13 Tips on How to Be a Writer

sappho writingFor some reason there is tangible, touchable, suffocating angst in this air this week. Angst and restlessness and a huge heaping helping of existential crisis thrown in for flavor, all about writing and how to be a writer and what kinds of writers we are and whether writers are better than blogggers (besides, bloggers aren’t real writers anyway) and oh–is that my head that just spun around 60 times and flew off my body, landing in someone’s Chicken Ceasar Salad?

I’ve never seen more posts and comments and essays and tweets about writing from those who don’t always discuss it–is it dead? Do I suck? Do I suck if I don’t have a book deal? Is SEO ruining writing? Shouldn’t I have made it by now? Why does everyone hate me? Is the universe out to get me?

(Yes, yes the universe is out to get you. Haven’t we all learned as much by now?)

I’m no John Irving (and he rocks the ascot far better than I do) but here are a few entirely subjective tips on how to be a writer. Actually, they’re not all that subjective.

Take them as you will.

1. Write.

2. Write more.

3. Stop talking about writing–just write.

4. Don’t spend more than 2 minutes a month upset about someone who writes worse than you and got a book deal. There are more people who write better than you and don’t get book deals, so there. Life is inherently unfair, especially to writers. And you could be using those 2 minutes to write.

5. Find your audience. Maybe it’s not who you think it is. Maybe it’s who you think it is but they’re not where you think they are.

6. If you are a blogger, don’t just follow the blogs of the people you like. Follow the blogs of the writers you like.

7. Read a lot of great writing. Read Harper Lee and Zora Neal Hurston. Read Kate Inglis and Eden Kennedy. Read Jim Griffoen and read McSweeney’s.

8. Read a little bit of bad writing. I won’t link to it; it’s easy to find.

9. Don’t strive to be the next ________. Strive to be the next you.

10. Write.

12. Rewrite.

13. Get off Twitter and fucking write.

27. Ignore the rules.

{104 Comments}

104 thoughts on “13 Tips on How to Be a Writer”

  1. I’d add: accept the possibility that the way you judge your writing is not how your audience may be judging it.

    Write it and release it. Repeat.

  2. Oh no, I am one of those who wrote about writing this week…maybe it was in the water at the Hilton? Or maybe August is just the month that we reflect on a new beginning.

    Great words of advice. I try to tell myself, about 10 to 20 times a day, writing really well is one of the hardest things to do. Found Stephen King: On Writing an invaluable help.

    1. One of my favorite books ever. I read it when it first came out and there are passages that I still think about to this day.

    2. I love Stephen King: On Writing. I found it surprisingly inspiring. Surprising since I’m not much of a Stephen King fan.

  3. #27 is my favorite! If you can believe it, being on Twitter has made me a better writer. When you have to make your point in such a small space, it forces you to be creative succinctly. It’s done for me what learning to write poetry in college did for my longer prose. Staying up until midnight on Twitter, well that’s just made me tired when I wake up at 5 am!

    I’ve always hated talking about writing. Just like I hated deconstructing The Hobbit in Brit Lit. Dammit, can’t it just be about freaking Hobbits and Elves?

  4. So what you’re saying is: if I write it, they will come?

    I don’t know who THEY refers to, but I hope THEY are not my parents because sheesh almighty is that pair judgmental.

    1. I’m really grateful to you for this compliment, Katherine.

      I’m deep in it, as is obvious — thanks, Liz, too, for expanding the discussion so I could read along and not feel all stuck in my own crap. 🙂

  5. Write the way you think. Write the way you speak. Just write……..don’t over-think it. Totally agreed, Just write.

  6. I wish BlogHer had asked you to stand up in front of the 5000 attendees before we packed up and left from the Hilton and had you read this post out loud. Because if I were a newbie attending the conference, I would be leaving with a much difference message: the need to understand SEO, to create a platform, to increase my influence, number and quality of followers, of knowing the right people through networking, of hooking up with the right brand or advertising agency, to get into the right private party, of knowing who gets to eat the unicorn cake at Mamapop, etc. I don’t believe that I heard the simple message all weekend — either in public or private conversations, that much of this is smoke and mirrors, and not about writing, so it should be no surprise that most people leave a big blogging conference confused and worried that they aren’t “doing it right.” I know I certainly do, and I’ve been going for four years.

