20 Tips for Aspiring Writers
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1. Read the genre you want to write.
2. Know why you are writing – is it for fun, for yourself, for a particular person to read, or with the goal
of being published.
3. Know your audience – who is going to read your work and write so that they will understand it and
enjoy it.
4. Read the classics in your genre.
5. Have fun!
6. Open yourself up for criticism – nothing you write is going to be perfect and somebody is going to
tell you so. Don’t get defensive, find out what the problem is and how you can fix it.
7. Set writing goals – before you sit down to write, know how much you are going to accomplish and
if you do more than that give yourself a pat on the back.
8. Read great literary novels.
9. Seek constant improvement
10. Go out on a limb and try a new technique - writing from the first person, exploring the five senses
in your writing, using more dialogue or more description.
11. Steel yourself for rejection.
12. Read things other than what you want to write (another genre).
13. Write and keep working at it – even if the words won’t come right away, think about it, write
about what you are thinking about and keep writing.
14. Keep a folder of story ideas
15. Find a mentor
16. Find a writing buddy – another person who writes what you write and who you can complain to,
talk about your writing to, and offer help on their writing (there is nothing that makes a writer feel better
than knowing that someone else is going through the same troubles that you are).
17. Join a professional association of writers who write what you do (Romance Writers of America,
Mystery Writers of America, etc.) and see if they have a local chapter so that you can meet other writers
of your genre.
18. Write every day.
19. Really know your subject. If you make a mistke, you can be sure that someone is going to catch
it.
20. Read
2. Know why you are writing – is it for fun, for yourself, for a particular person to read, or with the goal
of being published.
3. Know your audience – who is going to read your work and write so that they will understand it and
enjoy it.
4. Read the classics in your genre.
5. Have fun!
6. Open yourself up for criticism – nothing you write is going to be perfect and somebody is going to
tell you so. Don’t get defensive, find out what the problem is and how you can fix it.
7. Set writing goals – before you sit down to write, know how much you are going to accomplish and
if you do more than that give yourself a pat on the back.
8. Read great literary novels.
9. Seek constant improvement
10. Go out on a limb and try a new technique - writing from the first person, exploring the five senses
in your writing, using more dialogue or more description.
11. Steel yourself for rejection.
12. Read things other than what you want to write (another genre).
13. Write and keep working at it – even if the words won’t come right away, think about it, write
about what you are thinking about and keep writing.
14. Keep a folder of story ideas
15. Find a mentor
16. Find a writing buddy – another person who writes what you write and who you can complain to,
talk about your writing to, and offer help on their writing (there is nothing that makes a writer feel better
than knowing that someone else is going through the same troubles that you are).
17. Join a professional association of writers who write what you do (Romance Writers of America,
Mystery Writers of America, etc.) and see if they have a local chapter so that you can meet other writers
of your genre.
18. Write every day.
19. Really know your subject. If you make a mistke, you can be sure that someone is going to catch
it.
20. Read