Three Ways To Grow As A Writer
It’s also a lesson in life
Step One: Get reading as much as you can.
It goes without saying that to be a writer you have to write as much as you can. However, to really grow as a writer you have to first of all grow as a reader. You should read as much and as widely as you can. Personally, I am so obsessed with reading I will read just about anything from the label on a pair of underpants to Tolstoy’s War and Peace. So head first it is then into reading as much as you can.
I am fortunate to have spent many years studying classical literature, indeed I have read pretty much the entire canon of English literature at university. But I also spent a great deal of time reading American literature and then some. I have also dabbled in reading novels and poetry from all sorts of other cultures like The Love of Worker Bees by Alexandra Kollontai.
Throughout all my reading studies I maintained one golden rule and that is to read only that which is good, for one very good reason apart from the pleasure it gives me. Rubbish in rubbish out. That is to say that if all you read is rubbish, then all you will write is rubbish. And of course, if all you read is good and commendable then that is what you will write. What you sow you shall reap.
Step Two: Now get writing, every single day!
What will also help you to grow as a writer is to write across as broad a range of topics and media as possible. I spent many years writing what are called advertorials, that is advertising copy masquerading as an editorial for the sole purpose of selling some product, service or outlet.
I have written public relations pieces, tv and radio commercials, corporate videos, newspaper and magazine ads and lots of direct mail. I’ve written landing pages and Facebook ads. I also made submissions to tv programmes like Hale and Pace and ideas for sitcoms. I wrote musicals for the theatre and school plays as well as three albums of original songs.
At one point I found myself contracted to write sex scripts for 0898 sex lines in Sweden. And what could be more disparate than to write some highly technical information sheets for NASA? From sex to and outer space lubricants developed for the challenging conditions of machinery operating in a vacuum, that is one rare old cv right there. I will tell you one thing, the sex industry pays a lot better than the space one. The point is the field of writing is vast.
Step Three: Edit, edit, edit, like your life depends on it.
When you have finally finished writing a piece, whatever it is, proofread it over and over again. Then you have to edit and edit and edit. You may have to do anything from a major re-write to some minor tweaks. You cannot be afraid to kill your babies, that is to say, cut that lovely turn of phrase you came up within a moment of inspired thinking. It may be because the piece is too long or that golden literary gem is out of tune with the rest of what you have written. Or it may be because the client doesn’t appreciate your lateral or out of the box thinking. If it has to go it has to go. You can save it for another piece. Pure gold will always come in useful if not sooner, then later.
So there you have it, lots of writing, reading and a great deal of editing and fine-tuning, these are the three things that will help you to grow as a writer and as a person to boot.
And, I will leave you with a little bonus tip. To succeed, first, you have to fail. Failure will deliver you so many learning opportunities you can’t help but learn from your errors and grow. That after all, in a nutshell, is also how you grow in life.