    1. Aw thanks Neil. You make a great point. (Not about me speaking. Although I take that as a compliment!)

      I could see how, with a closing speech–and basically ad for the Blogher ad network and video opportunities–which threw out that $17mm number that keeps floating around, that that message might have felt like a summation of the weekend. But on the contrary, that’s not what the weekend was for me.

      How could thousands of us sit through the Voices of the Year and not think: It’s about the writing.
      How could we not sit through the fashon show and think: It’s about the community.
      How could we not hear from the activist from Zimbabe and think: It’s not about SEO.

      Ironically, I ran a blog to business workshop at Pathfinder. Our biggest headline: SEO is dead. It’s all about content. I wish you had been there to back us up!

      1. So here’s my theory: it’s because good writing as a goal should be assumed. The conferences focus on other things because it should simply be an assumption that the number one thing to focus on is the actual writing, but once you’ve done that here are a bunch of other things to help get your writing out there. And lets face it, it’s a lot easier to teach a 40-minute seminar in how to beef up your SEO than to teach someone how to do something as ethereal as write well.

        I can’t think of another profession (I’m sure there are many, I just can’t think of any) where so many people who do something badly throw their hats into the ring. People don’t generally try to become professional dancers if they don’t have any dancing talent (and I’m not counting the people who embarrass themselves auditioning for So You Think You Can Dance). People who can’t do math well don’t usually apply for jobs as accountants or math teachers.

        But public writing…eh, anybody with a blog can do it.

        1. Yes. Oh yes.

          But try searching “freelance copywriter” or “graphic designer” sometime and tell me how great they all are.

        2. Selfish Mom: Agreed. I just always want to say to people: “Just because you can sing in your car, do you think you should get a record contract?”

          One of the most interesting sessions I was in was Blogging 2012, where Neil (above), Schmutzie and LaurieWrites (because apparently we call people by their blog names) talked about their approaches to blogging. These veteran bloggers, who obviously focus on content and not affiliate marketing, were trying to make sense of how the art of blogging (yes, I’m going to call it an art) can co-exist with the idea that some bloggers have turned it into a business. I was happy to see that a lot of audience members blogged simply because they love to write. It was a relief after spending the prior few days going, “I’m not doing it right if I’m not making money!”

  7. Hear, hear! Best advice I’ve received about writing is “Butt in Chair.” That chair can be at the kitchen table, at Starbucks, in the car waiting for your kid to get done with soccer practice. Doesn’t matter.

    Another book I’d like to add is Anne Lamott’s “Bird by Bird.”

    1. So true Tonya. “Butt in chair” is often “Butt on bleachers” etc.

      I’d add one more thing to Liz’s list:

      15. Edit.

      It’s not the same as rewrite, which is more about structure. Edit is about killing that funny line even though it is HIGH-Larious, because it doesn’t move the story forward. Edit is about lopping off words to reach a smaller word count (because on the Net, most people have already stopped reading right about here

      1. I’m with you. I lumped them together but you’re right, each has its own place. And you would know, Miss Very Published Author.

  8. You are so right.We need to write, write, read and write some more:)

  9. I love these tips. I wrote about writing this week (which I know you know since I included you in my post…). I know that as an English teacher, my writing gets better when I’m in the thick of it with my students. I can tell when I’m doing a good job teaching them when I come home and realize that my own craft is improving. As writers, we are all students and teachers of one another; we are our own best resources.

    1. As writers, we are all students and teachers of one another; we are our own best resources.

      Trademark that.

  10. I actually love that there is so much discussion on writing after BlogHer this year. I think it’s a good thing. Angst, not so much, but the realization that we want to be better writers? Awesome.

    Adding to the list to read – I would encourage people to go to Crib Chronicles by Bon Stewart and read from the beginning. She’s done with that blog now, but it is so beautiful. Wonderful writing.

  11. GREAT post Liz! Brilliant and timely and perfect. And I’m really enjoying the comments. Amanda is so right – write, release, repeat. And Katherine’s addition of Laurie is right on. I’m not a writer but I love reading your words and others you name above. Thank you.

  12. I love talking about writing. Even the word “writing” is all warm & fuzzy for me. Bring on the discussion.

    One thing writers should always do, especially journalists who are trying to get the story out to the internet fastest, that I always implore my students to do is: Re-read your writing. Go back and check for typos. Does your meaning come across clearly? Will anyone besides you have any idea what you’re getting at? (If you care for them to, of course).

