Writing is hard but possible. That’s a fact all us writers have to face at some time or another. So no shrugging it off ’cause it’s impossible and no words rolling off the tongue like honey every time you sit down to work.
BUT.
There are a few things that I’ve learned that make writing easier, and I’d like to share those today.
1. Know Your Audience
When I took literature this year, the one thing that drove me crazy was that I had to keep saying things I knew my audience already understood. “Know your audience” had been drilled into my noodle so many times it was hard for me to let go of it and write what my audience knew to begin with.
“No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader’s intelligence, or whose attitude is patronizing.” -E.B. White, author of Charlotte’s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan
Targeting a specific audience with your writing makes it easier to stay on track – not get too heady or too patronizing. For instance, Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings for adults, not toddlers. So he was free to use eloquent language and a complex plot.
2. Stay Consistent
I cannot stress this one enough. Consistency is the key to great writing. As that old saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.” And while I don’t believe anyone’s writing will ever be perfect, per se, the more you can practice the better. If that means you start a story, decide you don’t want to continue it, and toss it into the Bog of Forgotten Stories, fine. It helped you grow as a writer.
Another plus to consistency is that you get things done. Even if you just force out a few words a day, that’s a few words more than if you had ignored your story. (And yes, I’m talking to myself here – I’m struggling with my consistency these days.)
But consistency goes beyond that. If you write at the same time every day, in the same place, sometimes even with the same props (i.e. Jo’s writing hat in Little Women), you’ll train your brain to recognize those things as your Writing Junk. When you sit down in that chair at that time and pull out that specific snack, your brain says, “Oh! I remember this! It must be writing time.” Then it’ll take your writing ideas off the back burner and you can get started.
Now this doesn’t work like magic. Often it takes a few weeks to get your brain into that position, and it’s so easy to fall away from that. But this is one of those biggies you can’t ignore when it comes to writing.
“I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has to get down to work.” -Pearl S. Buck, author of The House of Earth trilogy
“The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.” -Mary Heaton Vorse
3. Get Feedback
Not only is this helpful with knowing how your story will impact an audience, but getting people on board with you is monumental in keeping you focused and active, not to mention they can be instrumental in helping you get published. I know that my reading crew have been so helpful in pointing out plot holes, coming up with new directions for the story to take, removing predictability, and encouraging me when I want to give up.
Be careful with this, though. You don’t want to annoy people on accident, nor do you want to enlist people who will only either praise you or criticize you. You need people who will work with you not just because they love you, but because they like your story. You need people who will give you a healthy balance of praise and criticism.
“A good [reader] must have enough faith to stick with you through dull as well as entertaining chapters, enough kindness to keep you enthralled with your story, and enough meanness to point out areas that need improvement.” -Daeus Lamb, author of God of Manna and Story Embers staff member
As a quick note, remember to accept criticism with graciousness and humility. No one likes a person who thinks everything they do is perfect. If you aren’t ready to have people point out errors in your story, it may be best if you don’t get feedback until you are.
4. Use Your Own Reaction as a Gauge
One of my favorite authors and my personal hero is Andrew Peterson, writer of the popular Wingfeather Saga series (learn more here) and Adorning the Dark. He read the Saga aloud last year and cried his way through several heartbreaking scenes.
It was beautiful.
Here’s what I’m trying to say: if you don’t think your scene is sad, if you’re not the least bit sorrowful as you write it, you probably need to work on your ability to write emotion. I don’t know how many times I’ve reread a scene I wrote and said to myself, “This is a sad moment – why am I not sad?” As you read more cry-worthy scenes or watch them in movies (actual good sad scenes, not cheesy or comedic ones), you’ll discover various techniques to tug on your reader’s heartstrings, but one good way to tell if your scene is working or not is to glance at your own reaction and see how you feel about it.
This isn’t foolproof. Often an author will think something is terribly sad when your readers are bored. Maybe they didn’t get as attached to that character as you did, or maybe your clunky sentences kept jerking them out of the story. Whatever the case, be careful. Get extra feedback – trusting your instincts sometimes works, and other times they’ll lead you horribly astray.
“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” -Robert Frost, famous American poet
5. Show, Don’t Tell
Of all these tips, this is the most important – even over consistency. It’s a pretty common rule but not easy to follow, especially at first.
Here’s what this means: don’t explain everything to your audience. Not only does this drag the plot and reduce your opportunities for tension, but it is often seen as arrogant and condescending. Trust your reader’s intelligence to figure stuff out.
This is a hard one to balance. I tend to either think my readers can read my mind and figure everything out that I’m trying to say, or that they won’t understand anything and I have to explain it to them. Both are bad.
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint on a broken glass.” –Anton Chekhov, famous Russian author and playwright
Well, that’s all I have for today! I hope you found something helpful here – let me know in the comments! Have a good day, and God bless!
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