Writing Advice From Established Writers

Oct 21, 2011
Toby Welch

Writing Methods Have Changed Over the Decades - Nikola Smolenski

Six writers share their thoughts on what they would tell their newbie writer self if they could go back to when they began their writing journey.

Writers share what they would like to tell themselves when they were starting out as writers.

Ron Wood

Ron Wood has authored four best sellers. His most recent is All Roads Lead to Manyberries, a sequel to And God Created Manyberries:

“Continue to follow the advice of that old journalist who told you way back in 1965 to read, read, read, and then read some more. Spend an equal amount of time listening."

Judy Andrekson

Judy Andrekson has been a writer-at-heart since childhood, but now works as a writer/editor-for-profit, finding success through her six children's novels, articles, teaching, and her fast-growing editing business, The Writing Zone:

“There are many things I would tell my beginner-writer self if I could, but the main one would be to take my writing more seriously as a career choice. I was always into writing, from a very young age, but I never thought of it as something I could do as a job until I was well into adulthood. Writing - especially creative writing - is not generally encouraged as a career choice by educators, parents, and others. Like many of the arts, it's seen as a charming hobby - something to be pursued when the rest of life allows you the time and inspiration - but not something to be taken as a serious life path. Had I known then what I know now about the options available to writers - creative writing, technical writing, writing for the web, teaching, editing, etc - I would have been more apt to focus my education and my energies on the one thing that felt very satisfying, challenging and 'right', rather than spending so many years looking for something else and 'playing' with writing on the sidelines. When age and experience finally led me back to my first passion and I began to treat it as a true business and career option, I found that my fears fell away, education in my field was exciting to me, my passion and energy for my work was magnified, and success came relatively easily. It could be that I needed time to grow into being a professional writer and that things happened as they did for a reason, but I can't help but wonder if the path would have been easier - or at least different - if someone had directed me, as a young person, to pursue my love of writing in a more serious way.”

Christine Falk

Christine Falk, a poet, blogger, and article writer who is currently working on publication of her first novel: "I have three definite things I would say to me when I first began writing:

Be patient, both with yourself and with the overall process of becoming good at your craft. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things. When I first started, I imagined I would just write a lot of great short stories but in the end that was not my best area of writing. I eventually tried other styles; poetry, non-fiction, fiction, magazine articles, business writing, reviews, and commentaries to name a few. Trying different things gave me new awareness of my strengths and weaknesses, directed me to developing new skills and styles, and opened my eyes to a world of previously unseen opportunities.
Don’t be afraid to network with other writers. Writing can sometimes be a very solitary venture. I have spent countless hours alone with my notebooks or my keyboard not really knowing if what I was producing was worth my efforts or, in the end, marketable. You will get a feel for what feels or sounds right but a critical eye that is not your own is an immeasurable asset. Seek out other writers in your genre or find a trusted friend or mentor to offer some occasional feedback for all your hard efforts.
Have fun. Find ways to enjoy what you are doing and you will truly learn, grow, and develop into the writer you hope to become. Don’t let monotony invade your writing space and don’t allow negativity to dampen your enthusiasm to be a writer. Trust me, there are those who will discourage you and say you are wasting your time daydreaming but eventually someone will read something you have penned and gush praise at your writing ability because you have made the effort to become a good writer and that will be a moment of enormous value.”

Blaine Newton

Blaine Newton is an award-winning playwright, described by the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service as a “person of interest”: “I started writing in the late 70s, so I suppose my first advice would be to buy Microsoft. But really, the question is one of those time-travel conundrums. If the advice involves changing an action or an attitude, then the outcome must be different, and you won’t end up in the place you are right now - the place from which you’re doling out your grandiose advice on how to weather the path you’d no longer be taking. My younger self would find this confusing, and probably want to lie down for a while. Even a homily as simple as “enjoy the journey” could negate any drive or creative energy arising from the frustration or impatience of youth. When I consider my compromises: comfort versus chance, needs of a young marriage versus the necessity to endure the endless fail/rise cycle of artistic learning, family versus artistic commitment - because intense professional growth (Gladwell’s 10,000 hours) requires an environment of self-centredness - I like where I am. Really. Perhaps it’s not as far in some directions as I would have wanted to go, but if that means changing other aspects of my life to restore balance to the larger cosmic equation, then never mind. But still, there are the “what if” scenarios. My advice to my younger self, were I able to leap back and whisper from behind the arras, would be “pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”

Laurie Fuhr

Laurie Fuhr edits filling Station, Calgary's non-profit literary magazine and her writing has been published widely, most recently in Rogue Stimulus (Mansfield 2010):

“A moment of time is less than a speck, and an era, maybe a grain in the history of the world. Even if you publish a much-loved book that’s the case, so that egotistical making-your-mark on the world stuff doesn’t fly. You might as well do whatever you can to make yourself feel better about the inevitability of these facts, and if it’s writing, you might as well try. Oh, and while you’re at it, try to quit feeling like a victim despite believing all of this, and don’t get depressed, it doesn’t help anyone to like you better.”

Cathy Jewison

Cathy Jewison is the author of The Ugly Truck and Dog Contest and Other Tales of Northern Life, a collection of short stories set in Yellowknife, NWT:

“If I could send a letter to Cathy-the-fledgling-writer, I would tell her not to worry so much. That her investment in time and effort to learn both the craft of writing, as well as the business side of things, would pay off. That she should focus more on doing a good job, and less on whether a particular story was going to published. That she should work hard and keep the faith.”

What would you tell yourself if you could go back and chat with your newbie writer self?

To read more advice from established writers, check out Established Writers Give Advice to Newbies.