The best writing tips I never follow

alystowe:

1. Write 500 words (or 30 minutes) every day. This tip can be awesome for making writing a ‘habit.’ I know that! Yet recently, usually at 12:00am, I end up thinking, “JUST ONE SENTENCE! PLEASE! ONE SENTENCE AND YOU CAN TICK THE ‘DAILY WRITING’ BOX!” 

2. Make an outline. An outline ensures that every scene drives your story forwards. Man, my editing phase would be so much quicker if I could just follow this rule! But if you know the whole story… isn’t it a bit boring? I think the not knowing is what motivates me to write! (Please someone, find me a counter-argument!)

3. The best way to say something is often the simplest one. Artist!Aly: “But wouldn’t it sound so much more interesting/beautiful/rhythmic/revolutionary if I wrote it like… or maybe… or if I just remove these few words… nope, the simplest it is!”

4. Do not write and edit simultaneously. Finish writing first. Editing is a separate process. My inner perfectionist despises this rule. Oh yeah, it’s personal. Every time I finish a paragraph and avoid critiquing it, I feel an unnatural tension take over, and hear a small voice shout, “you’ll never be a writer!”

5. If your goal is to finish your novel, find a new goal. It leads to better mental health to think of writing as a journey, rather than a task to be completed. If you aim for the end goal, you will probably panic and catastrophise every obstacle. So I tell myself, “Aly, you don’t actually want to finish your novel. You only really want to write whatever you can reasonably achieve in the next 30 minutes.” Sigh. My life would be so peaceful if I managed to believe that shit.