10 Best Pieces of Writing Advice

hello everybody I'm back from my a test and I don't know I feel like something's a bit different but I just can't put my finger on it it'll come to me we're getting right into it with some good old-fashioned writing advice namely the best writing advice I have ever personally read received or developed over the years I'm handing my wisdom down to you before we get started I've got to give my love to Skillshare who has generously sponsored this video because we just can't quit each other skill share is an online learning community specifically for creators with over 20,000 courses available in business creative writing publishing design all kinds of stuff my personal favorite courses available are the marketing classes they have so many courses all about how to market a small business because like it or not writing is a business I myself have a marketing class on Skillshare all about how to grow and develop your author platform you should definitely check it out and I may or may not be coming out with another glass on Skillshare very soon and it may or may not be all about the book release process keep your eyes peeled Premium Membership gets you unlimited access to all upskill shares classes and their membership rate is super cheap an annual membership is less than ten bucks a month stick around until the end of this video because I've got some extra special Skillshare goodies just for you cuz I'm that kind of lady first I am hitting you with the absolute best writing advice in my humble opinion number one habit is far more reliable than inspiration everyone talks about feeling inspired to write which is nice but it's also fleeting the key to getting words on the page is to make it a habit create a writing schedule and stick to it this is far more useful than inspiration will ever be in a million years if you only write when you're feeling inspired congratulations you'll get one book done by the time you're on your deathbed and it'll probably suck instead train yourself to make writing a normal part of your daily routine do it until missing a day of writing feels AB normal or wrong people who talk about waiting for the words to come to them or being overtaken by their muse are full of [ __ ] the author's who actually make writing a full-time career did it by making their work a habit number two always assume your reader is smart when you're right for a stupid audience you create a stupid book I'm sure you can think of a few writers often feel the need to explain every concept in their book because they're afraid that readers won't get it two characters share glances across the room they blush at the sight of one another they fumble over their words but the writers still feels the need to say they were deeply attracted to one another you don't say doing this insults your ears intelligence which will make them wonder if they're too smart for your book that's not to say you should ignore feedback it's multiple betas tell you that a concept doesn't make sense fix it what you don't need to explain every single detail what readers figure out [ __ ] based on the context and descriptions that's kind of the whole point of reading and despite all the showing and dialogue a couple of readers might not get something wait a second these two people who are constantly flirting like each other but you never said so this minority of people are idiots and there's already a ton of books out there written just for them number three if you're not sure what to do next break your characters legs a lot of writers struggle with advancing the plot especially if they hit the middle of the book and the solution is simple any time you're not sure where to go complications whatever the problem is make it worse it could be something like a curveball or a plot twist it could be a death or an injury it could be something as simple as an upcoming test or a work deadline every plot includes some kind of difficulty that the main character is trying to navigate so if you make this difficulty worse this will fuel the plot and make it much more compelling number four no one remembers a trench a sir trench chasing is very common because it provides a safety net you already know this book has a chance of selling because the audience is explicitly clear the thing is people always remember the writers who start the and they don't remember the chasers that's fine if you're writing just to make a quick buck though hide argue that you chose the wrong business for that but if you want to make writing a sustainable career people need to remember your name on top of that once a concept becomes on trend half the time it's too late it takes years to write a quality novel and by the time you're finished that trend will be long over so stop worrying about what's selling at the moment most of the big guys didn't write their concepts because they were trendy they made them trendy number five just because you know everything doesn't mean the reader needs to know everything you created a vast world complicated characters with dark backstories morals and themes and symbolism now you got to hold back and make sure you don't barf it all out on your manuscript that world you created the reader doesn't need to know every single detail unless the imports and exports are directly tied into your plot no one gives a [ __ ] I assure you I'm sure your supporting character had a very heartbreaking childhood but unless it's tied into the storyline we don't need him to recount it in a soliloquy your job as the creator is to know everything and also to know when those details are relevant if they're not can it number six you're gonna be embarrassed at some point so you might as well get over it writing a book is humiliating there are going to be moments where you want to crawl into a hole and die if you plan on surviving