Summary

The article emphasizes that writing is a personal journey, best navigated by embracing one's unique voice and style, rather than strictly adhering to others' advice or methods.

Abstract

The article "No One Can Tell You How to Write Right" posits that writing is an individualistic endeavor, akin to finding the right outfit or instrument that resonates with one's personal style and sound. It suggests that while learning proper techniques is essential, the true essence of writing comes from within the writer. The author argues against a one-size-fits-all approach, highlighting that writing advice, such as writing early in the morning or daily, may not suit everyone. Instead, the article encourages writers to discover their own rhythm and process, and to contribute to the writing community in a way that aligns with their personal schedule and creative flow. The key message is that each writer's "secret ingredient" is their individuality, which when combined with mastered techniques, can lead to a unique and successful writing style.

Opinions

The author believes that writing advice should be adapted to fit the individual, rather than being followed dogmatically.
There is a sentiment that writers should not feel guilty for not adhering to common writing practices, such as writing every day.
The article conveys that the writing community benefits from diverse contributions, and writers should support each other while also maintaining their own writing schedules.
It is suggested that successful writing involves a mix of learned techniques and personal flair, with the latter being the most crucial element.
The author values the importance of self-worth and self-nurturing in the writing process, implying that these are integral to a writer's success.
The article encourages writers to be authentic and to recognize that their unique perspective is their greatest asset in writing.

No One Can Tell You How to Write Right

The key is within you

Writing is a journey that begins with passion and an idea, then is fostered by learning proper techniques and building upon them until mastery is achieved. Once technique and mastery are achieved, it calls for a dose of one special ingredient — you.

Think back to Fourth Grade when your music teacher brought various instruments to class. You had the opportunity to hold them, play them, and rub your fingers across the holes and buttons. Hear the cymbals you made crash for the first time. Blow into the clarinet and make a horrible screech.

Writing is a lot like that in the beginning. It’s a process of learning proper technique.

You start with grandiose visions and that drive keeps you motivated for a time. If you have the chutzpah to keep going you’ll develop a skin thick enough to stay in the game when your emotions lie to you and tell you to quit.

You’ll hear from other writers about the techniques that work for them. You’ll try on many techniques, like clothes in a dressing room, and wear them around for a while in search of the perfect “outfit”.

When you wise up you’ll realize those clothes don’t really fit you and you’ll throw them off. You might bag them up and send them to Goodwill.

Sometimes the perfect outfit can’t come off the rack. Off-the-rack outfits are like much of the advice out there — pieces that are made to fit many people well enough to meet a need. But as a writer, are you looking for good enough? Or do you want something that is uniquely you?

There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Approach

One writer tells you to wake up early. If you don’t write first thing in the morning, you’ll never write. Activities and life will keep you from your goal — actually writing. This is true for me, but it may not be true for you.

You might be a night owl. If you find your jam while writing late at night you’re sleeping while I'm already awake.

My approach doesn’t work for you and yours doesn’t work for me, and that’s okay.

Shut off the noise. If you’re in writer groups and people are registering petty complaints about who’s there and when they are present I encourage you to keep doing your thing exactly the way you need to do it. Don’t listen to complaints that people drop links on share threads and then go write, especially if you’re that writer and you’ve already served, connected, and done the work to foster community. Drop that link and go write if your writing time is at hand to drop inspiration onto the page today.

Don’t forget to come back and support your writing friends, if that’s where your support is coming from. You don’t want to be a taker. Being a writer involves a constant give-and-take and you have to be willing to do both and claim your own timetable to fulfill tasks accordingly.

Give yourself a break too. Just because he or she writes daily doesn’t mean you have to meet a daily goal to be a success.

Stop feeling guilty if you don’t write every day.

Some successful people batch write. Others write as little as 10 minutes every day, and still, others don’t stop until they’ve met the goal or a certain word count.

Do it his or her way
Do it that way
Write early
Write late
Write every day
Only publish quality
Publish everything you write

Stop telling me how to write right.

Technique

You must develop the techniques of the trade. You need to know how to compose a blog post, write a good title, get eyes on your work, and learn tips to keep readers on the page.

A lot of writers have unfinished courses that have cost a lot of money. You can complete another course or pour your own special ingredient into the techniques you’ve already mastered and go build something great.

It’s a noisy online world.

You need to cut through the noise so that your writing can be heard.

Studying people who are already successful is an excellent way to learn how to:

Format your work
Learn writing tips
Develop a reusable template

Learn the technique of the greats, but don’t wear their process unless it fits.

The Secret Ingredient

The secret ingredient you never expected is within you.

The secret ingredient is you.

I recently had lunch with Srinivas Rao during Jeff Goins’ Tribe Conference. If you know him, you know he is a creative genius. He follows no one’s path. He follows the path he has created for himself and he sits in his writing chair every day. If not in his favorite physical chair then he does the work of putting the fingers to the keyboard daily.

We discussed the creative process and ideas about where we each are going. I hope we meet up again in the future, but if we don’t, then we had those moments of sharing our creative mojo.

We need techniques, but after we have them there is no substitute for your own special sauce ingredient.

You are the secret ingredient to your recipe.

Imagine how I gushed inside when Srinivas used that line while delivering his speech.

Wrapping It Up

The key to your success is within you. You are your own secret ingredient, the special sauce of unlocking your recipe to success. Don’t underestimate the value of your own self-worth.

And, don’t undervalue the need to nurture yourself during the process of becoming great.

How will you write your recipe today?

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Originally published at https://www.publishousnow.com on September 12, 2019.