The Only Writing Advice I Ever Took to Heart

Write, write, write, and write again.

Photo by Johnny Briggs on Unsplash

Once upon a time, I collected any books on writing I could get my hands on. I would bulk-buy at the local used bookstore and hope something would strike me out of the writing funk I was in. I would go through phases of scouring pages for a piece of advice that might click and help me out of creative quicksand.

But honestly? I was wasting my time to think I’d find answers that way. Books on writing are usually just field guides about what the author has found works for himself/herself. They’re not how-to manuals as much as they are maps about possible destinations for the way your own writing life may go if you take up that torch of destiny.

A common refrain came up again and again, however:

You will not be a writer if you do not write.

It seems silly, doesn’t it, to put so plain a thought into the universe? “Duh, of course,” you may say. It sounds like common sense, right?

But a lot of people bypass this logical step. They outline and outline for years, thinking they’re writing the books in their heads while never putting one narrative word to paper. They stall past the brainstorming phase and tell themselves they’ll write when they “have more time” — after the kids go off to…