Tinkering with your work is not the same as improving your work. At some point you just need to publish.
Deadlines suck, but they suck the same way that a personal trainer or a diet sucks. They demand something of you and force you to complete your goals.
Self-imposed deadlines are imaginary.
Sometimes you need the accountability of a public announcement. Once people know what you’re working on they will ask. When they ask you need to have an answer.
Imitation may be the greatest form of flattery, but flattery makes for bad writing.
The golden rule of writing: write a piece that you would want to read.
Writers block just means that you need to work harder. Or sometimes it means you need to take a break. But if you take a break for too long that’s called quitting.
If you are burned out or uninspired dabble in writing a genre you haven’t tried before.
Write often from your life experience, but not much about your life experience. The former is relatable, the latter is often navel gazing.
Every chapter and article doesn’t need to start with a story. That’s boring, repetitive, and predictable. If your editor says otherwise they’re pushing for formula, not craft.
Being prolific is not the same as being good. Just because of the pile of garbage is big doesn’t change the fact that it is garbage.
Writing a lot will improve your writing, but conscientiously focusing on your craft will help it more.
You don’t need to write every day, but you need to do something every day to help your writing.
If you take to social media to bemoan the travails of writing then maybe writing isn’t for you.
If you take to social media to bemoan the travails of writing you probably want to be known as a writer but not actually be a writer.
Writing is work, not magic. And like any job there are aspects that are a drag. But if you love the work you love the work.
For 1 in 1000 people publishing a book changes their life. For the rest of us it is a cool accomplishment that we can be proud of that makes a contribution to people’s minds and souls.
One star Amazon ratings are the funniest. Don’t take them personally, take them comedically.
No matter how hard you work on a project, or how much it means to you, don’t be precious about it. Your work is not for everyone, and somebody is going to say something nasty about it. Oh well.
Some writers need to picture the person they are writing too. Others of us need to orbit the idea we are trying to communicate. One is not better than the other.
The advice “write like you speak” is bad advice. Most of us speak in fragments and with poor grammar or syntax and people listen with that in mind. But people read with comprehension of complex sentences, multiple clauses, and big words. Write like you want people to read.
Respect your readers. Nobody likes being written down to.
Write lean. It’s much easier when an editor says “add this” and not “cut this.”
If you are writing to get rich or famous I offer you best wishes and side eye.