Rules for Honing Your Writing Craft

Rule 1: Read, Read, Read!

Fiction: You may think reading fiction books is just for fun, but reading in your chosen genre will help guide you on the path to write within that genre. Stephen King strongly advocates for reading fiction to better understand the conventions and expectations of your chosen genre, gain a greater grasp of grammar and spelling, and inspire you as to what you could potentially do with your craft.

Nonfiction: Of course, reading nonfiction books on writing craft can help too! Read every one you can get your hands on, even if one seems contradictory to another. Knowledge is power, and once you have seen a variety of paths to take, you can pick and choose the elements that fit best with your style or are the most helpful for enhancing your authorial journey.

(Read my Tips for Writers article titled Writer’s Resources for a list of recommended reading in both fiction and nonfiction.)

Rule 2: Establish Your Writing Space

Having a sacred space set up for writing can help it feel more important and real, while also keeping you focused and on track. Whether you have the ability to dedicate an entire room as your home office or just a corner in your bedroom, it’s okay. If you don’t even have that, there are other options out there, like a portable lap desk or writing in a local coffee shop or library.

Whatever space you have to work with, make sure you dedicate it fully to your writing. At the very minimum, you will need a notebook and a pen. Perhaps a computer, if your budget allows (while I enjoy notebooks for quick notes and outlines, I find computers much easier for larger documents and self-edits). Laptops and desktops are equally beneficial and really boil down to preference.

If you have the luxury of space, set up a desk. Consider including things that will help you settle in for longer stretches of time more comfortably: tissues, snacks, water, a candle, etc. Maybe you like to listen to music while you work. Maybe you want a space heater or a blanket for the cold mornings/evenings and a fan for the hot afternoons. Some writers enjoy surrounding themselves with visually appealing decor such as bookcases, framed inspirational quotes, or marquee letters spelling something like Read or Write. Whatever the perfect space looks like in your mind, the goal is that you enjoy returning to it time and time again, even look forward to being in it, and it allows you to focus and seek inspiration.

Rule 3: Be Kind to Yourself

I tell my daughters often that our words have immense power, so wield them carefully. The things you tell someone can stick with them their entire lives and make an impact on how they think about themselves. What you tell yourself is equally important as it will become your truth.

For some reason, our brains tend to focus on the negative more strongly than the positive. It’s even been said that we need three praises to counteract every criticism. That is why it’s critical to compliment yourself and acknowledge the things you have done well. It’s not about having an inflated ego, it’s about self-care, and you’ve got to love yourself in order to care for yourself.

None of us are perfect and we all have things we need to work on improving, but if you constantly kick yourself with all the things you did wrong, you will find it harder and harder to get back up. It’s up to you to take control of your mindset and purposefully seek the positive. Therefore, you must treat yourself the same as you would a good friend. Look for ways in which you can build yourself up and grow. Master a positive mindset and take control of your truth. Trust me, it will make all the difference on whether you quit or grow, so be kind to yourself.

Rule 4: Commit and Don’t Quit!

Carve out a specific time each day to sit down and write. Most importantly, keep it consistent. This will help to train your creative unconscious, so push aside your doubts and distractions in favor of committing to writing. Think of it as a job and dedicate time to investing time in yourself and your craft. Remember, practice in any skill takes time and commitment, but your skills will improve each time you do it.

It doesn’t matter what you write about, so long as you write regularly and consistently. If you don’t have a current work in progress, search through writing prompts or think of a personal memory to write about. Consider subscribing to Reedsy’s weekly writing prompts email or even entering their weekly writing contest for a chance to practice your craft and win a little extra money while doing it.

Rule 5: Slow Progress Is Better Than No Progress

If you feel frustrated by large word count goals, set smaller ones! Something is better than nothing, and slow progress is better than no progress. Even if you only write 1,000 words a day, you will have 30,000 words by the end of the month.

If you have a full-time job, part-time college classes, three kids, and a mountain of laundry and dishes to do, maybe you can only commit to 300 words a day—that’s okay too. In fact, setting a smaller goal will make it feel more attainable, which means you won’t avoid doing it. And once you get started and feel a sense of accomplishment, it’s likely you will surpass your daily goal.

Rule 6: Narrow Your Vision to Overcome Overwhelm

Author Anne Lamott said if you are struggling with your book, simply narrow it down to what you can see right now. The rest will come in due time. Lamott keeps a one-inch picture frame on her desk to remind her to focus only on what she could hypothetically see through that tiny frame at any given moment. As she begins to write, the rest eventually reveals itself.

On this same note, author E.L. Doctorow said, “[W]riting a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make your whole trip that way.” The idea is that you don’t need everything figured out immediately and you don’t even need to write in large blocks. You just need to write what you can see in that moment, a little at a time, and eventually you will have a finished manuscript!

