As aspiring authors, many of us fall victim to a few "Writing Don'ts" that may ultimately diminish the amount of writing we get done. Let's explore a few writing don'ts that we can learn to prevent for future writing projects.
Don't Fall in Love With Your Words
Now, it's ok to enjoy your own writing. After all, you have poured your heart and soul into the words produced on that piece of paper. But do not let your love for your work hinder you from constructive criticism. As writers, we must become our own editors. If we cannot look at our own work with a more "critical" eye, we may miss many things in our work that need to be changed or altered. Try writing down levels of edit that you want to go over before revising a manuscript. For example, if you want to look for spelling errors and punctuation problems in your manuscript, spend the first run through of your manuscript only looking for spelling errors. Then spend the second run-through looking for punctuation errors. This method ensures that you look at your work with a technical eye.
Don't Heavy Edit
This sounds a bit contradictory to the first Don't, "Falling in Love with Your Work". Although analyzing your work is a must before submitting a finished draft of a manuscript to a publishing company, you must also remember that during the drafting process of your manuscript, focusing too much on editing will hinder the amount of content you develop. To avoid editing too much during the drafting process, you must attempt to jot down all your ideas as you get them. In other words, JUST FREE-WRITE! It's ok to do so.
Don't Doubt Yourself
If you are thinking about writing a book, there is no room for doubt. Many writers doubt their abilities which in turn discourage them from writing any new material. The best way to overcome doubt is to persevere. Write as much material as possible despite any negative thoughts you have. As a side note, you shouldn't doubt yourself when it comes to writing. Everyone has a unique style of their own. Embrace yours!
