7 Habits of Highly Unsuccessful Writers
1. Why write today, when there is always tomorrow
Procrastination is a great way to become an unsuccessful writer. If you postpone what should be written today, nothing will ever be written.
Any successful writer (“successful” to me means getting paid to write) sits down to write every day. *Stephen King says he sets his daily writing goal by the number of words he types, not by the time he spends sitting in front of his computer. Good advice, don’t you agree?
2. Brainstorm for hours, days, weeks or more
Check out Habit #1 again. Yes, brainstorming for too long can be considered a form of procrastination and a good writer always gives their concoction time to percolate, but too much of a good thing can go cloudy and lose its original flavor. in the feces. A successful writer learns when to say “I guess I have enough good ideas for now.”
3. Writing for yourself and not connecting with an audience
Most unsuccessful writers write in their own heads. They hope the reader knows all the inside jokes and understands the references that aren’t universally known. There are many different types, styles and genres of writing and if you want to be a good writer, know who you are working for. It’s that easy. Would you write an erotic novel for an inspiring group of women?
4. Never edit the first draft
A failed writer will never edit his first draft. Because? Because it’s already perfect. Call it pride, arrogance, naivety, whatever you want. Please understand this, the best authors in the world review their work, usually more than once. Then they have a line edit editor for grammatical errors. Before submitting the work for publication, it receives a final review. Can you master, shall we say, the art of making Sushi on the first try?
5. Review, edit, review and repeat
We’ve all seen great stories get convoluted and morph into something very different from what it was intended to be, all due to the revise, edit, revise, repeat syndrome. This is not to be confused with habit number 4, never edit your first draft. Here, too much of a good thing goes wrong. With an excessive amount of proofreading and editing, your story will stray from home and get lost in a bunch of inappropriate exposure.
6. Combine negative self-talk with excessive worry
Even the most seasoned professional writer can fall into the “I’m not worthy” mode of operation and therefore think they have nothing to write. The doubt, for me is “I lack the talent of a great writer.” I know it’s not true because everyone is enjoying this article. Good? Of course you are.
Remember, a failed writer will listen to his inner demon and believe every word he hisses. Choose to listen to you angel; the one who sings to you even at your worst moment. She will inspire you to give your best.
7. Take other people’s opinion of your work seriously
When you’ve completed a piece of writing, don’t give it to anyone and say, “Let me know what you think.” If you do, you may not get the feedback you’re looking for. Before you let people read your work, let them know what you want from their critique. Otherwise, anything goes. Don’t be surprised if your carefully chosen words start to change. You don’t need to hear that someone hates your main character, you need to know why and choose your audience carefully. A good writer wouldn’t give his best friend an article titled “Why Best Friends Are a Pain in the Ass.”
* Stephen King – On writing. Posted in September 2001