3 pieces of writing advice you may want to put in the bin — and what to try instead…
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Beauty lies in the gaps. In the imperfections.
Because the imperfections are what makes life interesting.
The way the trapeze spins slightly faster than you were anticipating, so your movement quality changes almost imperceptibly and surprisingly, and your face makes a different shape to the one you were planning — but it works.
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One of my MicroBook Magicians asked me this week — what if I don’t feel like planning today? What if I just want to dive right in? I want to write write write but I know I need to research some stuff!
And to that I say: HURRAH!
Fill yer boots, because there is no wrong way to write a book.
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Progress is never linear.
It never takes us in a straight line from bad to good to excellent.
It’s a wiggle.
I’d like to think the wiggle trends upwards but we have to give it time to do that. Two data points aren’t enough, because that gives us the illusion of a straight line but it’s not, really.
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Some things are just good for your brain.
No matter what’s going on inside it, what illnesses or challenges or mental health issues we may have — some activities are magic.
Like…Walking among trees. Moving your body. Human contact. Journalling.
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Come with me. Lemme lift the tablecloth and usher you into the den.
Because you might be wondering: what’s it actually like to write a book?
Well, tbh I don’t know what it’s like for you… but I can tell what it ISN’T like.
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Is grammar elitist? Should we chuck it in the bin?
Or are you a stickler for grammar — someone who believes we should not start sentences with “and”, and that we should boldly refuse to split infinitives?
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I know people who iron their bedsheets.
I’m not knocking them: all power to their elbows. And their wrists and shoulders.
But honestly who has time to iron bedsheets?
You may have guessed that I am not a person who irons anything. Ever.
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There are approximately 8,193 notes in my Notes app. Even more in my Notion.
I’d say more-or-less 48% of them are lists. Plans. Plots, if you like.
I live my life via lists, plans, and plots, or nothing would ever happen. They’re comforting and they make me feel like I’m making progress.
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Every time I sit down to write it’s like whack-a-mole: which obstacle is my brain gonna chuck in the way today? Who knows? It’s a surprise!
One consistent blockage, though, is my arrogant and pathological need to write a brilliant first sentence.
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Sometimes, people tell me they hate their book. Their work in progress.
On occasion, I say it myself, about a book I’m working on.
“Okay,” I say. “That’s okay.”
And then I ask: “What do you mean by hate?”
Because hate is such a strong word. We sling it around without really thinking about what it means.
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You may have heard the instruction “eat the frog first”. It’s a favourite of the productivity bros and there’s a bestselling book by the name Eat that Frog.
The idea is that you do the most difficult, horrible task first and get it out of the way, then the rest of your day will be plain sailing.
