Monday, November 8, 2010

What I Really Want To Say To New Writers

People often ask me for advice. I don’t know why, seeing as there are many, far more qualified people to ask. But they do. Sometimes they ask me how they should go about writing a book or publishing said book. Sometimes it’s just a big, general “Should I even be a writer?”

These, admittedly, are tough questions to answer! I usually find myself giving some vague advice (Just write! You can do it! Don’t give up!).

But today I’m going to write what I really want to say to new writers. Or any writer, if they care to read. This advice might not get you published, but I hope it keeps you happy and productive, both of which are more important than publication.

• If you really want to write, then do it. Sure, you may never get published. Sure, you may suck at first. Sure, you may not even know what to write. That’s all okay! You have to start somewhere, and I promise every author started with a very crappy first chapter, followed by some more not-so-great stuff. It’s part of the game, and you can’t get better at it if you don’t play.

• Stop caring so much about advice.
No, really. The more I write and talk to other writers, the more I’ve learned how personal writing is. Everyone gets the book finished differently. Everyone edits differently. Everyone has a different query method. You should do what works for you. If advice happens to fit into your process, yay! If not, don’t waste your time feeling bad about it. You are not a lesser writer because you don’t do insert-whatever-method-here.

• Finish the dang first draft. You can’t do anything else until you have an actual book to work with. There’s no sense worrying about publishing or editing until you’re done. Typing “The End” is just the beginning. So stop freaking out about how many adverbs you have and get writing. Save the editing for, you know, edits. Don’t worry about your “platform.” You need an actual book for that to even matter.

• You are NOT the exception.
Okay, maybe you are, but never, ever think that you are. I know we all hope we’ll be that writer who gets an agent in a week and sells in two days, but seriously, bank on that NOT being you. It will make you much happier. And when you aren’t the exception? Please, don’t feel bad about it. It doesn’t make your book any less special. It doesn’t make you any less of a writer.

• Remember how much you love writing.
Remember the rush of this story, how much you adore it and why you want to write it. Remember that you love to write and that’s what matters. Remember that passion. You will need these memories—they will keep you going when things get hard.

• It will get hard. There will be times you want to give up, where you’ll wonder if your stories are any good or if things will ever happen. That doesn’t mean you are doing something wrong. It just means you are a totally normal writer. Welcome to the club of worry warts.

• It’s worth it.
Writing has brought me some of my worst personal moments, but it’s also taught me a lot about who I am as a person. Writing has made me stronger, and the success I have had is that much sweeter because of failures.

• Success is no substitute for self-esteem. Oh, success feels great…for about a week. Or a day. If you don’t believe in yourself or your work, no amount of praise will change your mind. This makes two things true: 1) You can be proud of your work whatever stage you’re at. And 2) You can hate your work whatever stage you’re at. It’s completely up to you.

• Don’t rush.
I know we all want to be published yesterday, but there is no harm in taking your time. Books are permanent. Once it’s printed there are no take backs. Don’t you want your best possible work out there? I’m guessing yes. So take the time it needs. If that’s a month, okay. If it’s a year, own it and make it rock.

• Be yourself. No one else can use your voice. Be proud of your style. Sometimes it’s hard to be yourself. Like when an agent will only take your manuscript if you rewrite it without the supernatural element, and you believe in that element but you also really want an agent. Or when you know your genre isn’t selling too great (or your book is just too different in general), but this other genre is hot and maybe you could write in that. In the end, you have to like what you write. If you’re not passionate about it, it shows.

So, New Writers (and everyone else), this is really just a long way to say write what you want to write, enjoy it, and work hard. Don't worry about the rest.

56 comments:

  1. Great post - my favorite one was 'stop caring so much about advice.' So true, so true. There are so many ways to do this thing, and not one of them is 'right'

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  2. This was an awesome post. I particularly like that first one. Just write.

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  3. This is exactly why people ask you for advice! You're awesome and this is a fantastic post. Thank you; I needed to read this.

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  4. Brilliant post, and the perfect way to start my Monday! Thank you.

