When you start writing in earnest, it’s easy to slip into habits that can hinder your progress as a writer. As a rule, these habits have more to do with trying too hard than with talent or ability. Recognise any of these 10 common blocks in your own writing?
1. Use your own voice
One of the most valuable commodities in publishing is a writer with their own distinctive voice. However, when starting out, it’s easy to think that little old you or me can’t be good enough as you are, and therefore we need to mimic published writers. This often leads to the use of slightly archaic, over-formal and fancy prose.
I have worked with lots of new writers who a) start off writing in distinct, wonderful voices that are never heard much in books, and b) when complimented and encouraged start introducing language that sounds like Tolstoy or Geroge Eliot. Do not do this.
Start with your own voice, and gradually work out how to make it more effective.
2. Let your story find its own form
Lots of new writers inhibit themselves by deciding the kind of book they want to write before they begin writing and then forcing their experience into that style and form. Typically, there is a writer whose style they love, and they try to replicate that style with their own material.
This CAN work, and it’s a good exercise to try. But be careful, because if the material doesn’t want to work with that style, it won’t work for more than a few thousand words.
In my experience, people who have done English Literature degree courses can be particularly vulnerable to this, perhaps because we’re taught that writers write with more planning than they really do.
3. Let the words guide you
In keeping with Point 2: don’t become frustrated when you can’t reproduce a feeling or image exactly on the page, and don’t worry when your story takes you somewhere other than you’d intended. It is extremely common for professional writers to work like that; some would say it is part of the process.
4. Be careful with adjectives
Good adjectives work wonders, but the overuse of obvious adjectives deadens writing. Always ponder whether there may be a better adjective. If you have two or three, try substituting one well-chosen word. Sometimes dropping the adjective and changing the noun will read even better.
5. Trust the reader
This is a spin on the common (and important) advice to ‘show not tell’. You want your readers to feel you are showing them things, and that they understand what it is you feel about them, without you stating it explicitly. This can be done in wonderful, subtle ways, and at a fairly basic level. For example, rather than saying something like ‘I was furious’ try ‘I stared at him, unable to speak, my hands clenching involuntarily.’
6. Pay attention to your paragraphs
Many new writers barely think about paragraphs, and consequently use paragraphs that are too long and uniform.
If you look at a good novel or memoir, its paragraphs are likely shorter than you think. This brevity, and the differing lengths, create pace and movement.
7. Let the words run away with you – then edit them
I see a lot of pieces in which new writers describe at great length a sensory experience (walking in nature, for example, or being on a funfair ride), using lots of adjectives, metaphors, similes and elaborate figures of speech. This sort of writing can be terrific, but if you’re doing it, it’s a good idea to introduce some kind of conflict or jeopardy that develops, so the reader feels something is pulling them forward. Otherwise, the writing can feel self-indulgent, and lose the reader’s attention.
8. Don’t worry too much about backstory
It’s true that finding a good opening can be difficult, but I find just as many people agonise over where to put the backstory – the background to the event(s) your story is recounting.
The answer is, of course, you can put it anywhere you like, so long as the information it contains isn’t essential to anything that comes before it. As a rule of thumb, about 15-20 per cent of the way in will usually work. And you often need less of it than you think.
9. Remember that your feelings, sincerely expressed, will not sound egotistical
For some people who come new to writing, it can feel overly self-important to talk about their opinions and feelings. Readers rarely feel the same, so long as those opinions and feelings are genuine.
As we say in our course notes, the sincerity and truth of the narrator’s emotion is likely to be what determines the overall success of a memoir.
10. Don’t try to be perfect, but accept that it’s a long haul and you’ll learn and develop as a writer
Perfectionism leads to procrastination, which is The Enemy. For practical ways to overcome procrastination, I’ve shared my best anti-procrastination tips in a previous blog.
Remember: the worst work you ever did will always be better than the best work you never did.
This article was taken from our memoir-writing course, Stories from Life. This introductory online course is a great way to overcome procrastination and set up good life-long writing habits. Over 5 weeks as part of a small group of fellow life writers, you will build your confidence as a memoir writer and produce a real-life story you’re proud of.
