10 Top Writing Tips (That We Wish Someone Had Told Us Sooner)
Writing advice from The Writing Community Chat Show.
Writing is hard. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or trying to sell you their â15-minute best-selling authorâ course. At The Writing Community Chat Show, weâve spent years talking to authorsâbestsellers, debut indies, and the wonderfully chaotic scribblers in between, and if thereâs one thing weâve learned, itâs this: no one has it all figured out.
But there are some golden nuggets that can make your writing life easier (or at least less like pulling your own teeth out with a teaspoon). Here are 10 of our favorites.
1. Stop waiting for the muse. Sheâs a bit flaky anyway.
If you only write when youâre âinspired,â youâll finish your novel sometime around 2087. The muse shows up when youâre already working. So put your bum in the chair, open that document, and let the magic happen, or let the absolute garbage happen. Either way, youâre writing.
2. First drafts are meant to be ugly.
Theyâre not supposed to sparkle. Theyâre supposed to exist. You canât edit a blank page, but you can edit a chaotic, typo-riddled mess full of plot holes and characters who keep changing names halfway through.
3. âWrite every dayâ is terrible advice.
Unless you want to, of course. But for most of us with jobs, kids, life stuff, and that Netflix show calling our name, itâs just not realistic. The real trick is finding a rhythm that works for you, even if thatâs once a week with a strong coffee and a threat from your critique partner. If you do want to write daily, make it small manageable, and sustainable amounts that keep you inspired, rather than burn out.
4. Adverbs arenât evil (but maybe chill on them).
Stephen King famously hates them. Others say theyâre fine. Our take? Use them if they fit, but donât let them do all the heavy lifting. âShe whispered softlyâ isnât terrible, but âshe whisperedâ probably does the job.
5. Back up your work. For the love of all thatâs holy!
Weâve heard too many horror stories from authors who lost entire manuscripts to laptop deaths or mysterious file corruption. Save to the cloud. Email it to yourself. Tattoo the first chapter on your back if you must. Just donât lose it.
6. Dialogue tags: keep it simple, stupid.
Said is not dead. Said is your best friend. Readersâ brains skim right over it, which means they stay in the story. âHe elucidated menacinglyâ sounds like your character needs a doctor.
7. Read widely and weirdly.
Donât just read in your genre. Read poetry, biographies, cereal boxes, that random 1970s manual you found in the attic. The more strange words and structures you absorb, the fresher your writing voice will feel.
8. Comparison is the thief of joy (and word counts).
Yes, that author on Twitter just signed a six-book deal. Yes, your friendâs debut got a Netflix adaptation. None of that has anything to do with your journey. Focus on your book. It deserves your full attention, even if no one else knows it yet.
9. Embrace the suck.
There will be days you think your writing is brilliant and days youâre convinced itâs trash. Spoiler: itâs probably neither. Keep going anyway. The only way out is through.
10. Finish the damn thing.
This is the hardest one. So many would-be writers live in eternal Chapter One purgatory, rewriting the same paragraphs until the heat death of the universe. Stop polishing. Push forward. You can fix bad pages. You canât fix no pages.
Final Thought:
Writing is not a sprint; itâs a stubborn, glorious marathon where we all trip over our shoelaces a few times. So take a breath, pour a coffee (or wineâwe donât judge), and keep at it.
Your future readers are waiting.
Want more tips, author interviews, and a weekly dose of writing chaos? Subscribe to our Substack and YouTube channel, stalk us on our social pages, and join us for our live shows.
BIG NEWS (and a little Favour to ask)
Hey friends, writers, readers, and longtime supporters of The Writing Community Chat Show đ
As many of you know, weâve been working hard behind the scenes to grow what started as a little podcast into something so much bigger. Weâve turned our passion into a community-driven business! One that supports writers, helps authors get their voices heard, and builds the kind of creative space we all wish existed when we started out. It is a social enterprise, community interest company. A non-profit.
But hereâs the thing⌠starting and running something like this isnât free. There are costs for streaming, design, equipment, hosting, you name it, and so far, weâve been covering it out of our own pockets (and occasionally downing slightly cheaper coffee to save a few quid â).
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Every single pound goes towards building this into something sustainable, exciting, and genuinely helpful for writers everywhere.
Think of it like buying us a coffee, a pint, or contributing to the âKeep CJ & Chris Talking About Booksâ fund. âđşđ
We honestly canât thank you enough for being part of this journey. Whether you donate or just keep cheering us on, youâre the reason weâre still here after 5 years. â¤ď¸
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