Every now and then the following advice in regards to writing floats up through the sewage. Beware, this is not for the faint of heart, so make sure you have someone dear standing by. Alright, here goes:

Write what you know.

I think that’s utter nonsense. I have to think that, otherwise the world’s a lot darker than I thought. Think about it, if every thriller and horror writer out there wrote what they knew, then they’ve committed more crimes against humanity than your least favorite dictator. I can’t believe that, Stephen King has to be a nice guy, so the only conclusion I can draw is that these fellows didn’t write what they knew.

If we writer types just wrote what we knew, fiction would be awfully boring. There’d be almost no crime or horror stories, nor any particularly interesting erotica for that matter. Let’s not even consider where fantasy and science fiction would fit in here.

“Write what you know” is bad advice, but there’s a grain of truth to it. Let’s twist it a bit, into “research what you write”, and we’ve got something useful.

Write whatever you want. Don’t be constrained by silly facts like you’ve never fine-dined in Venice, traveled in time, seen two-headed giants, or driven a golf club through the eye socket of somebody. Do research these things though. Where can you dine in Venice, what’s time travel really, how would a two-headed giant look and move, and what’s the terminal velocity of a golf club? Those are valid things to consider.

Just because you wrote it, doesn’t mean someone else should read it. It’s harsh, I know, but true nonetheless. It really doesn’t matter how many words you have written, it might not be publish-worthy even if you spent years writing them. Book manuscripts comes to mind, but the same trail of thought should be applied to most written things, including blog posts, emails and yes, even tweets and Facebook updates.

Whenever you write something that turns out not to be publish-worthy, you have to decide whether to continue working on it, or not and start over. Edit and revise, or hide in your digital sock drawer, so to speak. There are no middle grounds here, and no shortcuts.

Every time you trash something you’ve written, you feel bad about it, perhaps even doubt your writing skills. Don’t, at least not for trashing your words. On the contrary, understanding when something isn’t good enough, beyond salvation, is a skill every writer needs. Cherish it.

What’s good enough to publish, well, that’s a completely different story altogether.

I don’t think there is a writer alive that doesn’t feel uncomfortable letting someone else read his or her words. Perhaps not the final published edition, maybe you’re so convinced of its glorious quality that you can’t see how a reader wouldn’t worship you until the end of days after reading it, but every draft, every rewrite before that, they are just so raw.

Some writers write their story, their mammoth article or whatever it is they are writing, and then they send it to the editor and/or publisher. I think that is a bad idea. I think you need beta readers before that.

Beta readers should be utilized when you start to feel done with your work. You might have done a ton of rewrites, or just a quick and dirty editing pass, either way you’ll know when you need some outside input. The sooner you feel confident to send something to your beta readers, the better.

(more…)

You have typed THE END and closed the file of your manuscript. Congratulations! This would be the perfect time to pop the champagne, open that 18 year old whisky, smoke a cigar, make sweet sweet love, or whatever else that qualifies as a pat on the back in your world. Do it, do it all, and enjoy.

But don’t even entertain the thought of being done.

Writing is not just about getting to THE END, it is not just about finishing the manuscript. Most of us will rewrite and rewrite again before we really think we’re done. And yet, we are not done.

No matter what you’re writing, you will need to edit your work for it to be as good as possible. Even this thing I’m writing right now will get an edit pass or two, because I can probably improve upon it.

When you’re submitting a manuscript to a publisher you’ll no doubt have at least one editor that will have thoughts on your words. Lots of thoughts, if the editor is any good. At first the feedback is sugarcoated perhaps, but the pleasantries will either disappear, or just sound hollow to you. This very person, this editor monster, is in fact ripping your baby apart.

It hurts. You feel awful, useless. The whole thing is really close to being scrapped, rewritten, or just forgotten. You want to go drinking, to do drugs, you want to toss out the dream, and you want to cry.

Don’t take it so hard.

Your editor’s job is to find every tiny little bit that they think is less than perfect, and criticize it. The editor’s job is to rip your baby to pieces, so that you can stitch it back together, stronger and better.

It is never a pleasant process. It is like someone tells you that you’re ugly, fat, you have a pimple on your nose, spinach in your teeth, and you smell bad. But multiplied by a thousand, with rusty nails somewhere unpleasant added for good measure.

But it is for a good cause. Your manuscript will reap the benefits of the editor’s comments. Even if you don’t agree with them all, even if you stand your ground and stick with your initial idea, even then your manuscript will be better and stronger because of this ordeal. Don’t forget that you don’t have to agree with your editor, and don’t forget that your editor might have a point.

Edit your words. Cry it out.

And when you’re done editing, go celebrate. Because if you thought you deserved a night out after finishing the manuscript, you’ll deserve it even more when you’re done editing.

No doubt you’ve read posts, interviews and articles where writers talk about the importance of your own writing place. The writer’s sanctuary can be just about anything, a place under the stairs, a converted cupboard, your home office, or a lavish castle draped in vines with a moat keeping the mob at bay. It really doesn’t matter, the know it all’s will tell you, as the important thing is that you have a place where you can write.

And you know what, they’re right.

(more…)

When you commit to a deadline as a writer, stick to it. Forget about the notion of writers waiting for the magical muse, forget about writer’s block, and forget about people being patient with you because you’re creating art. Every time you miss a deadline, you’re being unfair to someone. It might just be you, or it might be a team of editors, designers, marketers, and so on.

“But I’m the star, they’ll have to wait!”

No, they don’t have to wait. You’re not indispensable, and besides, do you feel the same when the mechanic isn’t finishing work on your car on time, or you have to wait a whole day for a plumber who doesn’t show?

Or as I like to put it: Editors are people too.

(more…)

There are two types of teachers of writing (is that a thing?) out there. One will give you the advice “write what you know”, and the other will go to great lengths explaining why that advice is bollocks.

The idea behind “write what you know” is that most you will be better at telling a compelling story if you stick to things you have a notion of. Problem is, if you’re a clerk at the postal office, your life probably isn’t full of excitement and the market for novels about postcards gone astray is fairly limited.

“Hang on there! Postal workers have a life outside of work you know! Stupid Swedish bastard…”

Yeah, of course they do, just like everyone else. I bet it is just as bland, predictable and boring to everyone not being a part of it as just about any life on this Earth is. Except mine of course, my daily routine could fill countless of volumes consisting of epic tales of great adventure.

What? No? Meh, what do you know…

(more…)