My Top 5 Writing Tips (In No particular Order)
- Be curious. Always wonder what's inside the box or over the hill. This leads to "what ifs," and "what ifs" are wonderful for writing.
- Watch and listen. Absorb everything around you. There is wonder in everything, and beauty, and humor. Look out the window on long drives, listen when people around you talk. Find a quiet corner and take it all in. Normal life is wonderful material. Most of all, listen when your parents and grandparents tell stories. Write them down.
- Write down anything and everything. Carry a small notebook and write everything worth writing down - anything funny or original or striking that runs through your head, or anything interesting that you hear, or beautiful that you see. This goes hand-in-hand with #2.
- Save everything, and I mean everything. No matter how horrible or gimmicky it is, save it. Not only is it evidence of how far you've come, one of your most horrible poems or stories might actually have been a really good idea - it just didn't work out on your first try. Save your drafts of your current works, too - there is such a thing as over-editing, and it's nice to be able to go back to your original images and phrasing if need be.
- Stay in the chair and keep your hand moving. All the things you've absorbed do you no good if you don't use them. In order to do that, you need to actually sit down at some point, no matter how much you don't want to. Not only that, but you must write something, not just stare at the page. If you need to, close your eyes and just write whatever random words pop into your head. Try to write as long as possible without stopping. It's amazing how effective this is, because once you gain momentum, you'll keep going.
