Hello everyone, I hope you’re having a lovely morning, afternoon, or evening! I’ve been writing for a little over half of my life now, so I wanted to share a few things about being a writer that I’ve experienced. The good, the bad, the ugly, and just some other random thoughts and tidbits!

Hardest Thing

This is probably the most obvious answer but one of the hardest things is writing clearly. By that, I mean crafting your story in a way that a reader can understand, where there’s no loopholes, etc. And, even as a non-fiction/poetry/etc. writer, you still face this: how can you make your words understandable and grammatically correct?

I write fiction (although, there is a non-fiction in the works…), and I often struggle with putting the story in my head on paper in a way that properly conveys what I want it to. Like, it’s easy to imagine the story and daydream 24/7, but actually putting it on paper and describing everything? That’s such a hard skill and, for me, a frequent cause for writer’s block.

Best Thing

Just like any other artist, I think the best thing about being a writer is seeing the finished work. Whether it’s just reading your story (or just a chapter!) or even seeing it published and on the shelves of a bookstore! I love that sense of accomplishment. I love having a manuscript filled with my imagination where my story and daydreams have really come to life. And, I love sharing stories with people and having an opportunity to spread laughter, hope, and anything else I can to make the world a brighter place.

Advice I’ve Received

I can’t think of anything specifically that people have told me, but I have a myriad of tidbits that I’ve found on Pinterest:

Don’t use adjectives to tell your readers how they should feel; describe the scene in a way that makes them feel terrified, sad, happy, etc. (see OG Pin here)

Similar to the above statement, don’t just state, the war was horrible, so many bad things happened, write about a specific little thing (or things) that happened. (see OG Pin here)

Try to stay away from “there was” and “there is.” Instead, write it more directly like “lightning strikes the sky,” rather than “there was a strike of lightning.” (see OG Pin here)

These are just a few (I have an overwhelmingly large board of Pins), but Pinterest is an insightful tool for finding writing prompts, tips, etc. I encourage you to create your own board of writing tips for easy access!

Advice To Give

I can’t take credit for some of these pieces of advice, but I thought them great to share anyways!

“…all the first draft has to do is exist.” a quote by Jane Smiley. Don’t worry about if your draft has everything figured out, if its free from plotholes, etc. The first draft’s job is to just be there, not be perfect.

Only give a character a backstory (especially a tragic one) if it advances the plotline or is vital to understanding the storyline. Readers don’t need to know the family history, traumas, and such of characters they’ll only meet once or twice. Also, it’s not necessary to have all these terrible things happen to the main character for no reason. No one likes pointless suffering.

Quality over quantity. Don’t worry about how many pages your book has, how many chapters, how long each chapter is, and so on. People will put down a long, cool-looking book forever if it isn’t good. But, someone will hold tightly to a 100-page, riveting and well-written book. Worry about your book’s storyline, characters arcs, etc., rather than how long/big it is.

Helpful Resources

I’ve made a few posts with resources and other tips, but I’ve also included some more that I’ve found recently!

My Must-Haves For Fictional World-Building

Helpful Writing Tips and Tricks

OneLook Thesaurus (pretty much a “reverse dictionary” for when you can’t find the word for a certain phrase, object, etc.)

NameBerry (a way to search for specific names, like if a character should have a two-syllable name or end with an “a” or things like that!)

How long have you been writing? What has been your favorite project? If you have any other advice, feel free to drop it in the comments below! I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day or night. Keep on loving others and seeking the Lord!