Write Bravely

The best writing advice is free. Mostly because there is nothing new under the sun, and the same advice is simply recycled. And the internet is a great repository of recycled advice.

I started getting The Writer magazine in 7th grade (1964) and Writer’s Digest shortly thereafter. And I constantly run across the same writing tips that I read 56 years ago. And when I read books on writing from the ‘50s or earlier, I smile at the knowledge that what I read a half-century ago was simply advice recycled from decades earlier.

A couple weeks ago I ran across the following advice on Twitter from Matthew J Crocker (@CooksUpAStory):

My 1st book taught me I COULD write.

My 2nd book taught me my method.

My 3rd book taught me my voice.

All will never be published as is. And all were invaluable.

Writer. Every word you write teaches, makes you better.

So write bravely.

There is nothing new in Mr Crocker’s advice, other than it receiving the imprimatur of his own experience, which moves the advice from the academic to the personal. And therein lies its value. It’s proof that what he says is true.

Mr Crocker’s experience is similar to my own, just substitute poems for books.

As Dean Wesley Smith notes — writers write. You learn writing by writing — not by re-writing. 

A carpenter learns how to make cabinets by making cabinets. A potter learns how to make pottery by throwing pots. A painter learns the art of watercolor painting by painting. 

It is only in writing that the authorities tell you to learn the craft by not doing the craft.

However, the pros, the ones who earn a living putting words on the page, will tell you that it is only by writing that you will ever truly learn the craft and art of writing.

Robert A Heinlein and Edgar Rice Burroughs were two writers who gave the same advice to new writers as Smith currently does. They just said it differently. And Mr Crocker is saying the same thing as Smith, Heinlein, and Burroughs. He’s simply using his own words to describe his experience.

Each book we write teaches us something. Doesn’t matter if it’s our first, or our hundred and first.

Writers write. So, my friends, write bravely. Because there are no mistakes. Only happy accidents.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy (and brave) writing!