A Smidge of Writing Advice

“Write what grabs your heart. Write what you care about.”

That’s it. That’s the advice. If you want to stop reading there, know that’s one of the best pieces I have, and the following is general thoughts on writing advice.

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There is a bottomless well of writing advice out there. A lot of it good, but a lot of it contradictory. Here’s why.

What works for one person may not work for the next. Tell one writer to write every day, and they will form a habit. Give another writer the same guidance, and watch them freeze up from stress. Tell a third to write in bursts with extended periods of non-writing between, and they will give you a novel in weeks. Give a fourth that same guidance, and watch them lose interest to a world of distractions.

No single piece of advice exists to improve everyone’s writing. Your best bet is to consider most that comes your way, try it for yourself, and figure out what makes you more productive and, hopefully, what makes you enjoy the work even more.

Regarding “Write what grabs your heart. Write what you care about,” this works for me, because no matter what happens with the writing—whether it’s published, sits in a forgotten file, inspires more ideas or none—I never feel like I wasted a word. And more often than not, that can be enough.