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  5. So true. Especially "stop caring so much about advice"... if you pay too much attention to the advice, you'll never write for fear of writing something imperfect. And you DO need to "finish the dang first draft," which doesn't usually happen if you're not writing. :)

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  6. Thanks for the feel-good advice :-) Took me a while to figure out that #1 was actually an option, but once I got that one down I can say I'm happily (and slowly) working through the rest :-)

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  7. Sing it, sister. You've got it in one (or seven).

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  8. Very wise advice. Every one resonated with me.

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  9. Thank you so much for saying all of that. Even when we know it, we need to keep hearing it.

    Vicki

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  10. Thanks for the great post, Natalie. This confirms a lot of what I have been working through the past couple of months. I'm in the processing of finishing my first draft. It's only recently that I rediscovered my love for writing and so I'm definitely taking it slow. At the same time, I want to see some tangible progress in my work.

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  11. Love this post! What perfect timing...I'm taking a deep breath RIGHT NOW.

    *sigh*

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  12. Natalie, excellent advice as always. I especially appreciate the "success is no substitute for self-esteem. Words of wisdom!

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  13. This was some great advice. I especially like the part about why it's important to not care about advice. We all write in different ways because we're different people, and that way just happens to work best for us. Thanks, Natalie!

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  14. Oh God... the "exception" thing. That's the #1 assumption of most new writers, I think.

    Go to a writer's board, especially one that has peer critting and read the responses to the crits.

    Someone (or several someones) point out a particular weakness in a MS, and the first thing out of their mouth and off their typing fingers is: "Yeah, but what about..."

    They'll list some exceptionally successful author and cross their arms with a petulant pout. You can practically hear the foot stomp.

    XXX's books are extra long!

    XXX used these sorts of dialogue tags!

    XXX has purple prose!

    XXX doesn't bother to describe her characters!

    XXX got away with a few plot holes!

    XXX used dues ex machina and people loved it!

    If you want to be a professional, why bother looking for excuses to allow you to lower the quality of your own work because someone else "got away with it"?

    It's the Dunning-Kruger effect run amok.

    "Exceptions" by definition are the smallest percentage of the population, yet the largest percentage all believe they qualify.

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  15. Great post, Natalie! That's why you get asked for advice - because you are so wise. :) Hope you're doing well.

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  16. Great advice! I'm one of those who has panicked over too many adverbs, hee hee.

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  17. I love this post, Natalie! I'm a not-so-new writer and these are great reminders for me too.

    Thanks!

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  18. Here! Here! Great reminders and words of wisdom. I like "stop caring so much for advice". I love getting AND giving advice, because I find both another form of inspiration, a way to create a "custom" plan for your own writing. Because, like you said, One Size does NOT fit all. --Tina, http://www.excuseeditor.com (Check out my blog to sign up for my monthly list of writing markets/contests)

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  19. Excellent advice I love all of this. I really love, Finish the first draft! Awesome
    Thank you for being awesome.

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  20. Wonderful advice! I totally agree!

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  21. Great advice! It's always amazing how different we all are, but what you've said applies to everyone. Thanks!

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  22. Thank you for taking the time to spell that out for new writers. I'm not a new writer, but it was good to see those helpful reminders. Especially the part about writing what you want to write.

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  23. Amen to all this!

    I'm well past the "new writer" stage, but can look back over all the road bumps along the way and wish I'd heeded more of this advice way back when!

    Tawna

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  24. Very, very wise words indeed! I'm not surprised people come to you for advice :) I particularly liked "success is no substitute for self esteem" - so very true.

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  25. Very motivational...loved it, because honestly the only reason I write is because I love it. And you can tell that works for you. I write every day and always feel better for it. When I'm done a mss I don't look at it for 3 weeks and then start to re-edit. By then it's a joy again. Thanks for a great post.

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  26. Great stuff. Success is no substitute for self-esteem. Then again, if you have none, success feels great for quite a while and it sure as hell beats drugs. :)

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  27. Going to share these gems with my writing buddies. Thanks for posting them!

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  28. "Typing 'The End' is just the beginning." -- Love that!

    Great post. I think you've nailed just about everything that a new writer should know when making their way into the industry.

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  29. I love all of these things and have experienced every one of them - and I'm unpublished and unagented. Great post!

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  30. Thanks for the great advice. It was super helpful. All of it.

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  31. Can I get a hallelujah?!?!

