How NOT to write a book #7: Always be writing. Hey! You're not writing!

One great tip to becoming a great writer is to “Always be writing.” I just checked with a bunch of famous writers and they all agree that you must write to get better at writing! It sounds obvious, but right now, you’re not writing… you’re reading. If you’re not a writer, then thank you for giving this a read! I really appreciate it! It means a lot to me! I hope you leave a comment with anything you want to ask one of my characters! I’ll interview them for you and ask them what you wanna know! However, if you are a writer and you’re reading this… SHAME ON YOU! You could be writing right now and you’re not! FEEL GUILTY! Kick yourself, ya lazy bum!

Okay, okay… now that THAT silly skit is over with, today’s topic is the evil phrase “That’s not writing.” The other day I watched a video where this published author gave some harsh advice for novice writers. This topic can easily be thrown into the “Impasta Syndrome” category because when this phrase is said, writers often feel like an impostor. It’s cruel, honestly, to make someone feel like they aren’t working even if they are.

The author’s point was that if one wants to make progress as a writer, one needs to write. That statement is true, and it does deserve to be said. The problem is that the angle that they took was pointing at things like “brainstorming” and researching isn’t writing. They callously tossed every moment not literally spent writing into the category “not writing” and bludgeon the listener with it as if trying to make them feel guilty. I wanted to hop into the screen and say to them “You know what else isn’t writing? Searching for an agent or publisher isn’t writing. Research isn’t writing. Marketing isn’t writing. Do you know what you have to do to be successful in writing? ALL OF THAT STUFF!”

The reality is that a good writer will always need to research. They’re going to need to know the difference between poison and venom, and how much it would take to kill a person of a certain stature. They’ll need to know what chocolate does to a dog, or how to make a sailboat go faster. If you’re writing fiction, there’s gonna be SOMEthing you’re writing about that you didn’t know before you started and there are plenty of places one can go to find out. What I’m saying is that if you’re on Reddit, making a Facebook pole, or Tweeting for crowd-sourced assistance about anything related to your book, that’s still part of the writing process.

To all you writers out there, any moment that you spend that goes toward making your story better is “work” related to your craft. Any moment spent plotting, searching, tweaking, and grinding is ALL work. Telling someone otherwise is like telling a cook that washing their hands isn’t cooking or telling a truck driver that fueling their semi isn’t driving. Get your grind on, friends… and remember one more thing… self-care is part of the job too. You can’t put out your best work if you’re in zombie mode and running on automatic. Don’t let anyone guilt you into burning out.