have received the latest rejection letter.
What tips do you have for aspiring writers?
Image: Alec Couros (CC BY NC SA 2.0)
Good advice here. Thanks for compiling this list.
sherrilynne Thank you, Sherrilynne!
Great list. Young writers don’t read enough. I’d add: Experiment with different genres.
evelynalauer Yes! I wish I’d thought to include that. That semester we played with different forms – including the invective you assigned us – was helpful to my poetry in a ways I couldn’t even imagine.
Excellent post Erin. Truly a well thought out, comprehensive list. One tip that I would add is become more cultured. Similar to your suggestion of reading more, including genres outside of your comfort zone, I have always found motivation and inspiration in going to places like the theater, public venues for social events, museums, festivals, etc.
What this teaches me is an appreciation of other cultures, viewpoints, and opinions. It helps me to frame my writing to be less biased and more universal. And, it demonstrates a curiosity for people and places outside of your comfort zone.
John_Trader1 Yes, it’s Austin Kleon’s idea of stealing from everywhere. Anything can be inspiring or creative if we look at it for long enough, and applying other interests to our writing opens our writing to both new ways of thinking and new audiences.