The Ninth Day of Christmas

On the ninth day of Christmas,

This author offered me

Nine Tips for Writers,

Eight Printed Printings,

Seven Resolutions,

Six quotes from Rescue,

Five Giveaways!

Four Christmas wishes,

Three Rescues,

Two Free Zoom Visits, and

A title for book five series…

I know a lot of you out there are writing; for some as a hobby and for others, in pursuit of a career. Today’s post is for you.

Ask Questions

You’re waiting in line. Find someone around you and ask questions about them and their life. Answer your own questions and watch story develop.

You read a tidbit from history. Ask questions about it.You hear a fun fact. Ask questions about it.

Your relative has an interesting background. Ask questions about it.

Someone wants to tell you about their day. Ask questions about it.

You had a strange dream. Ask questions about it.

You notice something unusual in the world. Ask questions about it.

And so on. Ask questions. Ask questions everywhere.

The Value of a Brilliant Idea

$0

The execution of an idea = unlimited potential.

In other words, what you do with your idea is far more important than the idea itself. Sure, it’s better if it’s great and original and exciting, but there are a lot of great, original, and exciting ideas that never went anywhere. Stay focused on the craft of writing, on developing an author’s voice that is great, original, and exciting. That voice will sell more books than an idea ever can.

Lose the “Good Enough” Mindset

A lot of writers evaluate their work with the idea of, “Is it good enough?” What does that even mean, honestly? Good enough for what?

If it is good enough for you to be good enough, you will be passed up by those who set a higher bar for themselves. 

Once your manuscript is good enough, now you are ready to really revise with a new standard: Can I make this great?

But…

Don’t Get Crazy With It

Writing is art, and as such, it will never be perfect. There is always something more than could be done. The stories we write are meant to be shared. That’s how they come alive. So make it the best you can, then make it a little better, then send it out there!

Rewrite

Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.

Repeat the above line more times than you think.

When to stop rewriting? When you can’t make it better, only different.

Failure is Part of the Process

You must shift your perspective on what failure is. Failure is only you trying and not getting the result you want.

So what? There is nothing in that definition that prohibits you from trying again. Which means that unless you bow out of the game, failure is only a temporary condition.

That’s the important part. Failure is never a reason to quit. Because if you do, then that’s the story’s ending – but it is NOT meant to be your ending.

If you look at failure as a part of the writing process, then now you understand that it is a stepping stone toward success. How? Because every time you fail, look at what you were doing before and ask, “How can I do this better?”

Trust Your Talent

Because writing is an art, and because it will never be perfect, the idea of talent can mess with your head. The reality is that someone out there is doing “it” better than you, whatever “it” is in writing.

But so what?

If you allow self-doubt to creep into your writing, that is no different than seeing a hole in your boat and trying to keep paddling.

Stop it. Stop with the doubt.

If you’re published and someone says, “Well I haven’t heard of you,” the correct answer is, “You haven’t heard of me…yet.”

If you’re unpublished, but trying, and an agent sends you a rejection, then understand this: The rejection only ever means three things: That this ONE manuscript of yours, at this ONE moment in time, from this ONE agent, wasn’t right. If one of those factors changed, the answer might be yes.

But it is never about you as a person or you as a writer. Never. So stop with the doubt.

When to Listen to Critics, and When to Ignore Them

When you finish your manuscript, you’ve got to show it to others. Yes, it’s scary, but it is absolutely vital. 

Hint: Don’t show it to your mom. I mean, you can, but her feedback will be fairly useless because she’ll want to scrapbook it or something.

Show it to someone who knows something about writing, and who is willing to tell you the truth, including when the writing is bad. Listen to what they say, even if you disagree – especially if you disagree. They will make you better.

When to ignore critics: After publication.

There’s this strange human trait where we tend to dismiss one hundred kind things people say about us (“They were just being nice,” or “They didn’t really mean it.”) but we immediately latch onto a single piece of criticism as absolute, irrefutable truth.

Why? Why give a critic so much authority? You don’t know them or their life, so take it for what it’s worth (which is usually near zero) and move on.

Live

Be an active participant in your own life, and in the lives of others. Join clubs, make friends, take lessons, travel, try new things, learn everything you possibly can.

As a writer, you are constantly drawing from the well of your own experiences. The more you live, the more you can draw from, so make every day as full of wonder and possibility and positive adventure as you can. That will enrich your writing in ways you cannot possibly imagine.

So there you have it: nine pieces of advice that I hope will help you on your journey to publication, to writing better, or to writing at all. If the story is in you, pick up a pen and start today.

No, seriously…today. What are you waiting for?