10 Things Every Writer Should Know

In this post I’m sharing some secrets only writers know. 

If you’ve published a book, or multiple, I want to know which point you relate to the most. 

If you are still in the hobby stages, I want to know which point scares you the most. 

Let’s jump in!

1. Reality? Which page is that?

Life. Reality. The world. It blurs into the image of the story. You spend so much time in your imaginary, fictional world. Characters you invented come to life in your office and on the page. You spend hours with them, thinking about them, organising, ruining and fixing their lives. Once you step outside into the world that exists outside of your brain, it can be a bit of a shock. You have no control in this world, there are norms you must follow. You may not talk to yourself loudly in public. You may not pull at your hair in frustration. You may not sit with glazed eyes staring into the distance. I mean, you can. But it’s weird. 

2. We all have an addiction to something. 

Most of us, it’s coffee. Many talented and serious authors turn to alcohol. Possibly because of the above comment. I’ve edited for days straight without breaks - except for sleep. I would dream about my writing, talk about it, live it, breathe it. It drove me crazy, but a glass of prosecco lulled my brain into quiet. Keep a look out for your vices. Taking breaks, a healthy amount of sleep, appropriate breaks, diet and exercise are all healthy ones.

3. Everything is a story. 

Your friend tells you something horrible that happened to them. The first thought: That would make a great story. The first question you want to ask: What would drive someone to do that? Don’t say these things. Keep it to yourself. Remember these people are not characters, they are real people. Remember empathy. Use empathy.

4. Writing is rewriting.

You’ve heard this before. Everyone says it. You can write a manuscript in days, weeks, months or years. That’s only the start of the journey. Now you have a product to work with. From here you do the big edits to fix the story line. And again. And again. Now, go through each character. Now, go through each line. Now, go through each word. Beta-testing time. And more edits. Professional editor time. Does it ever stop?

5. Everything gets in the way.

Need to cook dinner? You could be writing. Need to clean the house? You could be writing. Need to go to work? What a waste of time. Everything is all about writing. Getting those ideas on paper and making the edits takes full priority. Everything else starts to feel like an inconvenience.

6. Mental Fatigue is real. 

There have been days when, after a writing session, I’ll forget how to spell simple words. Nad; Gto; M’I. All these words suddenly become the hardest words to spell. It’s just your brain, you’ve used up all the writing and spelling juices. Take a break, see a friend, watch a show. Tel ruoy dnim tser.

7. People become marketing tools.

Not in a savage way. You see someone online and the thought floats through your brain: “maybe they’ll advertise my book for me. I wonder how much they charge.” You hear strangers discussing a tv show and think “what got them talking like that? How can I get them to talk about my book?”

8. Books become learning devices. 

You’ll open a book and admire a sentence. You’ll read it again and analyse the wording. You’ll read the paragraph and analyse how the words flow. You’ll write a similar paragraph for practice and learn how they do it. Books are no longer escapism - they are work.

9. Books are now the competition and Authors are colleagues.

It’s a strange flip. These books you grew up admiring and being absorbed into their worlds, are now products you strive to out sell. Authors are people you can get advice from, collab with, or compare and try to beat their stats. The world of writing changes. I still feel like it’s a supportive community - especially on Medium - but the authors, books and publishing companies are now your competitors.

10.  You’re never ready.

Got an idea? Write it down. You’ll never be ready to start. Done? Time to edit. Don’t feel ready? Just do it, you’ll feel ready. Time to publish? Send it. It might not feel right, but it never will. Next book. Still don’t feel it? Don’t worry, neither did I.