this career you really need to accept this now but Jenna what if I get bad reviews you will get bad reviews everyone does if Stephen King isn't immune why should you be but Jenna my mom is going to read this do you think my mom doesn't read my [ __ ] someone gets their dick sucked in the saviour's champion look I hate to break it to you but you chose one embarrassing ass career which leaves you with two options either you can write nothing and live your life forever worrying about what people think of you or you can take that tail out from between your legs write your book and face the music when it comes number seven the reader should never finish a chapter with all their questions answered there is only one chapter of your book where the reader should finish it and maybe possibly have all their questions answered and that's the last chapter if it's a standalone when a reader has no more questions they have no more incentive to keep reading so for every question you answer make sure one or two more questions are created say your chapter answered the question what happened to the protagonist mother she's dead now the questions are how did she die was it murder or suicide and if it was murder who killed her keeping your reader in the dark is the easiest way to keep them turning the pages number eight making aesthetic boards talking to other writers and Petri me about your characters is not writing and never will be nine times out of ten unless you're writing editing or outlining you're not being productive everything else is just an excuse but Jenna aesthetic boards helped me visualize the scene you know what else would help you visualize the scene writing it but Jenna alternate-universe fix helped me get to know my characters you know what else would help you get to know your characters writing them of course there are going to be times when you need to research content for your story or the publishing industry but overall stop lying to yourself finding face claims won't boost your word count or get your book published and you know it number nine inch by inch life is a cinch yard by yard life is hard this is the writing advice per se but it applies to the industry it seamlessly I want to become one of the greats but it seems so overwhelming first of all if all you want to do is become one of the greats you'll probably never be great just saying second that's a hell of a lot of pressure to put on yourself when you haven't written a damn word instead of aspiring to become a famous aspire to write 20,000 words this month instead of aspiring to sell hundreds of thousands of copies why don't you aspire to sell a thousand copies did you know the average traditionally published debut novel sells 3000 copies in its lifetime might need to readjust your goals they're just a tiny bit if you break your goal down into parts not only will you feel good about yourself more often throughout the process but you will have much better odds of achieving your endgame and number 10 write what you want to read people like to say write what you want to write sometimes that's good advice other times not so much a better option is to write what you want to read which for a lot of people is what they want to write but some people only want to write sex scenes or they only want to write fight scenes non-stop severing of limbs does not a story make writing what you want to read is a great idea for a variety of reasons one you already know the book doesn't exist yet if it did you wouldn't have to write it in order to read it too you already know there's an audience for the book because you want to read it but Jenna what if no one wants to read what I want to read I have a sneaking suspicion you're not as unique as you think you are and three you will be much more passionate about the story if it's something you genuinely want to read it'll be way easier to get through even the most grueling parts if you care about the project so that's why I got for you this is the best writing advice that I have personally heard do with it as you please take it to heart to prove upon your craft or ignore it what do I care a huge thank you to Skillshare for being so supportive of my channel and for always dishing out the quality content and on top of that Skillshare is giving you guys a two-month trial of Skillshare premium for free that's zero dollars nothing not a zip no money two months that don't cost a dime all you got to do is click on the link in the description and cash in on your free trial take a few classes take my class this offer is only available for a limited time only the first 500 people who click the link will get in on it so do it now don't forget to subscribe to my channel and post new videos on Wednesdays and if you want to be alerted as soon as they upload you got a ring that bell because I might be putting out bonus content very soon hint hint the saviours champion is available in eBook and hardback all over the place you can get it at Amazon you can get it at the Book Depository Barnes & Noble whatever I got a bunch of links listed below get yourself a copy and join Tobias on his epic adventure and be sure to follow me on social media I'm on Instagram Tumblr Facebook and of course you can tweet me at Jenna maresi bye you

Channel: Writing with Jenna Moreci

Views: 129,319

Rating: 4.9695954 out of 5

Keywords: write, writer, writing, read, reader, reading, book, books, ebook, publish, publishing, writing advice, best writing advice, writing motivation, writing inspiration, writing tips, publishing advice, publishing motivation, publishing inspiration, publishing tips, authortube, booktube, jenna moreci, the saviors champion, the savior's champion, skillshare, best advice, am writing, how to write a book

Id: SS59sUfDupQ

Length: 11min 0sec (660 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 15 2018