There’s so much information available about writing: blogs, videos, classes, lectures, workshops, conferences, books. It’s easier now than ever to learn more about the craft and that’s amazing. It’s essential to work on your skills, to learn how grammar, structure and mechanics work in writing, and how to improve the other elements of good fiction and creative nonfiction.
But (there had to be a but, right?) it is easy to get the impression that you need to know everything before you write. You must read those 50 writing books on your shelf, attend all the classes in your area, go to conferences, and master every element of writing before you pick up a pen. But that’s impossible.
The fact is if you do all that, you’ll never write. To learn how to write, you have to write.
Writing is the best way to learn how to write. You learn in the doing, in creating a mess, realizing it is a mess, and then fixing it or moving on to something else. The best way to learn is through failure. It does help to have someone guide you through your messes, but that can only happen once there is a mess to review and critique. I’ve learned a lot from editors and other writers, but only after I wrote.
Writing is a creative act. It is going to get messy and that’s okay. It’s expected even. Embrace the mess. Keep in mind that we all learn along the way. We keep learning even after we write, publish, eek out a living, or become famous. Learning never hurts (unless you learn the wrong things, but that’s a topic for another blog).
Don’t wait until you’ve learned it all because you never will. It’s impossible. You will never be fully prepared. You’ll never feel like you are ready. Even successful authors struggle with this. It is rumored Dean Koontz has a room filled with shelves of his books in various languages so he can stand in the middle of them and remind himself he’s done it before and can do it again. Neil Gaiman admits he struggles with confidence too. It’s part of the creative process and something you need to move beyond.
Keep learning, but don’t think for a second it will change how you feel. The only thing it will do (and it is a crucial thing) is make you more knowledgeable about your craft.
Now don’t get me wrong: learning is essential. But it cannot replace the writing. It cannot take over. It should be supplementary to your work, not replace it. Keep learning, but don’t stop writing in order to learn. They go together.
A Note on Advice
Advice is not all the same. Everyone, especially in a creative field, has their own way of doing things. Not all advice will work for everyone, even though it may work for the person giving it. You have to listen critically to each piece offered and decide whether it will work for you.
If it doesn’t sound like your process, pass. It’s okay to thank the person for offering the advice or at least refrain from posting a nasty comment about how you think the idea is stupid, just as it is okay to ignore the advice.
Advice should be taken like everything else out there—as an option. Be honest with yourself and your work. Consider the advice and view your own work with a critical eye. The ultimate goal is to keep looking for ways to improve as you write. Think of it as a two-pronged approach: learning and writing.