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7 Keys to Writing Success

This article isn’t about publishing success; it’s about something much more important: becoming the best writer you possibly can. Many writers worry more about being published than becoming better writers, probably because learning the ins and outs of publishing is easier than honing one’s craft. But there is a trick to becoming a better writer that I’m willing to share. Check out the keys on your computer: they hold the secret to writing success and have been right in front of you all along.

Enter

Saying you write is not the same as actually writing; no one can revise a blank page. It seems obvious enough, but some folks out there are guilty of this. You talk a good game, but don’t regularly pick up that pen. So get going already. Lao-Tse once said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” That manuscript/article/story won’t write itself. Develop a routine and stick with it. Even if you only complete a paragraph a day, you’ll eventually have something you can work with.

Delete

Now that you’ve gotten the hang of that first step and those paragraphs have turned into pages, it’s time to move on to step two. If Faulkner had owned a laptop, I bet he’d have been quoted as saying, “Delete your darlings”; and that’s the second key – elimination. Take your blinders off and pick through your work. Cut whatever doesn’t advance the plot or help develop a character. Same goes for all those adverbs and adjectives: slash and burn, baby. Be ruthless

Insert

By this point, though, you may be finding some holes in your prose. So what should you do? Think back to all those pesky modifiers you trashed and replace the boring nouns and verbs left behind with ones packing power instead. And be certain that the only two-dimensional object before you is that piece of paper. Since you know what your story’s about now, expand its theme, tuck in foreshadowing, insert symbolism. Add detail and develop your characters to expand their internal conflicts. Give them life.

Help

Almost seemed too easy for a while there, huh? But, hey -- it’s bound to happen; everyone hits a stuck point now and then. Just remember that turning for help is not a sign of weakness, but one of resilience. Want some company? Try a writing conference or class. Limited time? Subscribe to a newsletter. But I have to say, the best help out there is found in good books. So read. If you’re writing fiction, dig out a favorite novel; see how that author solved the same problem you’re facing. Check out the award winners, those receiving terrific reviews. Unfortunately, I don’t think enough writers are actually readers. To master the craft, you must read the masters.

Escape

Not enough books in your neighborhood library to get you past that road block? Then step away. It’s that easy. Sometimes a day off – or even switching projects – is the best medicine. Plant a garden, paint your living room, organize your cupboards; it’s that whole right brain/left brain thing. The answer sometimes comes more quickly when you’re not concentrating so much on the question. Play in the sprinkler, climb a tree, build a snowman – do what you want instead of what you think you should. Escape can be liberating.

Shift/Backspace

Once you’ve discovered that sticking point (and I promise you will), you’ll have a simple choice to make: shift your focus from where you are now or go back and fix where you got ‘lost’ in the first place. Maybe you’ll need to do a bit of both. Either way, remember: facing the page again – going back to that ‘enter’ step – can be daunting. But the second time’s easier, Scout’s honor. Your writing muscle’s been trained and it’s in great shape.

Control

Once you’ve gotten to this point, nothing can stop you now. You’re in the driver’s seat. Not only have you mastered the keys to writing success, you’ve conquered that inner critic that suggested maybe you never had it in you to begin with. But you did have it all along, didn’t you? That passion to be a writer, not just talk a good game.

So what are you waiting for? Hit ‘enter’… and write already.

The 3 P’s of Publication

Once you’ve mastered these ‘7 Keys’, mind your P’s before you Query:

Patience

Not only with the folks that you send your stuff to, but with your stuff. Make your manuscript wait before sending it out. Let it gather a layer or two of dust in order to reveal the glaring errors, boring verbs and structural damage. If you send that work out too soon – before it’s your best – you may lose potential leads with agents and editors.

Professionalism

Don’t “blanket submit” because you think it’ll save time. It won’t. All it does is ensure impersonal rejection letters from annoyed editors who had to wade through your inappropriate submission. And it hurts the rest of us. Most houses have closed their doors to unagented submissions for this exact reason. Know the market and send only your best work. Also, follow up any personal response with a note – courtesy is always appreciated and you never know when that something extra may lead to an offer of revisions or future submissions.

Persistence

I’ve heard the adage about persistence – and not talent – as being the single most important thing a writer can have. But I think talent is important. I don’t want to be published simply because I sent a manuscript to so many places that the law of averages finally worked in my favor. Persistence is important, though, when it comes to learning about the genre in which you’re writing, the markets to which you’re submitting and the belief in yourself that you have what it takes to be published. That’s where stubbornness becomes your strength

First appeared in Writer's Digest October 2005

All speeches and articles are copyrighted by, and are the property of, Laurie Thurston, and may not be reprinted without permission of the author.