Rule 7: Never Say Whoa in a Mud Hole

My husband once told me, “Never say whoa in a mud hole.” If you find yourself in a particularly tough spot and you allow it to scare you into freezing up, you’re liable to find yourself really stuck. Powering through it is the only way forward.

If you feel especially stuck on a certain scene that even Lamott’s one-inch picture frame trick isn’t helping you with, don’t let it halt your entire progress. Using a tool many famous authors appreciate, put your basic notes in brackets and move on.

[Insert amazing action scene where the protagonist battles the dragon.]

If you start with the basics, the details will grow and develop in the background as you gain a better grip on your characters and plot. Then you can return to it later to flesh it out.

Rule 8: Write Now, Perfect Later

If you try to do too much at once, you will quickly get lost. Continually editing while still working on writing your story will stall your forward progress and possibly lead you to giving it up completely. Anne Lamott says even the best authors write “shitty first drafts.” So, let it go and focus on writing first, and editing second.

Lamott’s friend calls the first draft the “down draft” (just get it written down!), the second the “up draft” (fix it up!), and the third the “dental draft” (check each tooth). Don’t let perfectionism keep you from moving forward. Instead, think of your drafts as stepping stones to the final product and take it one step at a time.

Rule 9: Never Compare Yourself to Others

Writers often fall prey to comparing their work in progress to the published works of bestselling authors, but this is one of the worst traps imaginable. It can cause you to stall out, stop believing in yourself, and possibly even quit writing all together.

But in comparing yourself to others, you are not taking into account what happened behind the scenes before those bestselling books were published. Before those authors ever got their book in a bookstore, they first had to write a first draft, continue with several more drafts during self-editing, and use a plethora of professional editors to help polish their story. And throughout all of this, they too battled self-doubt, writer’s block, and “shitty first drafts,” just like the rest of us. Even Stephen King, the King of Horror himself, admits to sharing in these struggles with every book he writes—after all, he dumped Carrie in the trash!

The only person you can realistically compare yourself with is your past self. Have you improved from where you were a year ago? Have you grown? Learned something new? Improved in some way? Focus on yourself because, in the end, that is all that truly matters. Comparing yourself to them will only lead to diminished self-worth because you are only seeing what they present on the surface, which is rarely the full reality. You can never truly know someone else’s journey, so focus on yourself and forge your own path.

Rule 10: Seek Intentional Growth

As you write and self edit, take intentional action toward the development and advancement of your writing craft. Search for ways to constantly be practicing and take notice of how you improve each time. Take a creative writing class at your local community college. Join a writing group and listen to their feedback on your work in progress. Use subtitles when watching your favorite shows and pay close attention when having conversations with someone to learn the natural flow of realistic dialogue. Read books on craft and ensure each line you write either develops character or furthers the plot. And most of all, keep writing.

Rule 11: Don’t Take Feedback Personally

Part of intentional growth is seeking feedback. If the idea of having others read your work terrifies you, you are far from alone. However, I believe it’s vital to our growth to learn how to accept feedback in a manner that benefits us and enhances our craft. Besides, you can’t avoid it forever if you wish to publish, and isn’t it better to receive feedback prior to that point so you have the opportunity to fix it?

Though feedback on your work in progress may feel personal, it’s not (or it shouldn’t be if you’ve surrounded yourself with the right people). You see, there is a huge difference between destructive criticism and constructive criticism. One is a vague statement not only isn’t helpful but actually may be harmful (e.g., I didn’t like your protagonist), while the other balances something positive with more detailed constructive feedback (e.g., I like the overall concept, but the protagonist’s character could be developed further with more depth and relatability. What vulnerabilities or flaws does she have that will cause this journey to be difficult for her? What is her motivation for seeking the sacred moonstone despite those difficulties? What inner battle is she fighting that aligns with the external conflict?).

If you are lucky enough to receive the proper type of criticism (constructive), make sure you open yourself up and allow it to help you grow. Instead of letting it bring you down, use this information to learn and improve. And as Stephen King advises, when using a group of people for your feedback, if one person says something, it might be okay to ignore it, but if several say the same thing, you’d better take notice.

Rule 12: Hire a Professional Editor! 

Hiring a professional developmental editor will ensure you receive the right kind of constructive criticism balanced with positive feedback and detailed suggestions for honing your craft. At Red Quill Editorial, if something doesn’t align with the timeline or previous details, a character lacks depth, your dialogue feels rigid, or your plot is lacking a point to tie it all together, I won’t simply point out the problem. I will take the time to fully investigate the issue and offer my observations, questions, suggestions, and examples. My goal is for my delivery of this information to be helpful and useful in your growth as a writer, but I won’t stop there either. I will also point out the details, elements, and areas in which I feel the author thrives. We all need a pat on the back sometimes to keep us encouraged, inspired, and motivated, and I’m happy to both help you grow and cheer you on.

Ready for the professional editing process? Let’s discuss your manuscript! (Want to learn more about The Self-Publishing Process?)

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Red Quill Editorial LLC