rom time to time, all of us will seek the advice of others. Those we look up to, those we know, those who are the first to turn up on page one of our Google search. The journey of writing, and improving as a writer, is filled with advice, giving and receiving, and not all of it solicited. But fortunate as we are to have access to unprecedented levels of information and help via the internet, the abundance can be a deluge, and particularly when you’re starting out on your journey, it can be hard to figure out which apple to choose, let alone whether you’re comparing apples with apples.
Not all advice is created equal. Not all advice will even be applicable to you personally. And how does one sift through all these competing ideas and suggestions to find what is most helpful? I have written a lot of blogs giving advice on writing, usually with young writers in mind. But here is one on the nature of advice – what to take, what to leave, and what the point of it all is really about. Advice on advice.
As a developing writer I have seen a great many blogs out there that are pitching one or another idea about the correct way to go about your writing. The first thing I believe all baby writers should keep in mind is this: there is no one size fits all. Although this maxim may be disheartening to some, in the long run I believe it brings more hope than it takes away. Those seeking for an easy way into writing more or writing better will be disappointed. There are no quick hacks that speed up the process as I see it. Because it is a process.
Growth and improvement as a writer is about process. Your process to be precise. And this is why I say one size does not fit all. Not only because of differences in genre, approach, and style, but also because we all have brains that work differently. The way we visualise writing may be radically different, methods of approach and tapping into the inkwell of your creativity will vary, and although there will be general trends, what works for one writer is not guaranteed to work for another. So you engage in the process of understanding your process.
A writer’s process, as I see it, is linked to their relationship and understanding of themselves. Working out your process – the best way of working for you – is about figuring out how your brain works. Don’t be scared. You don’t need to understand human psychology for this. Just awareness. And this is where you can have hacks. Figuring out your process is about hacking your brain. It’s about trial and error, testing new techniques and environments and methods, and seeing what suits you best, what helps your flow. This could be as simple as writing by hand instead of in a Word doc, or sitting in a café to work versus a quite room alone. Developing your self-awareness when writing – a sort of sixth sense that picks up on what is working for you is the best way to maximise the effectiveness of all the advice you take action on.
This is where the advice of others comes in. Advice shouldn’t be seen as prescriptive. You shouldn’t have to feel like there is only one good way of writing, and then feel like a failure or a fraud if it doesn’t work for you. Advice and the methods of others are inspiration – a smorgasbord of ideas and techniques for you to test and try out as you search for that best suits you. Just as one person loves sushi and another loves steak, so too will you find your own preferences.
And this is where no one size fits all becomes hopeful. There is a vast plethora of information and inspiration out there about writing and how to go about it. You are no constrained by any of it. You get to have a nibble of this and a taste of that, and in the process you learn, and you grow. All of the tools and methods out there are alternative solutions which you may find work for you, or you may not, and in the process of doing so you are building your own customised toolbox of techniques and approaches, refining your process.
But why am I banging on about process so much anyway? In some circles there seems to be this sense or idea that writing better is about writing more, writing faster, or just pushing yourself even if you’re not feeling it. None of these things are inherently bad – context is important – but these are also a simplification. Writers do not reach a point of terminal velocity where they suddenly transform, and like a Pokémon erupt into their final evolution of a writer who writes effortlessly, thousands of words pouring from their mind without a second’s thought.
Much as I’m sure we’d all love moments like that, where half a book simply appears on the page in the snap of our fingers, reality is not quite so charmed. I talk about process because your process is based on your understanding of yourself and how you best work – it’s about making your brain happy so that it can access the place that writing comes from easily. This is where the benefit of experience comes in. Writers aren’t just pushing themselves blindly and eventually levelling up, unlocking some mystical ability due to sheer willpower. It’s about targeted and intentional work, trying out techniques until you find what works best for you, and using that collated knowledge to hack your brain and create the most conducive situation for writing. The best way to hone your process and your understanding of how you work is by working.
To my mind, process is the doorway to easier and better writing. This doesn’t mean writing becomes effortless, it’s still work, you’re still employing your skills to create and problem solve. But getting back in the saddle from where you left off, starting a new chapter or a new story, crafting well rounded characters and complex worlds, all of this will hopefully become easier as you understand how your brain likes to work the Rubik’s cube that is writing and crafting.
For some writers, setting a target of a hundred words a day is enough. That could be one of the key elements of their process, and it gets them through their manuscripts. It sees them to publication. For other writers a word count could feel too prescriptive, its very presence inhibiting their creativity. Setting aside working hours to write could be enough instead. The only way you find out is by giving it a shot.
Trial and error will sometimes feel like you’re bashing your head against a brick wall, particularly if you’re going through a lot of different methods in a short period of time. Even after you figure out your process there will still be times when you return to that exact feeling, stuck and unable to figure out what’s not working, until eventually it does all click into place. Although figuring out your process greatly eases the path of writing, it doesn’t mean that it is always easy. For many highly successful writers, writing is a long hard slog. It’s effort. For many other highly successful writers, writing comes more easily.
My second maxim regarding advice is this: you don’t have to take it. You don’t have to take all of it. Sometimes you don’t have to take any of it. This should never come from a place of arrogance. Arrogance and constructive criticism are how people stall. More commonly I have seen baby writers trying to take on too much advice, and then get stuck like a deer in headlights, not sure which way too turn because of the overload. This is normal, especially if you’re in a workshop where the whole point is that people give you as much constructive criticism as they are able to with the piece you’ve provided.
Remember that you are the expert on your piece, on the world you’ve created, on the characters you speak as. The insight of others is frequently highly valuable – they have the ability of impartiality and a fresh perspective, and this can allow them to see gaps you may have missed, or opportunities that you were blinded to. However, they do not know everything that you know. They only know what is on the page.
So learn to pick and choose. Some advice may be great, but not quite applicable or useful for your particular story or character. Some advice might slightly miss the mark, but still have a useful nugget for you to take away. Taking on advice and constructive criticism (particularly from writing workshops) is very much like gold panning. You are sifting and searching for those bright glimmers of insight, the remarks that catch your attention and imagination, and which give you a better grasp on your piece.
So for all the baby writers out there – good luck. You’re starting a journey that all writers are on, that of figuring out how they work, and what makes their brain tick. I’ve had several moments when I’ve declared myself thoroughly against a technique, only to slowly slip into it several years later, and for it eventually to become a vital cornerstone of my process. We’re all growing and evolving as people as we experience life, and it makes sense that our process can do that too. There is a lot of advice out there, but try not to be disheartened by it, and remember you’re not a little fish swimming alone, you’re a little fish swimming with a shoal.
