Writing Advice

Over time, I’ve seen some authors tell aspiring authors to stop listening to advice about how to write, how to query, etc, etc. I completely understand where they’re coming from. The journey to becoming a published author differs a lot for each person. And the “best” way to write for each person differs even more. For example, tons of my writer friends swear by writing with music. I can’t stand it. I’ve tried, and I just end up either singing along (and getting nothing written) or end up turning it off in frustration. On the other hand, I’m the sort of person who can’t do homework with music, either. People in the library, studying while wearing earbuds, fascinate me :P

And some aspects of the publishing process, like querying, just have SO many people telling you what to do that it can be exhausting. I’m meticulous by nature, and I spent entirely too much time freaking out because OMG MY MARGINS WERE WRONG. Trust me, an agent will NOT reject you just because your margins were 1.5 inches and not 1 inch. Or because you used two spaces after your periods instead of one. Or because you used bright yellow, size 8 font.

Well.

Actually.

Maybe that last one...

But you know what? I’m glad I did so much research, even if perhaps 30% of it really wasn’t essential and maybe 5% of it turned out to be flat out wrong. There are rules, and no, you don’t always need to follow the rules, but as the saying goes: you should know a rule in and out before you decide to break it. 

And then there is all the writing advice: write every single day; keep a journal; never edit a manuscript before you’ve finished the entire first draft; write at a certain time every day; end in the middle of a scene, not the end, so you know exactly where you’re going the next time you start; cut out all your adverbs; never start with dialogue…etc, etc.

With all the advice out there, there’s no way it’s all going to apply to you. Certainly, not all of it applies to me! But I don’t think that’s any reason to ignore it, or try to stay away from it. There was a period of about a year back when I was starting high school when I read just about every single writing book I could get my hands on. That’s all I asked for for Christmas or my birthday or anything. That’s a ton of advice going on there. And I tried most of it. And much of it didn’t really work for me.

But you know what? Trying all those things helped me figure out what does work for me.   And I keep reading advice because who knows? Perhaps I’ll find a way of doing things that works better than the way I do it now. And if not, then I’ll at least have figured out one more way that doesn’t. :)

So my advice (which you’re free to ignore!)? Do listen to advice. Do seek out as much information as you can. But try not to let it stress you out. Whenever someone says “This is the best way to do it,” what they probably really mean is “This is the best way to do it, for me—or for me and a lot of people I know.” Maybe their way will work for you. Maybe it won’t. But you’ll never know unless you take it in and try! :)