Tag: Writing advice

Ugh

Do you want to know what I am really getting tired of? Of course you do, why else would you be reading this? I’m growing tired of the endless amounts of writing advice I’m reading online.

See, everyone seems to think they are a writing expert, and so they pour countless hours of advice into blogs, pins, newspapers, etc. And they’re all titled pretty much the same way.

“What not to do in your writing.” “How to peg yourself as an amateur writer.” “How to write a story.” “Things you’re doing wrong in your manuscript.” And that’s just what I’ve seen on Pinterest in the past hour.

Every article contradicts the other. “Use ‘said’ to avoid sounding pretentious.” “Only use ‘said’ during dialogue.” “Avoid using ‘said’ entirely, as well as the weird very, as it makes you sound lazy.”

And then people wonder why do many beautifully talented people become crippled by their own fears and never publish a word, even though they clearly deserve it. From one article to the next, we are bounced around and told what we should and shouldn’t do, and it plants the seeds of doubt. Instead of thriving in our creativity, it suddenly chokes us. We question every word we type or write until our talent has been beaten within an inch of its life.

I grow tired of this. I’m tired of these articles and their doubt provoking material. There are SO MANY great writers, painters, artists, etc out there, and they each have their own style. One is not better or worse than the others, it’s all a matter of giving it all you’ve got until YOU are happy with your masterpiece.

Many people, including myself, need only one piece of advice:

WRITE. FOR. YOU.

Ignore the naysayers, ignore the “Well you aren’t writing in my style so clearly you’re doing it wrong” people. Make YOURSELF HAPPY. I can’t emphasize that enough. LIVE FOR YOU AND IGNORE THOSE WHO TRY TO TAKE YOUR HAPPINESS FROM YOU.

So there ya go. A bit of writing advice that I hope actually helps. And you know what? If you don’t want to take it, then you don’t have to, because that’s what you want to do.

Just write. Write for you. Don’t listen to stupid articles that do nothing but take away your dream and cripple your progress.

Happy writing.

From Beginning to End

Why are beginnings so difficult? Really, you would think the middle part would be the hardest part. But no, in my experience, the beginning is the hardest part. I don’t understand. I mean, it’s just the start. Why is writing so difficult sometimes?

But you know what? It’s okay. As hard as it can be, that means the reward for it is going to be even better. Not necessarily a physical reward, but the feeling of accomplishment. So you know what, it’s going to be okay.

I’ll find my start. I’ll find my place. I will get published. Say it again. I will find my start. I will get published. I CAN do this. Enter it into your mind. I WILL GET PUBLISHED.

There you have it. There’s the voice. Very simple. Now we simply need to relocate the conductor of our internal orchestra.

He takes his place upon the stand, the crowd falls quickly silent. Rustling can be heard as the players arrange their instruments and their music. Indeed, this piece promises to be intricate, and it is important to be as comfortable as possible. The conductor raises his baton into the air, and the orchestra collectively takes a deep breath. His hand slowly descends, and music begins to play, filling the air with slow and gentle music. Each player has a bigger roll, for if they stood alone, the music would not work.

I have been trying to fix one piece of my mind or the other, rather than the entirety of it. I must take all that I have learned and sew it together. I have my conductor, now I need each piece of the orchestra. Let us go over all that we have learned.

We have learned about set routines, and pushing yourself to do it every day even when you feel like you cannot. Write something, even if it is absolute crap. In the end, you wrote.

We have learned meditation and the act of quieting the mind and removing distractions. It is easy to become caught up in the modern world of phones and computers, and completely forget about our own art and our own minds.

We have learned about the power of music, and the power of musical palette cleansing. Especially when it comes to Synesthesia, music with words can sometimes be detrimental.

We have learned the power of knowledge. Each day we must learn something new, and never stop learning. Just because we are not in school does not mean we cannot learn. It does not have to be knowledge obtained from the internet, or even from a book. Sometimes the power of listening is just as valuable.

We have learned the power of listening is for more than just stories. Sometimes sitting outside and listening to the birds in the trees, or the wind whispering through the leaves.

We have learned to ignore the crippling self doubt that comes along with being involved in any art form. The fear that we won’t be good enough. We are still human, and sometimes it does slip in, but we are learning to try.

We have learned that no matter how many things you try, or how much you learn, it does not suddenly get better. Learning is an on going process. You cannot simply decide one day to be something, and do nothing about it afterwards. That is silliness. Everything we’ve learned on this list, we must keep going and keep reminding ourselves of these lessons.

We learned the value of speaking from the heart, rather than for the gratification of being recognized. Though having our work acknowledged is good, our talents are not dictated by the amount of views we receive, or the amount of applause.

My orchestra is still coming together, but already I can hear the music beginning to play. The voice I have long thought dead has returned, and the music is so beautiful. The silence was deafening for so long, it is a wonder to hear such beautiful noise again.

So we carry on, we continue to learn, and we never stop. We never cease being until such a time as our being has ceased.
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Author’s Note: I have been trying to write a book for a few… well. A very long time now. Just a few days ago I decided to abandon the book and pick up a short story gig. For a few hours I stared at a blank document on the computer, and decided to try my hand at free writing. I hadn’t intended to share it with anyone but myself, but upon rereading it I realized just how beautiful and raw it really was. So I share it with you now, and I hope it helps someone else.