    But sometimes you are typing and there’s an infant in your lap who is dangerously close to pressing ENTER before you get a chance to re-read…

    1. Yes! One of the most viral posts I ever wrote was Your Child is Not Special which also got picked up at HuffPo. Oddly enough, when I wrote it, I remember thinking…oy, this happened days ago. Is this even news anymore? But I had to take my time to process it and write about it in my way.

      Good lesson for me. First doesn’t always = best.

  13. Love: Don’t strive to be the next ________. Strive to be the next you…..and of course…the writing piece. I agree with Neil– I am pretty sure that the message to just write got lost last weekend.

    1. I keep thinking about that. In fairness, blogging is a lot of things to a lot of people. It’s not all about personal memoir. Political writers and beauty writers and book reviewers and business bloggers all have a place in the space. Although I would hope that each of them think about the quality of their writing too.

      1. Sometimes, in blogging, I wonder if it really IS about the quality of the writing as it is about the ability to successfully tell a story.

        I know plenty of people who can write a mechanically sound piece (grammar, spelling, sentence and paragraph structure) that flat out doesn’t interest me. Likewise I know people who would send my favorite writing professor screaming from the room who are still compelling storytellers.

          1. Now that you mention it, ’tis true. Said professor once told me… “Write what you love, not what you think others want to read. If you write about something you don’t really care about, it will show and I won’t want to read it.”

  14. Numbers 1, 2, 3 and 10 particularly resonate with me. Since having children I largely stopped writing. I keep journals for each of them, but even that was erratic.

    I love being a mom, but something was definitely missing in my life, in my mind and in me. After a few false starts I’ve finally found a construct that has gotten me back to writing with frequency and regularity. And, as is not a surprise, preparing a post each week for a blog has already started to bleed into other ideas and other projects. I am becoming whole again.

    If anyone is reading this who loves to write but is not writing, go do it now!

    1. Ha! I love that this post is all about writing and my comment is all about writing yet my “recently posted” link is for the only photo gallery I’ve ever done. Oh, well. There will be new words there on Monday!

    1. Ha– I’ve always tried not to do that. I always think, “Maureen O’Dowd and Lisa Belkin don’t write columns about how they don’t know what to write about.”

      Which is why sometimes I go a while without posting. But there are some really good posts about not having ideas out there. See my last point in this post…

    2. Kim, I’ll damn well write what I want to write. I’m off to blog about bossy New Jersey bloggers who think they can dictate other people’s content.

      1. Oh, yes, @Mom101, I get the trying-to-get-ideas blog posts. Heck, I’ve been a part of I think 5 online writing groups. 🙂
        It’s the posts that are just there to fill radio silence and do nothing to engage us that pain me. I know many of those people have so much more to offer us readers than that. And if they don’t, maybe they should spend their time looking for great ideas, not talking about how they wish they had something interesting to say. 😉

        @Kkdwald You are such trouble. And you live in NJ, too, Miss Freshypants. Time to switch to decaf.

  15. First, may I humbly add Ray Bradbury’s *Zen in the Art of Writing*? It seems to fit in here, and I strongly suggest buying it new in actual paper.

    Second, I think some of the angst stems from the people behind the blogs and twitter handles feeling judged by stronger voices, more eloquent voices, putting down what they are doing. Scratch that – seeming to put down what they are doing.

    The internet makes people feel both safe and exposed, and blogging is the crucible that intensifies that. Humans naturally feel like anything mildly related to how they perceive themselves is, actually, about them. Most times it’s not. Sometimes it is.

    The vast majority of bloggers start out just wanting a release, an outlet. Then they start to compare and see badges and ads and they hear people say they now buy their groceries with the money from blogging. And suddenly it seems like that’s a good thing to do. And then the release becomes complicated by output unrelated to the original intent. And let’s face it, who doesn’t get a little electric shock on the days when the bar graph starts looking like Chicago’s skyline?

    The voices most heard are the people who have (in many people’s eyes) “made it.” They get comments from more than just friends and family. They get offers to go on trips and “try out” $500 strollers. They get asked to speak at BlogHer. And those are good things. But living in those circles, even virtually, pulls someone away from the original reason they began blogging/writing. And I think that was a bit of the angsty stuff going on.

    Most bloggers aren’t there. So that type of angst doesn’t apply to them. And many people who choose blogging as a medium are insecure about and still working on their writing, so hearing “There were no writers at BlogHer!” or “People! It’s not about the page hits!” (coming from people with delicious comments lined up around the block) is hurtful.

    Because, clearly, it’s all about me me me. (Don’t argue. I know it is.)

