Ditching the bad

What bad habits have you ditched to make yourself a better writer? What good habits have you picked up?

By Dietrich

Writing’s as much about what you don’t do as what you do. Kick the bad habits and keep the words flowing and the stories humming.

One of the worst habits I had was overthinking and fretting about the first draft. There’s nothing worse than staring at a blank page and trying to craft the perfect opening line and second-guessing every word. Over time, it got easier as I gained confidence and kept at it — finding a rhythm to the words. 

 

Another habit I ditched was writing at the wrong time. I used to figure I should just power through, put in as many hours a day as I could. Nope. What I found was there’s a best-time for me to be writing — and that turned out to be early mornings for me. There’s never been a set number of hours, I write while the muse is with me, then I’m happy to leave it till the next day. 

I got some good advice from a pro early on: Don’t chase trends. Don’t be the guy trying to write what’s in instead of what’s me. It’s a fast track to a hollow story. I took that to heart, and I’ve never tried to fit in whatever seems hot — no vampires, dystopias, no whatever. Plus, it wouldn’t work for me anyway. I’m sure readers would spot that kind of inauthenticity from a mile away.

I’ve built some good habits too — like writing every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s five hundred words or just fifty — as long as they’re good words.  And sitting at my desk every day keeps the story rolling and it builds momentum. Even a page a day turns into a novel faster than you’d think. I don’t have a word count, but then I don’t sit staring at a blank page anymore either.

I get the bones of the story down, even though the characters may not be fully fleshed out and storyline might be a bit messy at this point. The polish comes later. First drafts are supposed to be raw.

I’ve gotten into the habit of trusting the story’s chaos. I don’t outline much and my novels usually start with a single scene or idea, and I let it grow from there. That looseness keeps the writing fresh and lets the characters surprise me. And if I’m surprised, chances are the reader will be too.

It’s not as much about trying to get the words perfect, it’s about making them sound real.

Another good habit is reading and I do that a lot. I’ve always loved books, so that’s an easy one. I’m both entertained and inspired by the masters. Take Elmore Leonard’s dialogue, Patricia Highsmith’s tension, James Ellroy’s punchy rhythm. Every time I read a really good book, I gain some inspiration and insights from diverse perspectives.