Honing and owning the craft of writing

I once listened to a TEDx talk by one of my favourite authors, Jane Harper. She talked about how aspiring writers shouldn’t wait to be struck by the muse and expect that the first time they put proverbial pen to paper that they’ll end up penning the next Booker prize winning novel.

The same as you wouldn’t expect to paint a masterpiece the first time you pick up a paintbrush or to replicate Beethoven’s symphony the first time you sat down at a piano, we shouldn’t expect ourselves to be literary masters with just our early attempts.

I am by no means the most talented or gifted writer, and yet I won a major prize and landed a publishing deal with one of the biggest publishing houses. I am however, determined, resourceful and hard working.

Here are my tips for owning and honing the craft of writing.

Immerse yourself if the world of writing

Podcasts, books on writing, online courses. There’s no shortage of opportunities to improve your writing, help define your style and find your voice.

Read widely in your genre

Absorbing what others in your field are doing will help you pick up on current trends and discover what readers are after. Knowing the market, and how your book might fit in it, is crucial to getting your story in front of agents and publishers. Pay attention to what works and, equally as important, what doesn’t work for you when reading a novel.

Get feedback

The feedback I received from a professional editor during an online course I took was invaluable. Although she only looked a few thousand words of my writing, it gave me great insight as to what worked well and what didn’t with my own writing style. I was then able to apply those suggestions to the rest of the novel prior to submitting it. Avoid using beta readers who aren’t in the writing industry. Well-meaning friends and family members will often give vague (and untruthful) feedback. “Yes dear, it was good…I liked it very much. Well done.” Isn’t especially helpful from good-hearted Aunt Mary.

Take yourself seriously

Make daily writing goals and stick to them. Set long-term deadlines and meet them. Don’t make excuses not to write, because if you don’t take yourself seriously as a writer, then no one will.

Practice

No one writes well in the early stages. My own early attempts should be buried in the depths of the sea. But as they say, practice makes perfect (or at least it makes us better, and sometimes better is all you need).

Photo credit: Giulia Bertelli via Unsplash