First off, the usual disclaimer applies here: I’m not a professional writer, and I’m hardly going to say I have a wealth of experience behind my words. Eleven years of writing hardly seems to count when eleven years ago, I was ten. But I do think that writers should always share their knowledge with one another, no matter their experience, and I endeavor to do just that.
The first thing I want to say is this: write what you want. A lot of people (especially people who are not writing-oriented) will tell you, or already have told you, that you shouldn’t write what you want to see, but rather, what other people want to see. This world has a fixation on profit before pleasure, even going so far as to see people as commodities before seeing them as actual human beings. It’s this very same logic that makes people look you in the eye and say, “Nobody’s going to read that. You should write what’s popular right now, like (insert current mainstream media trend here).”
Friend, I have some great news for you: that person sucks, and you shouldn’t listen to them! Yep! Writing what you love has an advantage to writing what’s “profitable:” unless what you love directly corresponds with what’s “hip and happening” (just trying to make those dissenters look as bad as possible), you’re going to hate writing it. It will turn a hobby or possible career option into a chore. Writing what you love creates a sort of spark, like the kind two people feel when they enter a romantic relationship. You can’t stop thinking about your work, you keep trying to do new things with it, you spend more time fleshing it out and conceptualizing, and each interaction is bittersweet. When you write what you love, you are definitely going to feel better about writing, and feel more comfortable and happy with the whole process.
The next thing I want to tell you may seem rather counterintuitive at first, but hear me out here: read. Read like mad. A lot of people have asked me, when I’m nose-deep in a book, why I’m not writing instead (where do I even meet these people?). And to that, I always answer in roughly the same way: “I’m studying.”
Writing is an art form, and it requires the same amount of studying as any other art. Gymnastics includes a lot of conceptualization as well as a lot of hands-on practice; painters often examine works of other famous artists or practice different techniques while working on refining their style; singers and musicians garner inspiration and ideas from listening to other artists. Writers often get snippets of inspiration, or even formal peculiarities, by reading the works of other writers. And not just famous authors, either: reading what you want is also imperative to getting your writing to a great place.
Reading—and I mean reading anything: fanfiction, massive works of canon literature, and even magazine articles, think pieces, poetry, and more—can really bring up new ideas, new writing techniques you want to try out, and even small things like new diction, syntax, or words that you want to try out. For instance, you see the word “serendipitous” for the first time and think, “that word looks amazing! What does it mean?” And once you get the logistics of “serendipitous” down, you’re ready to include it in your own writing. Maybe it becomes a title. Maybe it becomes a running theme! The possibilities are endless!
And it’s not just words you can lift from other stories: if you see character traits that you like and want to try, grab them! Take notes when you read, if it helps, or at least keep something close at hand that you can write ideas down on. As long as you aren’t outright taking an entire character, or an entire plot, or an entire world built by someone else, everything is totally fine. You’re allowed to be inspired by other things. The fun in writing is seeing what other people have done and making your own Frankenstein’s monster out of the things you enjoyed.
Which leads me to my final piece of advice: do not worry about making something completely original. I had such a problem with this for the longest time before I realized that everything follows certain patterns. Humanity has a way of telling roughly the same stories in the same ways, and it’s been like this since humanity could convey ideas. If you work on making something “completely original,” you’re going to bang your head against a wall and get only a headache for your troubles.
The analogy of Frankenstein’s monster that I used above is apt in this case, too: like I said above, inspiration’s your friend, and reading other writers is going to help you find what you like and don’t like, which in turn helps you refine your style and your story. Using bits and pieces of things you see in your reading is awesome. Take what you find from reading, strip it to its conceptual roots, and rebuilt it as something entirely your own. Drawing on personal experience is also helpful, and whether you’re the only one who has that experience or if you’re one of millions, the way that you write it is yours and yours alone. As long as the pieces come together into something distinctly yours at the end, you don’t need to worry about being original at all.
Just to recap: write what you love. Read everything you can. Don’t worry about being original. Sometimes, these simple pieces of advice make the greatest difference. The most important thing to take from this article, if nothing else, is that someone out there is waiting for your story. And sometimes, that someone is you. Either way, write what that person deserves to read.
Psst. Want some short things to read right now? I've recently published two short stories free for human perusal over at my website. Check them out if you're interested! Happy reading and writing!