    1. I’ve noticed that some of the writers who say “it’s not about the hits” didn’t start to write for the hits – so maybe that’s where they’re coming from? The difference between motive and result?

      I can’t think of any profession in which there is a bell curve of talent and success. Writing just comes with its own special angst because it feels so personal and a (perceived) rejection of our writing feels like a rejection of ourselves. And the truth is, not everyone will be a success. That’s why I didn’t write tips for being a successful writer. There are plenty of amazing posts about that–and yet there’s no guarantee.

      1. I agree. And really, I don’t think anyone STARTS a blog for the hits (unless they are seasoned and have planned to begin as a biz). But comments and hits are like crack to a blogger/writer. I know authors who obsessively check their Amazon ratings the way I check to see if my page hits went into three digits today. It becomes a measure of self-worth, and it’s the furthest thing from it.

        Some of my best writing is still buried in the bottom drawer of my desk. In a writing journal. Probably never to be seen. Ever. But it’s still the best. Unless Emily Dickinson’s sister rummages through my stuff after I’m dust.

  16. I love this medium.
    I’m going to go write the hell out of something.

  17. I love this advice. What always amazes me about writing is how the more I write, the more I have to write about. Just write.

  18. Great advice! But I would add to 7. that there *is* writing outside of lit fic. If you like romance or sword and sorcery or YA or chick lit or Amish romance, WHATEVER it is, read it. And if you want to write it, write it. It took me a long time to get over the fact that no matter how great my writing became, I was never going to write The Secret History or Time Traveler’s Wife or something deep and literary. It’s okay to write things that aren’t deep and soul-searching and weepy. Sometimes writing the fun escape that’s so very *you* is the perfect goal.

    1. Hell yes!! thanks Delilah.

      It’s why I have trouble with people saying “I’m so mad that I’m competing with 50 Shades of Grey.” If that’s not your genre, then no, you’re not competing. I don’t look at the Pioneer Woman cookbook and say “wah! Why not me?” because uh, if I did a cookbook of my own recipes it would be 3 pages long. Plus I look crappy in peasant skirts.

  19. I love this. Comparing myself to others I perceive as better in an effort to tear myself down is my biggest downfall. Comparing myself to others so I can learn from them and do better is one of the best gifts I can give myself. I love #4. Love it.

  20. This was a really good post for me to read right now. I love to write. Several years back I decided to try my hand at a novel just to see what it was like and was shocked to discover what a blast writing fiction was. I’ve written a few novels, polished up the first one, and then decided it made sense to buckle down and try to get it published. I would be mad at myself later if I didn’t try.

    I’ve spent the past couple of years focused on the business end of the writing world, drowning in rejection, and it’s been demoralizing, time consuming, but the worst part is it has kept me from actual writing. I decided recently to self-publish, even if that just means putting my novel up on my blog just to get it out there so it can be read. I miss the joy of just writing, and being published isn’t the point. Even if only my friends and family read my work, that’s enough, so I’m turning my attention back to where the joy is. Life is too short to do otherwise.

  21. I am a big believer in the napkin moment. I carry a napkin in my wallet from a ‘profound’ moment I had over dinner where I grabbed a pen and scribbled the idea. Likewise, I still love the concept of an actual journal and pens…it is a great way to sketch out some writing. I guess I am old fashioned.

    BTW – pls don’t link to the crap – I may turn up on that list.

  22. I’m pretty sure you gave me the exact same advice 6 years ago when I started my blog. Of course there was no twitter, no one was really “hip” to the SEO thing and we shared great writing via Blog Rolls. (How quaint)

    Here’s been my trick. Sometimes I am too self-edity on my “real” blog, so I have an anonymous/unpublished one which is very freeing. And guess what, my writing is often more authentic and better. If it turns out to be something I want to share then it goes up on Gray Matter Matters.

  23. I swear you always have the best advice… and the best one liners on Twitter. I think you should write a book called Life Lessons with Liz. You provide great perspective on things professional as well as personal. I’d buy it.

  24. As a newbie blogger who doesn’t quite understand SEO and who tweets once in a while (but still doesn’t get it) and who started a blog because I LIKE to write, I thank you for this list.

  25. Sorta reminds me of how I felt after having a baby and reading all the parenting books…and suddenly overwhelmed trying to remember the rules, worrying I was doing it “wrong.” The answers were and continue to be inside.

