(3 min read.) There’s as much creative writing advice on the internet as there is plastic in the polluted ocean. As a writing coach, I see this doing damage. I’m not against advice. On this blog alone I’ve got dozens of practical strategies, big and small, to help you be a “better writer.” But here’s the thing: creative writing advice can help you but it can also become its own form of procrastination.
If you have a hundred bookmarks with seminars about writing that you’ll “definitely watch someday,” this is my official permission to you: delete them.
You don’t need them. I mean it.
I believe the right advice at the right time makes life easier and more beautiful for writers; that’s why I coach. But I see writers who come into my coaching practice low-key paralyzed because they’ve heard so many different things about how to structure a story, what rules to follow, and what they “should” do as writers. They’re worried they’ll do it wrong, or that they don’t know enough to do this. I hate that for all of us.
You can’t mess this up. The only way to mess up is not to write.
Your way to write won’t be quite like anyone else’s. Your writing method will be a wild mix of a thousand different strategies. The way you write will be the same way you do anything else; the way you cook, the way you dance, the way you dress yourself, the way you speak. You learned all those things by picking up bits here and there from a lot of different people who influenced you. But mostly, you learned stuff by practicing. You saw something, you tried it out, and if it seemed like it worked for you personally you kept doing it. Eventually it started to feel natural and was just something you “did.” Writing skills work the same way.
Creative writing advice only works if it HELPS YOU.
Forget what people say about writing.
You gotta know yourself.
How to Use Creative Writing Advice Without Overwhelm
1. Start writing.
2. When you get stuck, find one practical piece of creative writing advice.
3. Try it. Hands on. Take it to the page. The same way you’d try a recipe in the kitchen.
4. Write ’til you’re stuck again.
5. When you get stuck, find a new piece of creative advice advice and try it.
6. As soon as you can, get back to writing.
If you go on like this, over time you’ll have amassed an awesome arsenal of writing techniques and tactics that will help you do what you want to do on the page. You’ll naturally repeat what worked and discard what didn’t. Gradually, your writing will get easier and deeper. Most importantly, you’ll have spent more time writing than you’ve spent trying to learn to write.
Keep moving on your pages and fold new creative writing advice into your work as you go.
Practical Creative Writing Advice to Actually TRY
I offer a lot of different kinds of creative writing advice on this blog because you need different clothes for different occasions. I know from 20 years in the field that no one tactic is going to work 100% of the time. If you’re stuck in this moment and want to be writing, take one of these to the page:
90-Second Writing Tip: Write for One Person (90 seconds, beat overwhelm)
Change Your Clothes (2 mins, get unstuck thanks to science)
Repeat Your Best Ideas (6 mins, make your work more distinctive)
Start With Your Ending (2 mins, add momentum and urgency)
Make Chances to Feel (5 mins, try a new approach to story structure)
I love to help writers (and hopefully save them time and trouble) by asking good questions and making surprising suggestions. But I never know what’s “best” for a writer. Only the writer ever knows that. I hope this post helped take a little pressure off. I’m rooting for you.
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.