This week, I’d like to share a post with you , 15 Things We Should Stop Doing as Writers, previously published on my website. (These posts are no longer available online )
I confess I’ve done all 15, and there are still times when I have to remind myself not to fall back into the bad, old ways…
1. Doubting Ourselves –some doubt can be good; the kind of doubt that asks, is this chapter really working? Can I improve it? Could the writing be better? This kind of questioning helps us to become better writers. The doubt I’m referring to is the crippling, ‘I’m no good, this is hopeless,’ kind of doubt, the kind that stops us writing. Many of us experience doubt like this and it’s tricky to deal with. To counteract it, I like to remind myself I've been here before, many times. I ask myself what’s the bottom line? Should I give up? It’s always an option. But am I prepared to give up this precious, thing, this thing I love? The answer always comes back a big fat, No, and there is nothing for it but to carry on. Writing is the only way to silence the doubt
If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. – Vincent van Gogh
2. Comparing ourselves to other writers – it’s easy to look at other writers, especially if they’re gaining recognition or success, and compare ourselves to them. Envy creeps in, we’re bound to feel it, we end up either trying to find fault with their writing or finding fault with ourselves. Either way this is not good for our work. When I feel like this I try to accept and acknowledge my feelings, after all it’s pointless denying them, and then I find something really good, something genuine, to say about my fellow writer. And then I write on. No two writers are alike we each have our own unique voice.
3. Worrying about the market – you can worry and think all day about what’s selling right now, about what agents and editors are looking for, about what will be the next big trend but this won’t improve your writing. My experience of trying to write for agents and changing things for potential publishers (different if you actually have a publisher) led me nowhere other than away from what I loved doing, into a world of angst and second guessing and ultimately rejection. I say write what you love, because at least that way you are true to yourself, and you have joy in what you do.
4. Putting all the eggs in one basket – pinning all our hopes on one poem, one story, one novel, is like loading an only child with expectation that may be impossible to live up to. Fine to re-enter what we think is a good story for any number of competitions but in the meantime, we must keep writing. It’s only through doing the work that we become better writers and with something new on the go it’s easier to forget about not winning the competition or not securing an agent.
5. Complaining –we are all guilty of complaining about the difficult world of publishing. But it’s a mistake to get mired in this. Complaint breeds negativity, wallowing in negativity is not in the least creative and will do nothing for our writing.
6. Not dedicating time to writing - it's easy for writing to come second to everything else we do. To prevent this I allocate time for writing in my diary as often as I can. This way I ensure some of it at least remains dedicated time
7. Drinking too much tea and coffee, especially when we’re at the computer is not good for us, we should try drinking water instead – seriously, it helps a lot to have a big glass of water to hand and to replenish it frequently. Our brains needs water.
8. Excusing ourselves from reading – I often hear writers say they’re too busy writing to read. But reading is essential to the life of a writer. As Stephen King says ‘If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.’ We should also read contemporary fiction at least some of the time else we risk becoming too isolated and out of touch, out of fuel and too absorbed in our own writing world.
9. Wasting time on social media when we should be writing – I’ve done it, we’ve all done it, spent precious time scrolling through social media instead of getting down to work. There are no easy solutions, but I like to remind myself that an hour of writing makes me feel so much better than an hour on X.
10. Holding on to our fears – as writers we often hold back on what we put on the page. It’s important to think about what we would write if we thought no one was going to read it or no one was going to criticise it – it’s here that the greatest originality and truth of our writing lies. So I say, feel the fear and write anyway.
11. Physically torturing ourselves at the computer – writing can be tough on the hands, back, neck, eyes etc. Long periods at the computer are not always good for our health. Use a timer to stop you sitting longer than a half hour at a time. Get up and move around.
12. Giving up – all the best writers suffer rejection. Rejection comes with the territory but it's hard for many and crippling for some. Putting our work out into the world makes us vulnerable in the extreme. One particular road to self-belief and finding the courage to become vulnerable and daring in our lives can be found here with Brene Brown
13. Working in isolation – writing is a solitary activity but there are great benefits from going out into the world and working with others. If we only spend time in our ivory towers we fall out of touch with people, with life and the world we are writing about. Out there in the world so many ideas lie in waiting, so many other creative people exist whose ideas can enrich and inspire ours. Some years ago, taking a poetry workshop with established poets – well outside my comfort zone – led me to a new place in my writing and directly to the success of my story Millie and Bird.
14. Feeling failures, thinking we’re imposters – just because we are not on a longlist, shortlist or any other kind of list, bestseller or otherwise we should not judge ourselves or others as failures. Lots of writers I meet will not call themselves writers because they haven’t been published. Not being published does not mean we are not a writer, it does not mean we are failures or imposters. When we write seriously, with intent, we are writers whatever anyone else says.
There’s only one difference between published and unpublished writers and it is this – the first group see their work in print on the shelves of Waterstone’s or Tesco or online at Amazon; the second group are yet to have physical evidence of the hours, weeks, years spent fashioning words into their patterns. You are already a writer. Kate Mosse
15. Taking life so seriously – I know I’m guilty of this. I’m a very serious person and I think writers often are, but I know it’s important sometimes not to take ourselves and what we do too seriously. It’s important to have fun, to live as well as just write. Living life enhances the writing. So go out, shop, dance, sing, fall in love, eat cake, drink wine, share what you’ve learned, help other writers, find the wildest, comfiest or weirdest place to write. Get away from the machine, buy a notebook and pen, sit in cafes or bars, observe the world and whatever you do WRITE.
Thanks for reading
Avril x
What a wonderful comradely post. It made me laugh. Soooo guilty of most of them.