    I’ve been talking to my son a lot lately about “choosing where to spend your attention.” He tends to focus on things that frustrate him. My tired analogy is this: There’s a big pile of dog crap next to a beautiful rose bush. You get to choose whether to smell the crap or the roses.

  26. Hey, you linked to me! Thanks, Liz. Speaking as someone who feels the need to walk away from writing for a while, I’d add, “Don’t be afraid to walk away from writing for a [day/week/couple of hours]. Take a walk. You might come back to your work refreshed with new ideas.”

  27. I like the idea of getting back to just writing. I was sick of talking about it back when I went to pen-and-paper conferences, frankly. Most of my writing groups have been elaborate ruses to excuse wine-drinking.

    But I do like my blog chats with Neil and Schmutzie, because it’s a discussion of medium, which is rapidly changing and can get confusing. That, for me, is different from the writing. I don’t know how to do anything else (unless I count editing, which is quite different, but to me they’re twins), so there’s never been a whole lot to say other than that. Blessing and curse.

    I am going to try harder to stay off of Twitter and work, though. That’s my only resolution post-BlogHer this year, but it’s been coming for awhile.

    1. To clarify when I say “don’t talk about writing” I mean some people spend a lot of time discussing writing, or what they’ll write, or how jealous they are of writers blah blah…without ever writing themselves. It’s good to talk about writing! (And I love your blog chats.) But not if it’s a procrastination tool.

  28. Re: #4 about bad writing that has somehow gotten a book deal – I find that inspirational. Hey, if they got published, I can too.

  29. Your last few posts are just blowing my mind. Yes! Write! Genius! I have been trying to get into this frame of mind… I am constantly putting off writing because I don’t have enough time or enough clever ideas or enough energy. I’ll write when all of the conditions are perfect, I essentially tell myself. Thinking a lot about one of Gretchen Rubin’s Secrets of Adulthood: Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Thanks for this!

    1. Here’s my secret: I don’t have enough time either. I write at 5:30 AM. And Gretchen is the one who tells everyone “If you don’t get enough sleep you’re crazy!” So maybe there’s no perfect, you’re right! But I can’t not write and I find that days with less sleep are tougher than days with no writing.

  30. That #13 will do you in.

    Also: McSweeney’s: IMPOSSIBLE to not become a better anything if you make that your daily stop.

    Thanks for this.

  31. i am conflicted because I wholeheartedly agree with everything you say but as someone who has tried to write some pretty thoughtful posts since I started blogging, I am frustrated that bad writers get book deals or blogs with some of the same content have bigger numbers than me and yes, I should not care but unfortunately as brands start to look more at numbers, I cant ignore the SEO classes and all the other technical stuff.

    1. I think (and I’m open to other opinions) this is where you have to distinguish between writing and publishing. What are your goals? If your first thoughts are about brands noticing you and SEO, that requires a whole different set of tips. As for the book deals–well, yeah. Like I said, life’s not fair.

      If you want to get a book deal however, go ahead, write that proposal or those first chapters and pitch the crap out of it. And good luck.

  32. As a lapsed academic, this post resonates with me in a big way.

    Just write! (and spellcheck, too.)

    Thanks!

    And talk about SEO ruining blogging…my last post is evidence of that. But when you gotta sell burp cloths, you gotta sell burp cloths, right?

  33. I’d totally agree the best way to write is to write. Can’t can’t edit or scrutenize or perhaps enjoy something unwritten.

    I think I’m an okay writer. I wish I were famouser for it, but you know…it is what is what it is. Another tip I’d also share for people wishing to improve their skills is to consider taking a class in writing. Sometimes a little third party instruction provides great insight you won’t get anywhere else.

    I’d also had that it helps if you have something you’d really like to say to the world.

  34. What a wonderful post and discussion about writing. Just I what I needed to hear in my post-BlogHer recovery period. Nothing makes me happier than writing and yet I often get so caught up in the folderol (Twitter & Facebook chief culprits) that it comes dead last. Then again, the wee hours of the dark are when I do my most thoughtful work, when I find myself most in “the zone” with my writing. The problem is, of course, I can’t sleep in like a proper night-owl writer, as I have these pesky children who rise early in the morning and need to be FED (of all things)!

    I would also like to add that for books on writing, Annie Dillard’s “The Writing Life” is amazing, as is everything she’s written. If you like memoir, I can’t recommend her book “An American Childhood” highly enough.

