No writer emerges fully formed. It’s that simple.
When a writer publishes their first book, it’s rarely actually their first completed work. Instead it will be the product of many, many years of false starts and learning from them. Most writers you meet will talk about the number of projects which ended up in the bottom drawer of their desk because they just didn’t work.
Getting down to writing
It takes time to become good at writing. Trust me, I’ve been in the writing business my whole career and stringing words together into sentences that make sense and tell your story in an easy way takes a lot of skill. The same can be said for pulling together the plot and structure of any novel or short story.
These are some of the skills you will need in order to become a better writer:
Learning the process of putting together a story
Like many things in life, writing has a system. If you learn and apply that system, then it makes life much easier. For example, when I worked as a journalist, the system is who, what, where, when and, most importantly, why. That’s basically all you need for your story. If you can answer those questions, then you’re ready to start writing. You also put the most important information into you first two paragraphs, condensing the story into roughly 50 words (newspaper paragraphs are very short) and building from there.
The way to learn the process for writing flash fiction, short stories or novels is to read it. Ask yourself what is the author doing and how are they doing it. How-to-write guides can also help but try not to read too many of them or you get mixed messages. I’ve written more about that here. You can also find a few how-to-write guides that I’ve used on my resources page.
Knowing when something is working and when it isn’t
Even some the best writers don’t get it right first time. You’ll often hear them talk about getting thousands of words into the book and then consigning it to the bottom drawer. Often this is because they’ve found that the plot doesn’t work and you need to learn how to spot these kind of issues. Sometimes it’s gut instinct, but other times it’s your own response to the story. For example, if you’re finding the story hard to write and find yourself procrastinating, that suggests something is wrong. I’ve found having a plan allows me to assess whether the story ‘has legs’ before I start writing. If I find myself struggling, then it’s time to go back to the plan and see where I’ve taken a wrong turn.
A good rule of thumb is that if you’re not enjoying writing it, your readers won’t enjoy reading it, so go back and look at it again.
Making time for writing
I have to include this one as it is an important skill to develop. I’ve written more fully on how to make time for writing, but it makes sense to include it here. If you’re serious about your writing – whether it’s just for pleasure or because you want to be published – you need to make time to actually do it. So, you need to find your way to fit it in. Whether that’s dispatching your family out for the day, getting help with the housework, or treating yourself to a morning in a coffee shop, experiment and find what works for you. Even just half an hour will help you to get started.
Read. A Lot.
I’m sure if you’re any kind of writer then you’ll be a reader too, but it’s important to build up the skill of reading analytically as well as for pleasure. Much the same way as you learned in English Literature classes at school, you need to think about what the writer is doing and how they’re doing it. Do they end chapters in such a way that you have to read the next one? How do they do that? Do you find yourself reading until 1.30am because you just can’t put the book down? What is it about the book that keeps you reading?
Read widely in the genre you write in and learn the tricks that other authors employ. That’s not to say you shouldn’t read other genres if you enjoy them but reading for analysis has to be in the genre you’re writing as different genres have different structures and processes.
#Keeponkeepingon
And finally, if there’s one skill that all writers have – maybe skill is the wrong word – it’s the ability to just keep going. When you set out to write a novel or short story early in your writing career you may have no guarantee that your stories will be published or win competitions or whatever you’re trying to achieve. It’s about getting your bottom into your chair and continuing to write regardless of that.
There will always be times when you really don’t feel like it, or when it feels like your writing is rubbish, but if you keep going, then you’ll be able to complete your project. So, don’t give up. If the project you’re working on isn’t coming together, then put it to one side and start something else. You may come back to it later or you may not, but don’t let it deter you from continuing to write.
Do any of these skills resonate with you? Are there any that you think you really need to develop? Have I missed any skills that you think a writer needs?
Tell me in the comments below.