By Anuradha Punyani
Who doesn’t admire the Pulitzer Prize winners, #1 New York Times bestselling authors, brilliant novelists, smart journalists, and professional communicators? The most common question that arises in everybody’s minds: do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Since every successful writer has his own theory, his own way of working, knowing whom to listen to might be difficult given the overwhelming amount of advice available. Let’s take it from some of the world’s best writers. Here are some bestselling authors’ top writing tips for budding authors.
- Work on your mental fitness
“As a writer, the more at ease you are with intense concentration for lengthy periods of time, the more effective and productive you will be.
Deep work is a talent that must be learned, which is an important aspect that is often missed. Many prospective authors are unaware of this fact, and their initial forays into the written word are difficult and fruitless. My advise is to build your cognitive fitness first before jumping into your first major writing assignment, just as you would build your cardiovascular fitness before attempting a marathon. In other words, if National Novel Writing Month was preceded by National Don’t Use Social Media Month, it would be a lot more successful.” — Newport, Cal
- Continue to Improve
“A few weeks back, Shawn [Coyne] mentioned something on the [Story Grid] Podcast that has resonated with me. “People think they’re ready to be published, but they’re not ready to be edited,” he explained.
What he’s driving at is that there are a lot of authors out there presenting their manuscripts to agents and publishers and getting rejected, and they keep blaming the system, individuals, or whatever, when the truth is that they need to improve their craft.
If you’re a budding writer reading this, you’re not quite there yet. You must continue to improve. Even if you’ve published numerous New York Times bestsellers, you can always improve. “Continue to push yourself to improve your craft.” Tim Grahl (Tim Grahl, Tim Grahl, Tim Grah
- Serve to Your Audience
“Aspiring authors frequently fall into this trap. They want to write anything they want, which is wonderful; nevertheless, if you want to be read, and especially if you want to be paid, you must write what an audience wants to read.
So, if you find yourself moaning that no one reads your writing or that no one will pay you to write, don’t blame them. You are the source of the issue. Alter your strategy. Shift your viewpoint. First and foremost, serve your audience. Work hard at it, and you’ll find that, with time and work, you’ll begin to enjoy writing what your audience wants to read, almost without realizing it. And it’s a fantastic place to be.” — Haden, Jeff
- Keep a Journal
“Make it a point to keep a journal. What fascinates me the most about what was going on in my life 30 years ago when I read through my own journals are the things that we would consider the most banal. What was I reading, who was I conversing with, and what were the primary topics of discussion?
It doesn’t matter where you live, what’s on your desk, who you love, or even what you ate for breakfast. After a few years have gone, the banalities begin to sparkle. It is not necessary for you to write in it every day. Once a week is sufficient. 500 words a week may not seem like much, but it adds up quickly. That works out to 25,000 words every year.
The worst part about life is that the majority of it is forgotten. There’s a lot of it that’s wealthy. And a trip into a notebook every now and again can help you keep a lot of that depth for future use.” Ian McEwan
- Do Not Refer To Yourself As A Writer
“Here’s the snare: claiming to be a writer.
I am a 38-year-old woman. For the past thirty years, I’ve been writing. I’ve been referring to myself as a writer for the past two years. Why? Because I don’t believe that writing is ever about “becoming a writer.” It should be about being creative, having a strong desire to tell stories, clarifying ideas, sharing a message, and expressing yourself.
You should do it because you enjoy it. I did it because I was passionate about it. And it was love that kept me going.
Calling yourself a writer until you feel obliged to write full-time is, in my opinion, like carrying a gigantic invisible cinder block on your shoulders. What do authors do for a living? They compose. They get up and write, write, write, write, write, write, write, write, write, write, write, write, write, write They wrote the day before yesterday, the day before today, and the day after tomorrow. Is that something you do? I seriously doubt it. Only a few people do! So why put yourself under so much stress by telling everyone you do?” — Parischa, Neil
- Have Patience
“If I could tell my younger self one thing, it would be to be patient. Prepare to suffer, and maybe something will work out if you’re lucky. However, there is no certainty. You must love what you do because, even if the material things in the world of writing don’t work out, you must love the writing process itself, no matter how difficult or even painful it may be.” — Viet Thanh Nguyen
- Make Yourself Hearable
“The most common error I see aspiring authors make is attempting to sound like authors rather than sounding like themselves. There are a variety of reasons for this, including lack of experience and insecurity, but the most common explanation I’ve noticed is that these wannabe authors don’t yet know what they want to say to the world because they don’t know what they think about anything. That isn’t to say they haven’t lived, but they haven’t sat long enough with their experiences to understand what they mean. Authors that have done so don’t sound anything like anyone else. That is the objective. Everything else—structure, grammar, and character development—can be learned.” — Parker, Nils
- Success Is a Layered Process
“Recognize that success is built up over time. There will be times when you believe to yourself, “This is it—the big break!” only to realize that you’ve simply arrived at a new starting line. You. Have. To. Be. Dedicated. To. Your. Craft. If you’re writing for the sake of ancillary benefits, or to be labeled a—writer, or just to point to a book with your name on it, think again. There are a slew of other options for putting your name on something. If you’re truly dedicated to the craft, however, you’ll find great passion, meaning, and long-term purpose in clicking the keys, and you’ll affect a lot of people’s lives in the process. Mostly, it’s yours.” Todd Henry —
Don’t be so pessimistic about how your career will turn out. You do not have a job. You have a life of your own. Put in the effort. Don’t lose hope. Be genuine to yourself. Because you write, you are a writer. Continue to write and stop whining. It’s the birthday of your book. You have no idea what it is yet.
Keep writing!