  35. I fell into writing simply to leave a chronicle of my life and my journey with my brain tumor for my children. For whatever amount of time remains, I intend for it to be a record of what my and our journey has been about. Good, bad, ugly and beautiful all thrown together. While many follow along and I sincerely appreciate the comments and support, I’m pretty confident in saying that I don’t write for an audience. Take it or leave it, like it or not. Writing has helped me heal emotionally but I don’t get caught up in comment and hit counts, although I’ll honestly admit that the hate does sting. I write to share, to purge and to document and if people like it along the way, wonderful. I think it’s freeing not worrying about being anything other than that.
    Jennifer recently wrote: http://greymatterlife.com/2012/08/05/skull-for-my-skull/

  36. I started a blog four years ago as writing practice: I figured w/kids & full-time work, a sustained piece of work wasn’t going to happen, but a discrete blog post? That I could do. So I did. And still do. And with that practice, other writing has come. It’s like any muscle, the writing muscle: flex it, stretch it, USE IT, and you’ll get better. I do think, though, that there is a distinction between writers who blog and bloggers who write. One is NOT necessarily better than the other; I think it’s a question of emphasis and intent. In either case, ain’t nothing happening for either group unless they do what Uncle Stevie says and get their ass in the chair. In other words: write. It’s like the nike ad: just do it.

  37. Your post brings up a number of thoughts:

    Writing isn’t hard, but pressing publish can be.

    Every story has a beginning , a middle and an end. Insert passion and personality into those three areas and just write.

    Ego kills blogs and bloggers. Ignore everyone else and just write. Sustain your effort and remember this is a marathon and not a race.

    If you want to be a better write you need to do more than just practice writing, you have to read.

    Stop talking and do.

  38. Thank you. I’m a beginning blogger and these are encouraging words to a writer on training wheels. Reminds me of Natalie Goldberg.

  39. Great post and love Anne Lamott and Stephen King – will check out the other recs, many thanks. I started my blog to make myself write – sometimes I am put something up that I later don’t like but it’s okay. It has become a good habit. I agree with the advice to read, read, read!

  40. Are you in my head? Really – are you? Is that why you were so moved to share this? After attending my first blogging conference (ya, that one) over a week ago – I feel as though the writer in me (the blogger that writes) is bruised and battered. I have had a block so intense that I have barely written an email.

    #6 and #9 favorites.

    Thanks for sharing – wish I would have heard you speak at Pathfinder!

    1. Actually… yes I am. Don’t be afraid. You’ll get used to it.
      (And sorry we didn’t get to meet last week. Sounds like you had a great experience.)

  41. So this is the post that I had read about earlier.

    Bravo.

    I don’t have a book deal either, but I think I’m going to try and write one anyhow. I love to write, to think, to entertain. I love to read other people’s blogs and share the ones I like. I want other people to like the same things I like. Sometimes they do.

    Today as we were driving to Toronto, Mrs. Birdman was reading through a lot of old posts (both mine, and hers). She turned to me and told me how much she loves having such a rich documentation of our history.

    I told her that she just made it all worth it. I don’t give a fiddler’s fuck if anyone else ever reads it again. I will keep writing it for her and I, and I guess maybe the girls, if they are ever old enough to read that filth.

    Thank you for writing this, Liz. I really enjoyed it.

    1. If you use phrases like “I don’t give a fiddler’s fuck,” I can tell you right now that that’s a book worth reading. Good luck to you.

  42. I don’t know how you are always so spot on about the current blogger angst in the air, but you SO are. It’s uncanny. 🙂 And I’ve noticed this lately too, for sure.

    I consider myself a writer because I love to write and because I do author my own blog and guest posts as well. I’ve been writing since I was a young girl. Are there probably people out there who think it’s crap? Sure. But that is their opinion.

    I mostly write for ME (and for my kids to read someday) and for now that will suffice.

    Thanks for encouraging us all to continue to write (and read!)… that is SO important.

  43. That is by far the best list of writing tips I’ve ever read. And I have read 2,387 books on how to write. I finally figured out that I should stop reading (although I love it more than Starbucks) and just fucking write.

    1. Oh my goodness Dana, that’s high praise.
      Although I’ve gotta say – reading is one of the best things you can do. It’s inspiring; you have to input before you can output. But…not if it’s just keeping you from writing. Boy, I see that happen a lot. Thank you so much for your visit!

  44. I’m by no means the best writer (AT ALL), but my readers connect with my thoughts and ideas. They pardon my writing, and thank goodness for that. I agree…. screw the judgement, and just get your thoughts out of your head, and onto paper (or computer).

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