Three Life-Tips That Will Make You a Better Writer

Every day you come here to The Write Practice for writing tips and advice. We are grateful for that. We couldn't do what we do without you.

But today we've got something a little different for you because there's more to life than writing and there's more to writing than just crafting clever sentences.

Being a good writer also being means a good character in your life story.

Photo by Cia de Foto

1. Live

We are all storytellers. The question is: are you living a story worth telling?

Writing is a solitary activity. Finding writing material is not.

Call is research. Call it life. Call it good.

Venture outside of your writing cavern and live stories worth telling so you can tell stories worth hearing.

This could be something as simple as a trip to the grocery store. Or it could be a year-long journey around the world.

Pick something. Do it. And write about it.

2. Steal

We all do it. Sometimes it's intentional. Sometimes it's not.

We eavesdrop, we borrow without permission, we outright steal ideas we've found. We stretch the truth. We make things up completely.

We're writers. It's what we're paid to do for the sake of a good story.

It's ok.

3. Run

Apparently running and writing release the same kind of endorphins in your brain. I don't have any idea if that's true. All I know is I love writing and loathe running.

Yet there's a discipline to running. And that same discipline is needed in writing.

It's about showing up. Continuing even when it's hard. Pushing through the pain. Celebrating the victory of a completed marathon.

Build a writing routine and stick to it. Find what works for you and protect it diligently.

4. Think

There's something freeing about giving your imagination free reign of your story. You don't have to use everything you dream of but you do have to explore it.

Let your imagination run wild.

Every time your character reaches an impasse (or a boring scene), ask, “What if?”

What if unicorns fell from the sky? What if his car fell off the bridge? What if she ate the last cookie? What if he pulled the trigger?

Don't worry about if it makes sense or not. Just roll with it. You can always edit later.

What does your writing routine look like?

PRACTICE

Use one of the what if questions in #4 and write about it for fifteen minutes. When you're done, post it in the comments and comment on a few other practices.