
Advice for Aspiring Writers - joeyespo
http://theirrelevantinvestor.com/2018/01/15/advice-for-aspiring-writers/
======
andrewstellman
Quick quibble with one item:

> Don’t force it. I’ve gone weeks without writing anything. It happens.

I'm a reasonably prolific author (six books, two of them have fourth editions
coming out in the coming year, all published by O'Reilly). Aspiring writers
ask me for advice pretty regularly. (I'm happy to share, if anyone's
interested and has questions.) One thing I always tell people is to read
Stephen King's "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft" \-- people dismiss his work
because he's a horror writer, but in my opinion he's one of the best writers
of the past century. This book is full of excellent advice to writers,
especially aspiring book writers. I found it valuable to my own work, even as
an author of technical books.

Most of Batnick's advice in his post is excellent, but I strongly agree with
the advice not to force it. This excerpt from "On Writing" sums it up better
than I can:

> Once I start work on a project, I don’t stop and I don’t slow down unless I
> absolutely have to. If I don’t write every day, the characters begin to
> stale off in my mind—they begin to seem like characters instead of real
> people. The tale’s narrative cutting edge starts to rust and I begin to lose
> my hold on the story’s plot and pace. Worst of all, the excitement of
> spinning something new begins to fade. The work starts to feel like work,
> and for most writers that is the smooch of death. Writing is at its
> best—always, always, always—when it is a kind of inspired play for the
> writer. I can write in cold blood if I have to, but I like it best when it’s
> fresh and almost too hot to handle.

(King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft (p. 153). Scribner. Kindle
Edition.)

I recognize that feeling from my own work -- again, as a writer of non-
fiction, technical books. I think it's an excellent model for anyone looking
to write.

~~~
nemild
Other great writing books:

\- Writing Down the Bones

\- Bird by Bird

\- On Writing Well (nonfiction writing only)

\- The War of Art

I generally have tried to follow the feedback of writing consistently, even if
you don't feel like it. Stephen King mentions how he would allow him to just
sit at his desk without writing if he wanted, but that he always would set
aside the time and not do anything else.

~~~
thewhitetulip
I am currently reading Bird by Bird and it is mind blowing. I have also read
On writing by Stephen King but I found that Bird by Bird has more content than
on writing or perhaps that has something to do with the fact that On writing
is his biography + stuff about writing.

------
canadianwriter
"If you write it they will come" (paraphrased.) This used to work and it CAN
work but it is incredibly rare. An amazing article that isn't shared can
languish no matter how good it is.

At least a bit of marketing - eg. at least post it to a few social networks,
can go a long way.

I always look at it as: the better the quality of the article the less hard
you have to work at marketing.

~~~
Huhty
A colleague of mine recently wrote about exactly this.

Here's a few excerpts:

 _If your goal is to be heard, you need to fucking scream! We spend so much
time crafting our thoughts into these prefect morsels of information, yet so
little time finding an audience to read and acknowledge our work. The average
blogger spends roughly 3.5 hours creating a blog post, yet only about 15 – 20
minutes promoting it._

 _It’s published! My work is over, it’s time to celebrate. Ugh, nope. It’s
what you do after you hit that publish button that will set you apart from the
rest._

 _Don’t believe the “if you build it, they will come” fallacy. It’s the single
biggest reason most bloggers fail to secure an audience for their content and
ignore the 80 /20 principle. Having said that, finding an audience is no easy
feat. In fact, most successful bloggers will argue it takes considerably more
effort than the blog post itself. It’s a slow and steady process as each
little plug here, a share there, a mention or a comment compounds the next
until you start seeing serious results._

Source: [http://blogenhancement.com/blog/2017/09/13/if-crafting-
your-...](http://blogenhancement.com/blog/2017/09/13/if-crafting-your-blog-
post-is-a-journey-what-happens-when-you-arrive-at-your-destination/)

~~~
DoreenMichele
_seek out relevant forums, communities, social media groups, and join them, be
active, and share! Anywhere your blog posts will be on-topic and appreciated
is where you want to be. There are hundreds, even thousands of communities and
resources built around the very things you’re likely blogging about, so seek
them out and get your hands dirty._

A lot of online spaces have rules against self promotion. I have not found
much success by trying to promote my own writing myself.

I have to wonder what pieces of information are missing from such advice. I
often feel like the monkey in some story I heard that learned the wrong word
for some animal and this was reinforced by weird coincidence.

The other issue I run into is that I get the wrong kind of attention for the
wrong things. This seems very resistant to being translated into anything
desirable.

~~~
user5994461
Shameless self promotion for HN: [https://thehftguy.com/2017/09/26/hitting-
hacker-news-front-p...](https://thehftguy.com/2017/09/26/hitting-hacker-news-
front-page-how-much-traffic-do-you-get/)

Being on the front page for a few hours will bring you more visits than google
search for 10 years.

------
rapfaria
"Imitation is suicide".

I prefer Neil Gaiman's view of "Most of us only find our own voices after we
sounded a lot like other people".

Also, at what point you stop being an aspiring writer and become one? First
article published? Your book tops the nyt list? Sometimes I think aspiration
is better left for fields where you need somebody else's permit to work. You
write, you are a writer, even with zero appreciation.

~~~
gagege
That's something I've been noticing since I was young. The artists who imitate
and even "rip-off" other artists were always the ones who seemed the most
successful. They always end up finding their own voice eventually.

