Dear Writer Friends,
Today’s creative writing tip has come up over and over again in our Write for a Reason writing groups… is my writing good enough? Is my story good enough?
In my opinion we fret way too much over this question.
Suppose we decide to learn to play the piano – it’s going to take time. Our first piece may be stilted and heavy-handed – but what an achievement! As we progress, we might look back and laugh at our first attempts. However much talent we have been given by God, there is absolutely no short cut to getting better… we have to practice.
So if we want our writing to improve, the key is to keep writing. Write a story for a child you love. Write a simple story with a clear beginning, middle and end. Plan it carefully. Do your very best! Give it to your child to read, then get on with the next story.
This is the only way you can improve – there are no short cuts. Learning about writing is useful, reading other books is important, going to writing groups is inspirational, but the best way to improve is to just keep writing.
Let me know how it goes!
Bless you all,
Janet
This is really helpful, thank you.
This has encouraged me. I too am a sucker for this question. I then go off on rabbit trails thinking how I can spice it up, but I don’t want it to be overkill either, so I am trying to learn balance. One of the helpful tips I read on this site was, do as much research on the age group that you are trying to reach as much as possible.
Hehe, Caroline, yes, I hear it so much, and I’m sometimes the worst culprit! 🙂 But good on you for pressing on… and so glad the tip for researching the age group resounded with you. It really is a vital foundation for making your stories relevant. Happy writing!