3 Tips to Writing and Writing Well
Do you want to write a book that will knock the socks off of everyone that reads it? Do you want to make your best friend cry, your momma smile, and your dad pat you on the back? Here are 3 tips to writing and writing well that you might want to consider if you want to write a book that will win you an award.
1. Write what you want to read.
If you don't want to read what you write, odds are, no one else will either. You might argue that you're writing something that doesn't quite interest you at the moment and that it may be a topic that may interest someone else. The truth is that if you're not interested, your writing will lack that spark necessary to keep your readers interested and engaged. Plus, your writing won't keep you engaged, and you'll soon give up in your endeavor. That brings us to our second point.
2. Write for yourself.
When you write, it should be to make you happy. Your writing should be a favorite pastime of yours, a time of relaxations and self-care. Is it? Or do you stress over every word and how perfect it should be? Ask yourself why. Then lay aside those perfectionist tendencies and get back to writing for the joy of writing.
Writing is about being creative. It's about relaxing and letting the pen do the work. It's about just being who you are and letting that flow out onto the page. Quit trying to be someone you're not. Quit trying to please the world with your writing and just be you. Write for yourself. Write to make you happy. When you write to make yourself happy, your readers will be happy too.
3. Write often.
Lastly, write often! You can't get better at anything you do without practice.
How many times have you heard the old saying, "Practice makes perfect?" I disagree with that statement. The truth is that "perfect practice makes perfect." We can't practice writing perfectly in our imperfection--I mean what is perfect writing by any person's standards? Any of us could say our writing is perfect, but I'm certain our editors would disagree! Rather, my favorite statement is that "practice makes permanent."
Because practice makes permanent, writing daily makes writing a daily habit. Don't miss a day. It's easier to break a habit than to establish a habit. Writing 10 minutes daily is better than skipping a day!
Write what you want to read, and your book will be full of character, inspiration, and quality content. Write for yourself, and you'll not get bored with writing nor will your readers get bored with you. Make writing a habit, and you're surely to improve your skill through your daily practice.
Keep up the hard work! And if you decide that you would like to have more help, visit me at https://www.learnhowtowriteabook.com!
About the Author
Nishoni Harvey
Growing up, I never feel like I’m good enough. This follows me into adulthood and is only solidified when I send my first book into publishers to only have them reject me time and time again.
Finally, my mom suggests a publisher in North Carolina. They publish my book, and it sells over 70 books right out of the gate, making it a bestseller, but it soon falls out of the rankings. I don’t know how to keep it there. Again, I feel like a failure.
Since then, I’ve written a chapter for two other published books, published my second fiction book, ghostwritten 16 nonfiction books, and authored two of my own nonfiction, self-help books.
Sometime between then and now, I have a lightbulb moment. I am on another downward swing with my bipolar depression, and I am thinking about how unhappy I am. It’s then that I think how happy I was during my years spent teaching children and teenagers and how much I love writing. “Why not do both?” I think. “I could teach others to write their book!”
I start my business with great motivation and ambition, but the clients don’t come. Depression starts to seep in again, and I start to give up. I keep doing the job that I’m contracted on, formatting a book for a plastic surgeon in Australia, but I drop everything else and start teaching English as a second language.
One day it hits me, Doctor Barnouti is using his book to show that he’s an authority in his niche and gaining clients! I teach others to do that!
Today, I help business owners struggling to get their names out to write their book so they can show themselves as an authority in their niche, get speaking engagements, and reach their ideal client through my business, Authors Aflame.