8 Writing Tips From The Best Authors Of All Time

There is no one way to write. Although there are rules which every writer must follow, the creator is ultimately the rule maker. However, any wise creator knows to ask for assistance. Writing is often a lonely journey but it doesn’t have to be traveled alone. After all, the best way to get somewhere you aspire to be is to ask the person who has been there.  

Here are 8 writing tips from authors who have walked the path and know what it takes to get there.

1. You may not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page. - Jodi Picoult

This advice may seem obvious at first, but I believe it to be profound. The best way to improve at something is to practice. Don’t wait until you feel “inspired.” Make writing a habit and not just a hobby. 

When I was 18, I participated in a church service and humanitarian mission that required me to learn a foreign language. Cebuano, the native language of the Central Philippines, did not come naturally to me. Then I received council that changed my entire mission. My instructor said, “Before you can become fluent in this language, you will need to make 30,000 mistakes.” My options were to be timid and only speak when I was 100% confident I could say it right (which would prolong my 30,000 mistakes). Or I could speak the language as often as I could, even when I didn’t feel confident it would come out right. The sooner I could get all the garbage and errors out of my system, the sooner I would learn from those mistakes and become fluent. The same applies to writing. The more you do it, the more you will improve. 

2. If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. - Stephen King

This one may be discouraging to some. I don’t believe that you need to read 100 books a year to be a great writer. But you do need to put some significant time into it. Reading will give you insights into what makes good writing or bad writing. It will reveal to you what you like in diction and storytelling. It will introduce you to different literary voices, which you can then morph into your own. It exposes you to story structure, good dialogue and increases your vocabulary. There are some advantages to writing that only come through reading. Ultimately, It is great writing that teaches us how to write.

"Ultimately, it is great writing that teaches us how to write." Click to tweet.

3. Don't tell me the moon is shining, show me the glint of light on broken glass. - Anton Checkhov

I believe this is the best description of the adage, show not tell. If you want to bring your words to life, make your writing vivid and easy to visualize. Don’t tell me your main character is sad because their father passed away, show me the blood vessels bulging in his eyes and the tears glistening on his face. More than half of the population consider themselves visual learners, so turn your writing into a visual experience through detail and description. Think of real-life experiences, you may shortly forget that your sibling was mad at you last month, but you won’t soon forget the red in their eyes as they launched themselves toward you.

4. Let your characters come from a deep place inside you. Let them be an exaggeration of you. - J.K. Rowling

Without characters, there can be no plot. Characters are at the forefront of your story and drive it along. Your characters have to be the most realistic and relatable elements of your story. One of the biggest mistakes I see in aspiring writers is the failure to create real emotion. An entire page will be about their character sobbing after a traumatic event, and then in the next chapter, they seemingly reset as if it never happened. This is unrealistic because trauma is lingering. Base your character traits on real people. Perhaps you have an insecure side; open up this side of you for a moment and use its fabric to create a character. Draw inspiration from your happy experiences and sad experiences. 

5. Don’t worry too much about originality - Mark Twain. 

Many writers cripple themselves and stifle their creativity because of the fear of not being original. I promise, whatever you are working on, someone has done it before. You thought Stephen King was the first to write about evil clowns? Let me introduce you to the book "Five Go Off in a Caravan," published in 1946. Did you credit JK Rowling as the first to write about teenage wizardry? Tell that to Ursula K. Le Guin, who published "A Wizard of Earthsea" in 1968. But they did find ways to make their stories unique and authentic. King’s clown was also a shape-shifter, and Rowling’s wizards got sorted into houses. Great stories are made up of unoriginal ideas that get scrambled and crafted in ways that make them authentic. 

6. Write for yourself. Following trends, or pleasing your audience in spite of your own plans harm good storytelling. Listening to critique is good, but ultimately you must feel joy in the writing process. - George R.R. Martin

Write the kind of book that you would want to read. Some aspiring writers look for trending genres or topics and let that be their guide. The truth is, by the time you finish drafting, editing, rewriting, editing again, and publish your novel, that genre may be long dead. Vampires in the early 2010s were everywhere. Just a decade later, they seem to be an extinct race in pop culture. If you write a book to be a people pleaser, you’ll join a long list of writers on slow editor waiting lists. If you write a book that makes you happy and one that you would want to read, chances are others will too.

7. Be open to criticism - Stephen King

Many authors give this advice. All art forms, including literature, is subjective. Accept the fact that some people will like your writing, and some will hate it. This is far more realistic than thinking that everyone will like it or that everyone will hate it. The Hobbit has sold over 100 million copies, yet there are forums all over the internet that ridicule and claim it as a terrible novel. If our literary heroes are subject to hate, so are we. 

Sharing your story with others may be vulnerable, but it's one of the best ways to improve. Critics may bring you back to earth enough to humble you to work harder, or hype you up enough to gain the confidence to keep working. A bit of both is a healthy mix. 

8. Don't compare yourself with anyone else. - Rainier Maria Rilke

Most of these tips are designed to protect you from the harsh ridicule of editors and publishers. This tip is designed to protect you from yourself. Comparing yourself to established writers is simply unfair to you. You didn’t get to see the first draft of your favorite novel. So why would you compare your first draft to their perfectly polished masterpiece? Use yourself as your own measuring stick, and if you are better today than you were yesterday, you are on perfect pace.

BONUS TIP

This one comes from me. Just keep writing. Good things will happen if you do. Any writing you do is automatically better than any writing you don't do. Think of each completed page as a page closer to becoming the writer you wish to be. Good luck and keep writing.