You’re ready to be a writer, and you’re reading everything you can find on the craft. If you’re like me, you are about to be on information overload. Where do you even start? I’m going to list some writer mottos and a brief description of each. When you write, try focusing on just a few things. Once these become second nature to you, make a new list and work on it.
1. Show, Don’t Tell
This is our way of saying you need to describe what is happening instead of state it. For example, “Bob was mad” should be something like “Bob stood straighter and balled his hands into fists.” Same meaning, but one is giving us a picture. It can be hard to catch yourself doing this, but I learned one hack that helps me catch when I am telling and not showing. Avoid mentioning emotions outside of dialogue. If you’re telling the reader a character is feeling a certain emotion, you should be showing that emotion instead.
2. Write What You Know
You will be able to describe something better if you have experienced it yourself. Write the familiar. Like most rules, there are exceptions. You probably have never lived on Mars, but you might want to write about colonizing it. You may be a male but want to write a female character. Nothing is wrong with that, but make sure it is grounded in something familiar. Focus your Mars colonization on farming if you know that trade. Let your female be a mechanic if that’s your passion. Center your writing on what you know, and then research your brains out on the rest.
3. In Late, Out Early
Readers want something exceptional when they pick up your book. They don’t want to hear the small talk or see people go through their morning routines. They do this in their own lives. Skip the boring parts, and go to the action. Not every scene has to be adrenaline pumping, but avoid the mundane unless you have a reason for it in the overall plot. You don’t have to write every second of the day in your story. Keep it intriguing.
Bonus Motto:
4. Write Every Day
This is literal. You need to be consistent in your writing schedule to make it a habit. Once you’ve written for two hours every day for several months, it will feel weird when you miss a day. Consistency will help you accomplish your goals by not allowing you to procrastinate. Self-motivation is one of the highest ranked skills for writers. Set a goal for each day. It can be a number of words or a block of time, but make sure you reach that goal every day.
Final Thoughts
There are many more writer mottos out there. What ones have you come across? These are some of the most common ones I have found to be helpful. Keep them in mind when you write. Once I did, I saw a big upturn in my writing quality and quantity.
Thanks for reading!
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