From time to time people ask me for advice about writing. This is what I say:
- Write for no other reason than you enjoy it. The more you enjoy a thing, the more you’ll do it; the more you do a thing, the better you get.
- If you are a teenager writing, then be patient. Some writers find their voice immediately, for others (like me) it can take a while. This is not a race.
- Read as many advice articles as you want, pick and choose whatever advice works for you, ignore everything if none of it works. It’s an art, not a science and the only thing you need to do is create.
BUT…
Despite eschewing anything but the vaguest possible writing advice, I did write some blogposts as part of the Author Allsorts collaborative blog, from 2013-2018. Here are links to all the posts I wrote. Some of them might constitute advice. Some give insight into how I write. Some are just fun.
Non’s thoughts on censorship #1
How an editor copes with being edited (even though I’m not an editor any more)
Is YA just for girls? (Spoiler alert: NO)
Non’s thoughts on censorship #2
How to make a flying unicorn (aka WRITING IS HARD)
How I cope with deadlines… as in, not very well
Letter to my fifteen-year-old self
The trials of writing a second book
How to edit your own book (what I learned as an editor)
Ten thing to trigger your writerly insecurities (and how to cope)
How to edit your own book (what I learned as a writer)
Things the writer in your life would like for Christmas
What does being on brand actually mean?
And a perennial favourite written for a different blog:
Top tips for getting published
Plus bonus a blogpost by Annabel Pitcher that helped me when I was writing my first book and might help you too?
Non Pratt 