Hello readers! Next week I’m leaving the Beginnings behind, and diving into a new series on the topic of Action! I’ll be parsing through some of the best action sequences fantasy has to offer, trying to figure out what makes them so darned compelling. But, that’s next week. This week I’m tackling a question I ask myself whenever I edit my work, and one that I see asked online all the time: How can I improve my writing?
Let’s dive in!
Whenever I finish a section of work, or switch into editing mode, I criticize myself brutally. I presume most artists, including comedians, actors, painters, and poets cringe when looking critically at their own work. My knee-jerk reaction is to say everything about my writing could be improved. My characters are weak, the plots thin, and the sentence structure unimaginative and repetitive. These are the enemies I battle each day. However, the question of improvement deserves broader consideration than simply winning the fight with nitty-gritty.
Ask any writer and they will tell you that their first attempt at book writing was rough. They didn’t know what they were doing and, looking back, they easily recognize many poorly considered choices. Over the years, though, persistent writers get better, and the simple explanation for this improvement is…Practice. Writing is difficult, even painful at times. The products can be humbling, even humiliating. But they can also be electrifying, empowering, and joyous.
Certainly, the more you do something, the better you get at it. But this observation is not particularly deep. Everyone knows practice makes perfect. So let’s think about something beyond ‘write a lot’ as a way to self-improvement.
Write about stuff you know. Writers draw on their experiences to create stories that resonate with audiences. Jane Austen for instance, lived practically her whole life on her family estates, never venturing far from home. As a result, that’s what all her stories are about. But to turn an outwardly boring setting into a gripping, humorous, and romantic tale is much easier if you are intimately familiar with your subjects. For Jane, admittedly very gifted, it was a simple matter of exposing the foibles of human nature in an outwardly dull and stayed society. For you and me it could mean extracting stories from an embarrassing job interview or struggling with Tinder.
It’s trite, but read. And not just in your genre. Experiences are important, but it takes time and opportunity to create experience. Reading is the next best path to cultural and worldly insight. Whenever I pick up a book, I learn something new. Not solely about plot and practical issues in writing and storytelling, but also about life. Art begets art, an old but true sentiment. I wish I had more free time to read.
Some might argue that you erode originality by exposing yourself to the ideas of others. But those ideas are crucial to creativity. Before adding your tale to the pantheon of literature, immerse yourself in that pantheon. Absorb as much information as you can and, in the process, learn and be inspired to put pen to page.