What Advice Do You Follow?
There is tons of advice out there for the beginning writer. If you take a look at the suggestions, they range from, “write at least 1,000 words a day” to “don’t quit your day job”. Since I don’t write 1,000 words daily, and I jumped right into freelancing, I can’t say either of these worked for me.
The advice I keep coming back to, and that I have found the most valuable is this: write, edit, and re-write. My mother studied English in college, and was lucky enough to have a professor who was well-published in the magazine industry. He would say, “The ONLY writing, is re-writing.” I tend to agree with him. It isn’t glamorous advice–but it works!
There have been many times that I have sat down and written something that I am tempted to send off right away as a submission because I feel really good about it. (Particularly easy these days with many places accepting e-mail submissions and queries.) When I force myself to wait until the next day, I am usually horrified at what would have gone out had I done so! Leaving your work and coming back to it fresh, and editing and reworking a piece are definitely your best writing buddies.
It also helps to have another pair of eyes. Joe and I are merciless with each other. We cut, paste, delete and comment on each others work. It is never personal. We know that we are helping each other to do the best work possible–critique is actually complimentary.
If you don’t happen to have a partner, see if there is someone out there that you can trust to take a peek at your work. If you aren’t ready for this step, chances are you aren’t ready to be a writer just yet. Rejection and opening yourself up to criticism are big parts of this business. You must develop your “hard shell”.
If you just can’t bear the thought of letting someone you know see your work yet, try reading it out loud. This is another suggestion from many respected writers that works very well. The sound of your writing will help you to determine if it “flows” properly. It can also help you to catch mistakes that you might miss by just reading the piece quietly.
Another piece of advice I picked up that has been useful is this: write. Now, you are probably wondering why you are bothering to read this right about now, but be honest with yourself–are you writing enough? Do you write all the time, or just when “the muse” strikes you? Do you write about everything you can, just to expand your experience a little, or do you stick to one subject? I have volumes of half-finished articles. Pages upon pages of stuff that is sitting in folders, just waiting to be resurrected. If I am not writing for fun or profit, I am e-mailing friends to catch up on life–and I even practice then.
Usually the most common sense advice is the best–and the most overlooked. People sometimes miss steps on their way up the ladder, or want to just skip them. Take your time, enjoy the trip, and don’t be afraid to go back to the basics from time to time. Its a fun ride . . . . .
