In the 28th in a series of posts on 2017 books entered for The Story Prize, Louise Marburg, author of The Truth About Me (WTAW Press), offers a tip or ten.
1. Read as much as you can, read every day, read all sorts of things, and especially read the genre in which you aspire to write.
2. Pay attention. Eavesdrop. Notice.
3. Do not wait for inspiration, for it will never come. Sit down and write a line, then write another, and so on. Eventually, a story will appear.
4. Train yourself to be able to write for as much or little time as you have. Don’t wait to write until you have the whole day free. If you have fifteen free minutes, then write for fifteen minutes.
5. Don’t set daily goals such as word counts and pages: Write what you can.
6. Don’t plan too much, because your plans will change.
7. Allow yourself the freedom to be surprised by what you write.
8. Make friends with other writers. Critique each other’s stories. Give and take advice. Find out what your writer friends are reading. Share tips on where to submit.
9. Don’t expect it to get easier as you become more experienced. It doesn’t.
10. Remember that every day you don’t write is a day you don’t become a better writer.
1. Read as much as you can, read every day, read all sorts of things, and especially read the genre in which you aspire to write.
2. Pay attention. Eavesdrop. Notice.
3. Do not wait for inspiration, for it will never come. Sit down and write a line, then write another, and so on. Eventually, a story will appear.
4. Train yourself to be able to write for as much or little time as you have. Don’t wait to write until you have the whole day free. If you have fifteen free minutes, then write for fifteen minutes.
5. Don’t set daily goals such as word counts and pages: Write what you can.
6. Don’t plan too much, because your plans will change.
7. Allow yourself the freedom to be surprised by what you write.
8. Make friends with other writers. Critique each other’s stories. Give and take advice. Find out what your writer friends are reading. Share tips on where to submit.
9. Don’t expect it to get easier as you become more experienced. It doesn’t.
10. Remember that every day you don’t write is a day you don’t become a better writer.
