Discussion: What’s The Best Writing Advice You’ve Heard?

Discussion: What’s The Best Writing Advice You’ve Heard? Book review,Corinne Duyvis,diversity,four stars,Otherbound Discussion: What’s The Best Writing Advice You’ve Heard?

Photo credit: coolio-claire on Flickr

Seeing how this is a writing blog where I share loads of tips and things I’ve learned along the way, I’ve started thinking lately about the best writing advice I’ve ever received.
There are a lot of tips out there that I know have helped me tremendously, which I’ve posted about. But the tip I keep coming back to and repeating most often to other writers, particularly new writers, is a simple one.
Finish the book.
I repeat this pretty often here at Writability, because it’s so insanely crucial. It’s ridiculously easy to get discouraged or sidetracked while first drafting—whether it’s getting caught in an editing loop or being distracted by a shiny new idea or losing interest altogether. But the thing is, if you never finish the book, you’ll have nothing to edit and work with to begin with.
I have no shame in saying that my first drafts are messy. I knock them out quickly and go through them over and over and over again later to root out the problems and replace it with fresh, stronger material. But if I didn’t get through the first draft to begin with, then I wouldn’t be able to do that, because the story wouldn’t be complete.
If you’re working on a first draft and you think your writing sucks and you’ll never get published, finish the book.
If you’ve got an awesome idea that you love but every time you try to write it, you lose inspiration or get distracted—finish the book.
There’s a secret to first drafting and it’s this: you don’t stop writing until it’s done. Even when you think it sucks, even when you start to wonder if you’re wasting your time, even if you suspect it’ll never get published, you finish the darn book.
Worry about the other stuff later. While you’re first drafting, all you have to worry about is finishing the book.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever heard? I’d love to hear it!

Twitter-sized bites:

Writer @Ava_Jae shares the best writing advice she's ever heard. Do you have any tips to share? (Click to tweet)

What's the best writing advice you've ever heard? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)

Posted by Hodie J