(5 min read.) Here’s the advice I give most often in my sessions as a private writing coach. Ten little ideas, some practical and a few theoretical. Wrote ‘em up as neat as I could because sharing is caring. They’re also the ten things I tell myself most often as a writer. Even after going hard for 20+ years as a professional writer with full commitment and almost no shame, I still need these reminders. Maybe you do, too. Hope this five minute read saves you some trial and error. (This is a quick overview of some of my best advice; if you want the full whammy, I’ve included some links to deeper dives.)
10 Simplified Tips from Private Writing Coach
1. TELL THE TRUTH. Don’t lie on purpose. You might lie by accident or by error, but do your best to tell the truth as you understand it. It’ll make your work more interesting to read and more rewarding to create. (Deeper? “Tell the truth” in 1 min.)
2. DON’T GIVE UP. Keep going until you love what you’ve made. Writing is a process. Sometimes it sucks. Don’t give up halfway. If you keep going, eventually you’ll get closer to writing something you love. Get closer and closer until you’re honestly close enough. Once you feel finished and like there’s nothing left for you to discover in this work, step away. But don’t give up by accident; finish on purpose. (Deeper? “Don’t give up” in 2 mins.)
3. HAVE FUN. Have small fun when you write: bribe yourself with music and snacks. Even better, have big fun: tell a story you’re actually stoked about telling. Don’t bother with the story you think you “should” tell. Write the one that’s FUN. Does that feel selfish? Here’s the kicker. If you have fun, you’ll write more often. You might even want to write even day. The more often you write, the more stuff you’ll make. Through sheer quantity and the numbers game alone, by having fun you’ll end up making more things that will matter to other people. FUN IS GENEROUS; go on and have it. (I’ll write a deeper dive on this soon; I’m blogging as fast as I can, lol.)
4. STICK THE LANDING. Your story, your paragraph, your sentence; everything you write ends with one word. The final word is the one people will notice most. So, make the final word important. Finish strong. Land with confidence and power. (Deeper? “Stick the Landing: Simple Editing Tip” in 4 mins.)
5. DISAPPOINT YOUR (YOU’RE) ENGLISH TEACHER. Many of us secretly write for the mythical English teacher who sits in the back of our heads with a red pen. The HOLD this has on us, even as adults! Truly wish I were joking, but that icy old ghost is freezing the hands of more writers than you’d believe. So, look. Seriously. Seriously, seriously, seriously for real: it’s okay to write “wrong.” Even if your grammar gets an F, your words come out in sentence fragments, or you make freshly horrible new writing mistakes nobody has ever made before? Yes. Get your ideas out into the world, even if you mess up the apostrophe. Invent weird new uses for punctuation and take bizarre chapter breaks if they feel good to you. As a private writing coach, I often have to tell folks this a couple times before they believe me. But I keep saying it ’cause it’s true! Disappoint that teacher. On the page, it’s cool to be right but it is better to be alive. (Deeper? “How to let go of perfectionism” in 3 mins.)
6. JUST SAY THAT. If you’re thinking something important, JUST SAY IT. Put it right on the page. Don’t be coy! Get blunt. Risk being obvious. People don’t mind as much as you might think. (Deeper? “My private writing coaching question that makes people cry” in 3 mins.)
7. MAKE IT EASIER. Not writing? Find a way to make it easier. Working harder is never the answer. People sometimes come to a private writing coach expecting I’ll kick them into shape, but almost all the time we get better results when I invite them to make writing feel easier. (Deeper? “How to build a writing habit without burnout” in 2 mins.)
8. GET’ EM TO THE BEST PART. As a private writing coach, I’m not surprised that people usually come to me worried about the weak parts of their writing. That’s what they figure we’ll mostly work on. Then I coach them on making the best parts even better, and they see how the entire project lifts up! It’s cool to work on your weaknesses, but they’re just not as important as your creative strengths. The highlight of your writing is what will make it matter to strangers. Stay focused on that. Not everything about your work has to be perfect, as long as the highlight kicks serious butt. Don’t let the rest of your work keep you from sharing the best of your work. (Deeper? “How to let go of perfectionism (aka a pig who farts)” in 3 mins.)
9. WRITE WHAT MATTERS. Look. If you’re going to write anyway, might as well write something that matters to you. Don’t f*ck around. Do it for real. Pursue real meaning. Real connection. Real impact. Aiming for what’s meaningful adds value, motivation, beauty, excitement… and it doesn’t cost extra. (More? “Writing can save the world” in 3 mins.)
10. USE YOUR WORDS. Don’t try to sound like “a writer.” You ARE a writer. Try to sound like yourself. Yeah? Yeah.
(Want something practical? try 55 ways to stop procrastination.)
xo, megan
Or just go home to the blog.
These (hopefully) really quite helpful creative writing tips offer what I’ve learned as an award-winning author who writes a million words a year, and what I’ve learned about supporting others as a private writing coach.
There’s no one way to write. There’s only your way. I hope some of my tactics and ideas can help you find it.
Yup, I’m a writing coach.
I work with folks at all levels of experience and all levels of income. My writers range from unhoused teens living on the streets to C-suite executives who want to up-level their communication. If you want a private coaching session but can’t afford it, email megan@howtowritesomething.com and ask for scholarship info.
curious/confused?: what does a writing coach do (and not do)
THANK YOU to this month’s generously supportive patrons who are helping me build a digital library of free writing resources to support writers with different access needs! Three cheers for A.J., Dan, Jason, Jennifer, Jessica, Josh, Katherine, Kathleen, Marianna, Nell, Sarah, and some anonymous folks who’ve asked not to be named. Come on in, the Patreon’s fine.