3 Lessons On Writing I Wish I Knew Sooner
That you're learning right on time
There are always things when it comes to writing that I wish I knew yesterday instead of learning too late.
But since I don't have a time machine, here are the three lessons I wish someone had thought to put down on paper for me instead of waiting until I learned them the hard way.
Embrace Your Unique Process
When I first started writing I didn't have a process of my own. Instead, I was trying to mimic those of other successful writers who obviously must have been doing something right in their process to be as successful as they were - right?
I was waking up at 5 am - I was going for runs, taking cold showers, writing 3 pages by hand every morning and you know what I learned from all of that?
I am not nor will I ever be a morning writer. Sure I can get work done in the morning, usually my emails or other admin tasks, but creative fiction work has to wait for the sun to go down - when the dog doesn't need to be walked when there aren't phone calls and doorbells, and package deliveries, or just other things to do that keep my mind everywhere and anywhere, but on the writing in front of me.
Your process is unique to you. If running before you write makes your stories easier to write then it's what you should do - me? I'll be in bed for a few more hours and wish I was more like you, but also really not.
Prioritize Self-Care
When I finished taking part in my very first NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) I had pushed through on those last few days. Typing from the time the sun came up till the time the sun went down.
Sure I won NaNo and even bought myself the cup to prove it, but my wrists were so swollen and inflamed that I had to sit with them in a bowl of ice and even take a trip to the doctor becuase I had done that much harm to them.
We need to stop romanticizing the idea of sacrificing our well-being for the sake of our stories.
Burnout sucks and hurting ourselves to get our stories written isn't going to make them sell better or make a reader more interested in reading them.
Take care of yourself.
Trust The Process
You will not get instant gratification through writing.
It just doesn't happen.
Overnight success in writing is a myth made up by those who for some reason don't want to tell the world about the months or years of hard work that went into writing their stories, editing them to as close to perfection as they could get them, and then putting in the long hours to market them before they were available for purchase to make the biggest impact they could.
Trust that the work you are putting in now is going to be worth the effort in the end.
Best of luck!
With love,
B.K. xo xo
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About the Creator
Elise L. Blake
Elise is a full-time writing coach and novelist. She is a recent college graduate from Southern New Hampshire University where she earned her BA in Creative Writing.
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Comments (3)
Thanks for sharing your insights! Love it
great advice thank you !
Congratulations