5 Writing Tips

It doesn’t have to be original: Yes, I am talking about fanfiction. Choose a favorite novel of yours and write something. The cliché says that practice makes perfect and if you’re stumped for ideas and have encountered a major case of writer’s block writing a continuation or alternate ending of a book can get the creativity flowing. 

Timing is everything: Most writers will tell you to write all day every day. I’m not knocking them, it is important to be persistent but every so often, it’s good to shake things up. Get up before the farmers and write a few thousand words. Alternatively, stay up well past midnight and do the same. This helps to silence that pesky inner critic that we all have and you’ll find you write more this way.

Read but write more than you read: It’s good to read what’s being published and analyze the writing style of different authors but if all you do is read in your free time then you won’t have anything written down. So write!

Get your ideas down immediately: Write it on a napkin or a post it note if you can’t find paper or your hard drive. Don’t let the idea go to waste, because you forgot it before you wrote anything down. Maybe it’s a dumb idea but it could be a blurb that becomes a best seller. You never know, so don’t leave it in the hands of your faulty subconscious. 

Be open-minded: Don’t pigeonhole yourself into one genre or style of writing. I never thought I could write poetry but when I’m stuck in a tight spot, haikus appear on my screen. If you’re having trouble writing a humorous piece then try the opposite and write something that will send chills down a reader’s spine. If you’re completely stuck, use a prompt generator or scan a dictionary for random words and string them into a random mess of a short story. Try different things and keep writing.