Who wants to pay thousands of dollars for a master’s degree? Well, no one really. I’m grateful for the knowledge I gained from going through my master’s program, but really, you can improve your writing without going broke or going into debt. And the best part is, you’ll only have to spend a few dozen dollars instead of thousands. Here are my tips:
1. Read.
Read, read, and read some more. Read a lot in your genre to become aware of the rules and conventions within it. Find out what is generally accepted and what isn’t. For example, in young adult books, you might have a harder time getting a deal if it’s loaded with curse words. It’s possible and those books do get published, but it might be more of a challenge because of the “protect the children” mindset that many parents and industry folks have. In an adult book this obviously wouldn’t be an issue.
I also recommend reading outside your genre. You never know what cool tricks and devices you can adopt for writing. For example, you might decide to write a fantasy book in verse or an epistolary horror story. You can discover all kinds of things from other genres that you might not have thought of on your own.
No matter if you’re reading in or outside of your genre, the most important thing is that you begin to read to analyze, not simply to be entertained. As you read, be aware of characterization, plot, themes, tone, word choices, and sentence structures. How has the author executed these successfully and where has the author failed to do a good job? As you begin to train your brain to spot flaws in others’ work, you become much more adept at spotting them in your own. I’ll be honest, I did so much of this analytic reading in school that I find it difficult to read books without critiquing them in some fashion unless they’re almost perfect. It’s become a habit of mind I can’t escape and can keep me from “going along with the ride” so to speak. But I’ve become a much better writer for it.
2. Critique Partners.
Join online writing communities and get to know people. Once you’ve built some trust, see if those writers would be willing to be a critique partner. You read their stuff, they read yours. Keep in mind that it might be preferable to get people who write in the same genre or who have written in your genre before. People who know the conventions and traditions of your genre will be a great asset and it can help avoid confusion. I once had critique partners in school (including my mentor at the time) who were critical of the short story within the story in my anthropomorphic book. It was a mini story that an elder raven was telling some raven chicks, which taught the chicks about the gods. My critique partners didn’t know that this was a common convention of the very specific and narrow genre I was writing in. But because I had read nearly every anthropomorphic book I could get my hands on to help me write that story in the first place, I was able to defend what I’d done and everyone, including my mentor, accepted it. Which brings us back to number one—read in your genre so you know what the conventions are. This way you aren’t swayed by the advice of people who don’t know what the conventions are. The last thing you want is to make major changes to your story only to find out that what you did was perfectly normal and acceptable.
3. Beta Readers.
When your book, short story, or novella is finished and revised to the best of your ability, seek out beta readers for feedback on the broad strokes of the story. Beta readers are great at spotting plot holes, forced plot twists, characters acting out of character, etc. They give you initial reactions to your story whether that be good or bad. However, don’t expect the beta readers to be your editors. You cannot rely on them to spot everything or to get down to the nitty gritty details. If they do, great, but if they don’t, that’s normal.
4. Craft Books.
Read some good craft books. I have to specify “good” because some of them are, quite frankly, awful. Get recommendations for good craft books from other writers rather than pick random ones off the shelf. Even then, read a few pages of the book to make sure it has information that makes sense and feels valuable to you before you buy it. Remember that craft books can sometimes be subjective and there can be contradictory advice from book to book. When you run into these contradictions, the best thing to do is what works for you and your story. Learning the rules and learning them well gives you the ability to break them in ways that are effective. My personal favorite craft book at the moment is Wired for Story, by Lisa Cron. I also enjoy Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, by Jeff Vandermeet. (I am not being paid to mention these books.)
5. Editing.
Edit, edit, edit. It’s a huge part of the writing process. Don’t just write your first draft (or even your second) and call it done. For some writers, editing takes up far more time than writing that first draft. You may have nine drafts, or even more, by the time you’re done, and that’s okay. That’s normal. You may have to do less editing as you gain more experience… or you may not. Just keep in mind that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Editing takes time and patience. So, take a deep breath and just keep going.
6. Breathing Time.
Give your work time to breathe, then come back and read it again. This goes hand-in-hand with the editing process. Don’t rush your revisions! Put some space between one round of edits and another. You can spot your own flaws surprisingly well when you put some distance between you and the work. It’s actually really cool to come back to a piece years later. Of course, you don’t have to wait quite that long—a few months is usually a good timespan.
7. Good Input.
What do I mean by “input?” I mean, do things that spark your imagination and make you actually want to write. Input things or activities into your life that give you ideas, that help you see new worlds, new life lessons. Start to observe how you feel when you’re doing various activities, observe where your mind goes. Learn what sparks your imagination most and do those things. For me, it’s road trips, hiking, walking, and watching a good movie. Everybody has something. Find yours.
8. Journaling.
Do some journaling. Not a “dear diary” thing, but writing down snippets of ideas, of conversation that pop into your head, images, voices, smells, settings etc. Even if it seems disjointed and not connected to a larger story, write it all down. It might connect later on! Eavesdrop on people’s conversations, listen to how they talk, their intonation, their word choices, write down some notes, some interesting things they say. This will help you write better dialogue. (Speaking as someone who needs tons of help to write better dialogue.) Journaling can function not just as a way to record ideas, but also as a way to exercise those writing muscles in a way that involves less pressure. It’s much easier to write beautiful sentences and cool, short conversations when there isn’t a whole book screaming at you to be finished.
9. Fanfiction or Imitation.
Pick a favorite book, story, or even a movie and write some fanfiction. Are there characters you wish had gotten together or is there an ending you didn’t like? With fanfiction, you can address those things and set them right, all the while practicing your writing skills. Fanfiction is helpful because it does the heavy lifting of worldbuilding for you. You’re already working with a fully imagined world and fully imagined characters— you just get to go in and twist things around a bit until they meet your satisfaction. I also recommend imitation, especially for very new writers or when you’re very new to a genre. As with fanfiction, pick a favorite book and write something imitating that author’s style, whether that be with word choice, sentence structures, characterization, or tone.
10. Writing.
This is the most important thing.
Keep writing. And writing. And writing some more. Don’t stop and don’t give up!
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