------
mentos
This part at 6 minutes 24 seconds from Dan Harmon (creator of Community/Rick
and Morty) is a must watch for any aspiring creative writer:

[https://youtu.be/KkUz8KgKHhA?t=6m24s](https://youtu.be/KkUz8KgKHhA?t=6m24s)

~~~
pwaai
I think this is great advice for me because I'm not looking to make a living
from writing. I just have this strong urge like if I don't put in writing all
the fucked up shit I encountered or read about, if I take all of those things
to grave without telling it I feel like I'm going to lose it.

but the main problem is getting down to it. Anything I write I throw it away
because it seems shit, like why the fuck would anybody spend their life
reading bullshit.

I even considered buying a typewriter. Not to be hip but because typing on the
computer is sooo distracting. HN and reddit is to blame and Youtube. God I
watch so much youtube....

so I resorted to writing short quips here and there online for shits and
giggles from the replies...that seems to give me that rush...but I've still
failed to become the stereotypical edgy, self absorbed, miserable writer.

------
mitko
This seems to be targeted towards people who want to make living out of it. My
personal conviction is to write for myself first, and develop my own thoughts
and not rely on it for commercial reason, but to clarify my thoughts, and
develop communication. Aiming to make money of it results in a different type
of writing, imo.

Here are some more thoughts I recently wrote on a related topic:
[http://dimitarsimeonov.com/2018/01/24/on-hungry-artists-
and-...](http://dimitarsimeonov.com/2018/01/24/on-hungry-artists-and-jedi)

------
ravenstine
I can definitely attest to showering and walking being the best idea
facilitators. In fact, I believe the same can be true for coding. I've solved
a lot of coding problems in my head while hiking.

I bet there's a connection there to the relationship between physical activity
and mental capability throughout the aging process.

~~~
kinkrtyavimoodh
Probably because showering is the one time you can't be stuck to your phone
screens.

~~~
TeMPOraL
I don't think it has anything to do with screens _per se_ \- it's about being
alone and free to think, while not being able to do anything else. Other
people are as much, if not more, distracting than screens - hence the time
spent in shower or on the toilet is so frequently mentioned as the source of
valuable insights.

------
cryoshon
as a writer i would mostly suggest the opposite of what this article suggests,
though the author makes good points too, especially the one about reading
being essential for writing.

my (opposite) suggestions:

1\. worry about what the world needs obsessively, and give it what it wants,
not what you want to make. become a machine that takes in needs as raw
materials and spits out explicit and actionable solutions that are written
down. this tip is by far the most important.

2\. if you want success, it means holding back on the full story if your
audience doesn't need/want/can't handle the full story. painful, i know. fluff
pieces are what works.

3\. write at a 7th grade level only if you think the 7th grade students have
enough money to make it worth your while. NB: this is about the simplicity of
your writing style AND the simplicity of your content. here is a big tip:
simple content is the route to success (as the OP author notes indirectly),
which should keep most of your mechanics simple.

4\. "good writing" is overrated. "good enough" writing is underrated. "bad
writing" can very easily be profitable. hasn't someone said this before?

5\. often what you write is not something that would be worth your time to
read. don't mistake that idea for your writing being worthless. if you
yourself wouldn't read it, you already have all of the knowledge and ideas
that went into writing it!

6\. finding your own voice is not as important as blending in-- this is
assuming that you are really chasing "success" and not self-actualization via
writing. if you have a radically different perspective, expose it to your
reader only in part lest they become confused or reactionary.

7\. force yourself to write for 5 minutes per day and live by the maxim that
if you write less than 1000 words on the same topic per day you aren't serious
about writing. more importantly: force yourself to edit 1000 words per day.

8\. your friends and family are not good at telling you where you need to
improve. professional editors are, however.

9\. you know that little voice in the back of your head that says "well, this
sentence that i just wrote is shit, how can i make it better?" find and kill
that voice until it's time for editing.

10\. writing and editing are two different things. as a writer you need to
write first, stop, wait, then return to what you wrote and edit it.
potentially a lot.

~~~
volkk
this seems to be the way to write if only to make a dollar. what about people
that want to actually write quality? you mention chasing success, but success
is obviously subjective. for me-- if i wrote some mumbo jumbo for 13 year olds
about high school gossip and made $10,000 off of it, i wouldn't call it
success. kind of like how i wouldn't take a $100+/hr job to do wordpress
templates

~~~
DoreenMichele
_what about people that want to actually write quality?_

You need to decide what your purpose is. You need to find metrics to measure
_quality_ and _success_.

------
settsu
Sorry, no. Just... no. No no no. (Ok, a little yes, but so much no as to
render it a net no.)

> Nobody wants to read your shit is...

...terrible advice.

> Make your point fast. > Less is more.

I see what you’re trying to say. But please stop.

> Don’t send your stuff to people you hope will share it...

What? Has this got to do? With writing?

> Be patient.

Oh, I’m trying.

> If your writing is good, it will get found.

Ya, no.

> If you want to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader.

This is actually a very compelling topic for discussion. But not particularly
good advice.

> Find your own voice and develop your own ideas.

Thanks?

> I’ve never sat at a blank screen...

This is legitimately good, if generic, advice. HOWever, you gotta put in the
time. Sit. Write. Type. Start with something. ANYthing.

> Don’t hit publish unless it’s worth somebody’s time.

Highly debatable. Exercise and discipline are developed habits.

> Don’t force it. I’ve gone weeks without writing anything. It happens.

Legit. (Counterpoint: RIP deadlines...)

> Determine what you’d like to get out of writing and then go after it.

This should (also) be midway down.

In conclusion: Dear Aspiring Writers, I want to read your shit.