    (Yeah, I had to google it to spell it right :)

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  32. This is a great post. I'm bookmarking it. I think that's the first time I've bookmarked a post from a blog I follow. This post is totally asking for it, though.

    Thanks.

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  33. Great advice. I cheering for you over here.

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  34. I think this is something we all need to be reminded of. Great post!

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  35. PERSONAL!!!

    Why can't people get this? I wasn't on the writer blogospher last nano. But this year, I've encountered so many people who love or hate it, and are calling the other side morons.

    We're all different. Some people's writing process starts with plotting every move. Others stand on their head in their underwear. And so long as a great book comes out at the end, does it really matter how it got there?

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  36. Ha! Loved your list, especially "Write the dang first draft" Amen, sistah!

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  37. "Stop caring about advice."

    This is uncannily recursive, I think. But I like it!

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  38. I second everything everyone has said! This is a great post!

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  39. Fabulous tips! I think I am doing well because I seem to be living with these tips. Though I'm nowhere near a published writer - I'm not even ready for that yet.

    I love the last tip about being yourself. That's a lesson I've learned this past year. I used to write a blog that I wrote for a particular audience. It never felt right. Now I write a blog that is me. It's my stories and my moods. And it feels great to find my own style.

    I also agree about genre - my personal writing is much better than my popular fiction. I'll work on the popular fiction but in the mean time will continue to hone my skills through my personal writing (memoir, travelogues, personal experiences - that sort of thing).

    I love your blog and thank you for taking the time to help all us writers out here :) :)

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  40. Excellent advice! I was going to say I like the last one best, but actually it all connected and all stuff we need to keep in mind. So thanks for putting it back in my mind.

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  41. These types of posts always make me feel much better! Thank you!!

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  42. Posts like this keep me going when I feel like my writing doesn't measure up. Thanks!

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  43. Really good advice at any stage of writing, thanks.

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  44. Best advice I've heard in a long while. Thanks!

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  45. Great post! Lots to think about.

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  46. I've printed this up and plan to read it many times. Thank you so much for sharing!

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  47. Great post. Love the - Remember how much you love writing.

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  48. wow, this was great!! thanks so much for posting this, because i realize now that alot of these things apply to me! and its all very good to know and really inspiring, thanks!! :D

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  49. I am at this very bad phase of my young writing life right now where everything I write (to my extremely critical eye) basically sucks and I want to cross out entire pages and start over, only to find that after a few days of doing the same thing, I have gotten absolutely nowhere with the story. After I read your advice (you are a very persuasive blogger - are you so bossy in person as well?) I was like, "Whoa, I seriously have got to SPEED UP." I was so caught up in making each sentence perfect and not moving on to the next one until I had it right that I lost sight of the real reason why I started writing my story in the first place - because, just as you said, it's my passion. I love to write. And I have this great idea, if only I could finish putting it down on paper. Well, I think your advice ("Finish the dang first draft" as you so colorfully put) will help me do exactly that, so thank you. Now I will stop procrastinating, and after I read a few more advice pages on your blog, resume writing my story. Thanks again.

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  50. Thank you for this! Just what I needed to read. Especially the fact that success feels good for about a week, but you have to actually believe in your writing. Come check out mine if you get the chance @ erinryanburdette.blogspot.com

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  51. Natalie,
    Your advice is excellent. I've read a few books on how to write and been writing for about two years (though only posting stuff to a blog for about eight months) and started really working on a longer story recently. It was only by God's grace that one piece of advice has stuck with me the whole time, "If you don't love to write, being published won't make a difference."

    Because being published isn't the fix-all for every problem. I write because I love it, not because I want to be published.
    Keep up the good work!
    -Paul

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  52. Oh, I love this post! (I found it just today via the YA Warehouse blog.)

    I'm a "new writer" in the sense that for the first time, I'm planning on querying agents when I've finished perfecting my manuscript.

    For me, the first big goal was "finishing the dang first draft." And while I hope to be published someday, typing The End was one of the best moments of my writing life. I created a whole world right there on my screen. If I can do that, well, certainly I can rise to the challenge of edits, queries, etc.

    Thanks again for this post, Natalie!

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  53. Very inspirational, thank you so much!

    PS: I'm from Utah too :) Oh how I love these Rocky Mountains.

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