What's Your Favorite Piece of Writing Advice?

[SharisseEM]

"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot." -- Stephen King

I've read a lot of stuff by him and his son Joe Hill on the subject of writing; I think they both have really great stuff to say about it. They seem to honestly care about helping people understanding the craft.

I totally agree with this. It really works.

[rssllue]

If do don't write it down then you ain't a writer; you are just a dreamer.

[Williamz]

My writing advice to myself has always been, don’t stop writing and don’t worry about it being in chronological order. If the thought comes… Write it.

[Gabby Blackwell]

I have two favorite pieces of writing advice: the first is "Cut your darlings." In other words, cut the superfluous scenes, descriptions, and words that don't further the plot but are only there because you love them for vague, self-indulgent reasons. This has helped me a lot, and it good advice for most younger writers. A lot of times amateurs put in that scene, or that subplot, simply because they feel like it or like how those particular words sounded, instead of focusing on the effect it has on the story overall. Sometimes this is okay. Most of the time it's not.

The second is "Re-type every word of your story in a new document." Painstaking, but helpful. If you copy down every word of your story from a printed copy or another word document, you are forced to think about every word. You'll catch tons of errors, awkward sentences, and plotholes this way. The only downside is that, well, it's tedious. And painful. And it takes long amounts of time. I suppose you could compare it to ye olde dentist's office ordeal.

Those two are the most helpful to me at this particular time, but there are others.

[hiluhriehope]

Write something every day . . . even if that something is: "I don't feel like writing."

This next one isn't advice I've heard, but advice I would give. It kind of goes with the advice of the person before me.
I write things by hand. Then I type them up. Then I edit, edit, edit until I think it's done. Then I write it all down by hand again. Then I type it up again.
Every single time you re-type/re-write something, you will catch errors, awkward sentences, and generally just things that could have been written better.
It's time-consuming. Sometimes it's annoying, but every little bit helps.

[JennaNicole]

Don't keep it to yourself.

[Ryan]

My close friend used to tell me (she was also my teacher): "if you think it's good, it's not. Try harder." And it is bloody good advice

[WinterCandyMints]

Stop eating the paper.

[CA_Griffith]

You may not know what's next, but if you keep writing it will reveal itself.

[Lyn_R]

My favorite piece of writing advice came from my undergrad professor, "Cut the flowery crap and say what you mean." Love him. He really brought out the best of me.

[icemech04]

To learn to write well, you must read and write -- ALOT

[doppelganger]

Just sit down and start writing. It won't be great at first, it may not even be good. But don't stop to edit. If you stop then you won't start writing again.

[Hadiqa]

Write, write and write. . . Let the words flow, let the emotions and your hand do the work.

[Amheiser]

I like Stephen King's advice about writing every day, and reading a lot. I also like the advice that says to listen to your story and let it dictate where it goes, but also before you start writing a book, plan, plan, plan, and get to know your characters and what they have to say about what is happening in your story. I've been taking a writing class and this advice makes writing so much easier.