5 Writing tips to Start the New Year off Right

Happy New Year everyone! 2019 was a pretty good year for my writing. but there were some things I could've done and wish I would have done better. In this post I'm giving you my top five writing tips to start the year off right. So 2020 can be your best year of writing yet!

1. Be your own Worst Critic

This has been the most helpful thing I've learned this year. As the writer, we often don't ask questions or put ourselves in the reader's shoes when self-editing our stories. We don't like finding things wrong with our work, but If you want your writing to improve, you have to realize what you're doing wrong and learn how to change those habits.

You might be thinking, "well isn't that what beta readers are for?"

Yes. Beta readers are great at pointing out the things you glanced over, but at the end of the day, this is your story and only you know what's best for it.

Don't be afraid and be secure enough in your writing ability to completely fill your first draft with red ink.

My first drafts are so full of my feedback that the entire story is pretty much highlighted.

Point out the things you need to work on because that shows your growth. Don't be mean to yourself. Don't degrade your work, but step up into the role. This is your story and any sentence that makes you cringe or go, "I think I can do better," scratch it out.

You are in charge. Take this story by the horns and run with it.

2. Be your Loudest Cheerleader

This is kind of the opposite of the advice above, but it also ties into the last tip. Being your loudest cheerleader means you cheer for yourself and hold yourself accountable more than anyone else.

The book you're writing isn't someone else's story, so why should they care about it more than you do? If you want to finish a book or start a blog or publish something, you should hold yourself accountable more then any friends, family, more than anyone.

You should be cheering for yourself louder than anyone because there are going to be times when no one else is cheering.

You have to be comfortable with being completely and utterly alone in this process. The journey to writing a book is lonely, but it's also very opinionated.

You will take feedback from people, some negative and some positive. You will have people cheering you on, but you cannot place your book's worth and your worth as a writer on that pedestal of affirmation.

Because one day when someone does say something negative about your work, the pedestal is going to crumble and so is your confidence as a writer and the pride you have for your book.

This is why your voice must be the loudest. You have to give yourself positive feedback. You have to value your work and value your opinion of your work higher than other opinions. This doesn't mean you should be arrogant or not take feedback, it means you should be confident enough in your work to be proud of it.

When someone compliments your writing, don't rest your self-esteem on that affirmation. Know the worth of your story before others do. If you value your writing before anyone else does, you're already on a great path.

3. Make a Platform to Share your Work on

One of the best things I did for my writing was creating an Instagram page. My Instagram gives me a place to post about my work and meet other writers like myself. Another thing I did was create a blog.

Creating a platform for your writing and yourself as an author is so important. You need a space to share your work. You need a space where you can get feedback from other writers and grow.

If you want to publish a book in the future, you need to start sharing about that book now and acquiring an audience.

Share a quote from your book. Take some pictures of yourself working on it or a picture of your work space. There are so many ways to integrate your book and your writing into a social platform. Doing this will not only connect readers to you, but connect you to people who can give you feedback and advice which leads to our next step:

4. Have People you Value read your Book

This does not say have anyone and everyone read your book. It says the people you value. Have people read your book if you value their opinion and respect what they have to say. Have people read your book who have writing experience themselves. This is why it's so valuable to start a writing platform early on in your career. You can meet people and make connections. These connections can turn into beta readers and critique partners. You can learn from reading their work and helping them out, and they can learn from reading yours.

It's great for your beta reading group to be a mix of writers, and friends and family. Get both sides of the feedback. The writers are probably going at look at your writing from a more technical side while your family and friends, assuming they aren't writers themselves, are going to look at it from the perspective of the reader.

5. Study Story Structure

I wasn't sure if I was going to mention this or not, but I decided to because it is so necessary. So many writers overlook or don't understand story structure. When outlining, it goes right over their heads. I was one of these writers, so I'm speaking from experience.

Story structure is a pretty much universal structure that most movies and novels follow. It's beginning, middle, and end. It's exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. If you don't know what that means, then look it up. Look up story structure and study it like there's no tomorrow.

There are lots of different versions of story structure—some are more complex and require more outlining while others are less involved. Pick one that works for you. Some have sixteen steps while others have three or four.

Play around with them. Find one that works for you story and read! Read books and watch movies and see if you can pick out the different points in story structure. Where's the climax? Where's the inciting incident? What are the conflicts? Make it into a game!

Do whatever you have to to ingrain it into your head. It will make your story better and give it a natural flow. It will make publishers and agents more likely to read and enjoy your book, and will help you and, your book, in the long run.

Thank you for reading this post! I hope it helped you. Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't yet to stay updated on my posts. I post every Tuesday so don't miss out! You can also check out my other blog posts that cover everything from writing tips to book reviews, productivity, the everyday struggles writers face, and more!

It's been a pleasure writing for you and until next time—stay weird and stay writing! - Lexi