I asked a few of my young writer friends the same question...
I asked if they'd be willing to share the best writing advice they've come across. Writing advice that's really resonated with them and helped them along their writing journey.
Now, I get to share their answers with you! And these writers really pulled through! There are some FANTASTIC pieces of advice in here, so without further ado, let's dive in!
1. Grace A. Johnson
If there’s one thing I’ve learned since I started writing nearly seven years ago - and suffice it to say that I’ve learned a lot - it’s that you must write for an audience of One. When you begin that first story, you have great visions of everyone who picks up your book enjoying it, right? Well, you can’t please everyone. Someone will leave a one-star review. Someone else will contact you directly to rant about everything they disagreed with. The mainstream market won’t accept your story because of your content (or lack of), your beliefs, and your convictions.
Believe me, I’ve been there. And I’ve had to learn the hard way that there is only One who matters, only One who will love your story even more than you do. That’s God. In fact, He has invested so much more in your writing than anyone else by giving you the ability and desire to write and by opening and closing doors to make that happen, so writing the stories that He lays on your heart is what is most important. Giving your work - all of it - to Christ is the most rewarding thing ever, one-star reviews or not. God can take your stories and your talents to greater heights if you’ll align your dreams with His. And you know what? He won’t ever give you a one-star review, not so long as you’re writing for Him and not for the wishy washy market!
Find more from Grace at graceajohnson.com!
2. Caleb E. King
One of my favorite pieces of writing advice is very simple. Keep putting one step in front of the other. There are many potholes and fallen trees stranded along the writing road. Persevering through those, showing up to write consistently, even when it feels like you aren’t moving, is what will keep you progressing and growing as a writer. And to add to that, writing is not something you can do on a solitary island. Sometimes writing calls for working alone, but you need a second pair of eyes to point out things you can improve on. It might be scary the first few times, but sharing your writing with others, specifically fellow writers more advanced than you, is the second greatest way to growing in your writing. Best of luck!
Find more from Caleb at calebeking.wordpress.com!
3. Allie Jo Andersen
There are so many pieces of writing advice that have helped me throughout my writing journey, it’s hard to choose just one! But the piece of advice that has continually been one to help me is to don’t be afraid to change something up if it isn’t working for you. Maybe you need to change your writing routine, change your genre, or even your method of writing. Change sounds like a scary word, especially when it comes to our writing, but it just might be what will help you move forward in your writing journey. ♥️
Find more from Allie at allieandersen.com!
4. Zoe Anastasia
My best writing advice would be to ask for help. And ask for it often. It’s too easy as a writer to try and do it by yourself, but surrounding yourself with fellow writers and helping them and getting help in return is so important to growing as a writer. (And also building a community!) They can have distant from your work that you don’t, which means they can point out flaws or brainstorm ideas for your stories. They can give advice when you’re unsure of what to do.
Find more from Zoe at zoeanastasiaauthor.com!
5. Rachel Leitch
When I was working on my first novella, I remember someone told me they believed I would find a niche market, and that would just kind of be my thing. I was like, "Niche market, great!" I really didn’t mind the idea. But the idea that I couldn’t do any more than a niche market? I wasn’t so crazy about that. But then someone told me to write what God had given me to write. So many writers talk about having to write for the market. But the bottom line is if God has given you this book, then He will take it wherever it needs to go. Don’t doubt what He can do through the book you’ve written, no matter what that book is.
Find more from Rachel at racheljleitch.weebly.com!
6. Issabelle Perry
If there is one piece of advice that has transformed my whole writing career it would have to be the quote "You can't edit a blank page." (Don't know who said it, lol :) Your story doesn't have to be perfect the first time—that's why there's such thing as a second draft. You don't have to create flawless stories on your first try (do those even exist?) in order to be an author. This takes time. Writing, revising, editing, growing through every sentence, paragraph, and page. These are the small things that make novels, the beginning steps that produce writers. So don't wait for perfection. The only way you can get to where you want to be is by grabbing a piece of paper, writing once upon a time, and letting the story in your heart unfold to life. Worry about the critics later!
Find more from Issabelle at teenwritersnook.com!
7. Kayleigh Idea
The piece of advice that's most revolutionized the way I write is the advice to outline. When I first started writing, my books had no direction. I had no idea what I was doing, and I'd give up on a project before even reaching 10k words. But when I discovered a book called Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, I decided to give this outlining thing a try... and hey, it worked! Once I plotted my novel based on the structure provided in Brody's book, I was able to write a 70k word novel in just a little over a month! Since then I've written five books, and there's no way I could have done that if I hadn't outlined them. If you struggle with finishing projects, I highly recommend giving outlining a try!
Now, it's your turn...
What piece of writing advice has been the most beneficial to you in your writing journey? And what did you think of these writers' advice? Did any of them stick out to you?
Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Kayleigh Idea