Leather pants were all the rage when I was a teenager and I wanted a pair.
I want ‘em, I want ‘em! 
So I got them. * forehead slap *
If you want to know how well that went, see the Friends episode where Ross wears them, too.
I learned a hard truth. All is not well in a pair of leather pants, especially when it’s summer.
All is not well in writing either when you fail to acknowledge certain truths.
Truth #1. You will never, ever get any work completely perfect. It’s not going to happen. Unless you have a fairy godmother in your pocket.
Truth #2. Your critique group may not be helping you. When others read your work, unless they’ve somehow magically achieved perfection (see Truth #1) the feedback you’re receiving might actually be detrimental.
Truth #3. Studying the craft is great. Reading books on writing can be helpful. So can attending conferences. But are you writing or are you learning about writing?
Truth #4. Your writing might be very, very good. It also might be very, very bad.
Truth #5. Don’t get a big head. Arrogance isn’t cool. I saw a post recently where a writer was looking for beta readers and she had a list of demands for these perspective beta readers. Uh, no. Beta readers are doing you a favor. If you’re fortunate enough to have beta readers, appreciate the hell out of them and treat them with respect and not like you’re doing them a big favor because they get to read your 185,000 word piece of perfection. (see Truth #4)
Truth #6. Never write what’s popular at the moment. Popular book trends are manuscripts that were sold long before you see them on the shelves. So by the time you get your hands on the latest vampire novel, that coffin has sailed.
Truth #7. Protect your writing time. Protect it from errands, from the phone, and from those funny Vines by the hot Property Brothers.
If you need help staying off sites, download Stay Focusd.
But warning, once you set the time limit, it’ll boot your butt off the site and there’s no way you’re getting back on that day even if you uninstall it. Not that I tried that. *hangs head*
What are some truths that you can share about writing?
Leave a Reply