#read read read

How to instantly make your day a million times better? Visit your local bookstore.

So, we need to have a discussion about a few things. I'm not here saying that I am the end all be all on writing advice. Far, far from it. But, I've been seeing some discussions through various sights that are bothering me, so I kind of wanted to say something to writers out there (especially younger ones) in case you have not heard it said before.

Read your classics. There is a theme of condemning them for racist language. Non inclusivity. Sexism. And the list goes on. But.... READ THEM. I don't care if they are classics such as Slaughterhouse Five, Huck Finn, Catch - 22, Lolita, Grapes of Wrath, or if they are just books that are a bit outdated in what they have to say. READ THEM. Just because something has an abhorrent theme to it, does not mean that there is not something to learn from that. This is how we gain critical thinking. By reading different perspectives. And yes, sometimes those perspectives are bad. Or, sometimes those perspectives are ones that are actually condemning the act itself, but because it is not spelled out as such, society tends to think it is uplifting such a topic. Look at what you are reading and form different opinions, thoughts and feelings about things so you can be a far more rounded writer (and person). Look at things from the opposite side. Inhabit those mindsets for a bit and try to find the roots of such thinking. Because the world is morally grey at best, and so are your characters if you want them to be believable.

If you are writing about a different world, a different race, especially one you have made up, they are most likely not going to follow the very human conventions that we have applied to our own life. And that's fine. It will upset some people, and it will take others a bit to understand. However, societies that are not based on our own, would not believably act like our own. If you wish to make a society like that, think a little outside the box and be prepared for people to be upset by this. But, again, critical thinking should be applied. At the end of the day, stories are meant to be vehicles to 'what if's'. They are not real. They are an escape. Not everyones escape looks the same.

Writing is hard, yes, but it does not have to be something we suffer through. There is a constant borage of meme's and journal entries and complaints that circulate bemoaning not being about to write. Sometimes, yeah, that's going to happen. That's okay. Walk away. You do not have to give into the despair that has oddly clouded this community. Can't write? Go read. Spend time with a friend. Watch a show. Get your chore list done so you are all set when you can write. You do not need to write every day, nor do you need to force yourself to write if you are not someone who works well with that. Learn what your own behaviors are and address those first. And if you do not fall into the category that everyone else does, you are not less of a writer.

Stop writing for everyone else. Write for your characters. I know the rhetoric has always been know your audience. Or write for you. But, unless you are in a publishing house, with an agent, and have to meet a requirement? Who cares. Create some characters, figure out who they are, and let them loose. It is far less confining, and you can create some characters that are much more dimensional than if you are set to the definitions that you or others have put on your creations.

Don't be a perfectionist. Perfectionism comes through lots of editing. That is not important until miles down the road. Get the idea out. Let it blossom. And then let it seep for a bit. Don't get hung up on something not making sense.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱" 𝗯𝘆 𝗨𝗿𝘀𝘂𝗹𝗮 𝗞. 𝗟𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗻 -