Not writing tips – nobody needs any more writing tips – but things sieved from my experience with this blog and my other writing endeavors. Things from the heart.
1
Handwriting can make you a better writer. It forces you to slow down and pay more attention to the words you use. It also stimulates your creativity.
2
There are stories only you can tell. Those are the ones you should be working on. Those are the ones that the world needs. When you keep returning to a story, when you carry it with you when you leave your room, that’s a story you have to tell.
3
When writing becomes a daily habit, that’s when you’re on your way to something. You stop making an effort to write. Your writing begins to flow.
4
Blogging will make you a better writer, but only up to a point. After that it can become a distraction.
5
It’s the act of writing itself that makes it all worthwhile. If you judge your success by external standards – money, popularity, followers – you’ll be in for a disappointment. There are better and faster ways to make money or become famous than through writing.
6
You don’t need 1,000,000 readers to be a good writer. One is enough. The reader in you.
7
An eBook reader can improve your editing process. On an eBook reader you can transfer writing from your computer and edit it on an eye-friendly screen using highlighting and built-in notes. It gives you a fresh perspective on your writing.
8
If you don’t note or record ideas, they will vanish. So much will be lost.
9
Digital publishing is a bit too easy. It’s good that we have blogs and e-books. But when you can publish anything in just a few minutes, you may feel the temptation to publish things that are not yet finished. Or that are not yet as good as they could be if you keep working on them.
10
The best writing usually happens when you write beyond what you think you know. When you stop thinking and just write. You have to write a lot to get there. You have to burn all the easy, common, cliched words and sentences first. It takes time. Be patient and keep on writing.
What’s the one thing you’d tell a young writer?
boy with a hat 
[ Smiles ] I like the part about handwriting could make us a better writer.
Thank you for sharing your perspective on writing.
I think with number 10 that you are talking about the writers experience of what is often called being in ‘the zone’ or flow. My daughter calls it ‘when the writing monkey spirit is passing through me’. 🙂
That’s a fine way of putting it.
Reblogged this on Lilaia Moreli – Words Are Sacred.
Spot on! Also, I would say that writers shouldn’t worry so much about their first drafts. First drafts do not need to be perfect, only written.
Your writing always catches my eye, each word reminds me of why I write and find myself in quiet corners capturing wayward lines on discarded napkins or library slips (in writing you, I’ve already discovered the first line of a new poem!).
That is wonderful. Do share it with me when it’s finished. 🙂
Thank you so much, will do!
Thank you for the reminders. Much appreciated, really!
Agreed!
Very refreshing to find a post that demonstrates an original perspective on this topic. When I first saw the post title I thought “Oh great, another 10 tips on how to be more creative with synonyms and use the hottest tags”, but this was a pleasant surprise.
Number 8 is so crucial though, and yet something we often brush to the side. I’m convinced that I’ve lost so many good ideas because I just wanted to “write them down later”.
Good to know.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
wow. no.6….awesome!!!!
Great stuff here. I would also say that a young writer should know that their first story won’t necessarily be their best. Writing is a craft that you need to spend years developing.
Yes yes yes. I love these. Especially the one about jotting ideas down or they’ll disappear.
Interesting fact – I wasn’t such a big fan of yours a while ago when I read an entry, don’t remember which. But now I’m absolutely in love, keep up the good work. 🙂
What is your favourite word, a boy with a hat?
Floccinaucinihilipilification.
Great tips. And they are all true.
Thanks.
Will learn much from you
I am new to the blogging scene and haven’t made much progress yet, so with that being said I really appreciate all of the encouraging advice you offer. With the point you make in number 9, I’ve been experiencing the opposite problem where I spend too much time dwelling on a post, coming back to it/re-reading it over and over again before I actually post it. Part of it comes from being a new writer, which is making me very self-conscious. Do you have any advice for avoiding this habit? Thanks in advance for anything you have to offer!
Have you tried to give yourself the freedom to make mistakes in your posts? I’ve been blogging for years now and mistakes still creep into my posts now and then. And not every sentence is as good as it could be. Don’t take blogging too seriously, Lauren. Just do it. 🙂
Definitely needed to hear that – thank you!