Practical Writing Advice for You (and everyone else too!)
I briefly considered having a more click-bait title for this post. Writing Advice (And Why You Should Ignore It) would probably have gotten more attention; at least that’s what all those online articles have told me. Except for all the others ones, that tell me I shouldn’t use click-bait titles, because people who browse the internet are more discerning than that. Except they aren’t. Or are they?
This post is going to focus less on the theory of writing and more on the practicalities. The actual ‘sitting-down-and-writing’ part of writing. Because there’s lots of advice out there, I thought I’d throw my hat into the ring. And tell you to ignore all of it. Ignore all the hats. They’re mad hats, let alone the hatters that make them.
There are plenty of people who will happily tell you how to do what you’re doing. Some will say you should sit down and write from nine until five. Others will tell you that you have to scribble dutifully on paper or that the laptop or the typewriter is the true instrument of the writer. Others still will tell you to take some time away from the desk and explore the hidden depths of the subconscious (fart noise).
But ultimately it’s down to you and how you work. When it comes down to it, all the advice you can find online (which I’m sure will be offered in the most positive way) may or may not apply to you.
I know some people who are amazing at getting up when their alarm goes off, sitting down at their desk at 8:55 and only taking a lunch break until 17:00, at which point they close everything and leave their work behind. I’ve worked in places and on projects where the insistence is on filling every single minute of every single day with working around hours that are set in stone. And some people thrive under that sort of routine.
But I know one person who, most of the time, won’t start working until about midday. But then will work into the wee hours, that part of the day I call The Forbidden Zone, plugging away and heading to bed at around 3:00 having made something brilliant. So why is it necessarily ‘better’ for this second person if they were to be forced to start work at 9:00 instead? If this throws them out of their natural creative routine and has them banging their head against the wall, why the need for advice that says you absolutely have to work 9–5, no way around it, no loopholes?
The only reason I ask this question is because, despite the best intensions of those who offer writing advice, there are times where this advice is handed over with the proviso that all writers absolutely must follow it or their writing may as well be smeared turds on the carpet. According to some who offer advice, what they say is gospel.
Really, this is similar as to the argument of whether you should write alone or write with someone else. It’s not cut and dry and, in fact, different projects require different routines and different mindsets.
My point is that whatever works for you, works for you. I spent months feeling guilty because I could never sit down at 9:00 and work work work until 17:00. I’d reach the end of the day and wonder if I really loved writing. If I couldn’t just sit down and do it all day ‘like a normal job’, was it really the thing for me? On a side note, I don’t know why anyone would think writing was a normal job. I’m sat there thinking about how a space alien from the Planet Blagblore would react to having their spaceship attacked and comparing it to living in the real world…
But when I let go of that guilt and the feeling that I had to follow rules handed down from on high, I found what I was writing tended to be just that little bit better. Incidentally, have you ever noticed most of the advice comes from completely unsubstantiated blogs and other online posts (oh, please don’t look at me, discerning reader! I didn’t use a click-bait headline!)? But then sometimes you’ll come across the holy grail. The published author. The one who insists everyone has to do it this way, because it works for them and, hey, they’re published!
Even if the advice you’re taking is from a successful, inspiring professional whose work you love, find what works for you! I write for a little bit, take a small break, write again for a little bit, taking breaks no longer than twenty minutes (I like to call this type of schedule ‘grazing’, as I am always be surprised when my fridge is empty).
Now I’m not talking about writing for a bit, then sitting round playing video games for two hours because you tricked yourself into thinking you’ve earned it. Unless, practically-speaking, you have the means to not have to worry about day jobs and the like, you’re unlikely to survive long if you write a paragraph a month. Do be stringent with it. What I’m saying, once again, is find the schedule that works for you. Find the routine that works for you. The 9–5, no breaks except lunch routine might work perfectly for you and if you find that, that’s great! Equally, if you prefer working under the light of the moon like some part-werewolf (this name is applicable to me due to the speedy accumulation of facial hair), that’s great too.
I guess what I’m really saying is take in the advice you find, whoever it’s from. Try things out. But if it doesn’t work, don’t feel like you’re doing it wrong. It’s writing, for goodness sake. In the end, the only thing you absolutely must do is whatever it takes to make the writing as good as can be.
