Five Things I Know About Writing

1. It is not hard to write but it is exceptionally difficult to edit.
2. The best writers are voracious readers.
3. Great characters have layers. They are flawed.
4. There are rules that you must follow.
5. Break the damn rules…repeatedly.

You might be surprised to learn that I write these posts for myself as much as I write them for you. That is because even though I feel like I am a competent writer I am convinced that I have room for substantial growth and improvement.

Part of that is predicated upon my ability to pull back the curtain and find out what sorts of tricks the wizard uses to make his magic. The most obvious one to me is that I produce enormous amounts of content in a variety of styles for the sole purpose of trying to get better.

Writing is a skill and like any other it is something that practice can help us improve upon. But I have to tell you that I get as frustrated by writing as you do.

There are more than a few moments where I read my words and wonder what the hell I am doing and why people read them. I try to remind myself to follow the advice you see here and produce content that is useful, practical and actionable.

I respond to prompts like those found in the Write on Edge, Yeah Write and Just Write communities because that is a place where I have found others who are trying their hand out at this writing business.

Community makes a difference as does honesty.

I share certain things with you because I think you will relate and that perhaps it will help us grow together. And I do it because I teach my children to act in a similar fashion and it would be hypocritical not to follow my own advice.

That is my motto. Tune out the infernal voice of the internal editor and just write. Put pen to paper and let the words flow.

I don’t always hit a home run but I feel good about things because I think I am making progress. I think my writing has progressively gotten stronger and that I am better at this than I was when I started.

That is growth and reward with incentive standing just over the horizon.

What about you? Do you feel like your writing is getting better? Do you care about it? Does it matter to you? It is ok if it doesn’t, but since I know some of my fellow scribes are hanging out here I figure I might as well ask.

P.S. This story is mostly fiction.