Have you ever wondered what is it that the successful writers do or think that makes them so good at what they do? Is it an inherited gift that they have, or is it the result of sheer hard work? What are the things that successful writers shy away from, in order to improve their skills? If you want to be successful at writing, train yourself to think like a successful writer. Here are 5 things successful writers don’t do:
1. Never say “It’s Impossible”
The first and foremost thing every good writer must move away from is this dangerous word, “Impossible”. If you tell yourself that you can’t write, even before you give your best shot, you will naturally kill the desire within you to succeed at writing. If the writing goal is reasonable, there is no reason why you should stand in your own way. You need to believe deep down inside you, that you can write. You need to be confident in your own abilities, and tell yourself that no piece of writing is impossible.
2. Don’t Look Back
According to noted writer Will Self, it is not wise to look back at what you’ve wrote until you’ve completed an entire draft. Just begin each day from the last sentence you wrote the previous day. This prevents those cringing feelings. Once you read back on your previous day’s work, it only makes you critique yourself, and that, in turn, leads to you having doubts about your work. All the critiquing must be left for later. Once you complete your draft, you have a substantial body of work before you get down to the real work which is: editing.
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3. Don’t Be Afraid of Failure
Every successful writer has at some point time, failed. It is not the end of the world if one of your stories fails to deliver. You are bound to face failure if you want to become a successful writer. That doesn’t mean that you need to be afraid of the very thought of failure itself. Being scared of failure means you already have failed. You will probably fail many times, but in the end, you are bound to succeed. Not being afraid, though, doesn’t mean that you ignore failure altogether. Analyse what went wrong, and move forward towards achieving your goal.
4. Don’t Follow Rules
The rules may be very important guidelines, but writing is about so much more than that. Don’t be scared to deviate from the rules of writing from time to time. They are mere guidelines, and if your writing has to suffer because of them, they are of no use. Don’t lose touch with the essence of your story just because you are too afraid to break these so called “rules” of writing, and follow them only as long as they don’t hamper your story telling.
5. Don’t Leave a Story Midway
One thing which every writer must do is finishing what you started. No matter how stuck or how lost for words you are, it is a must that you complete your story. It may turn out to be bad, or even a big failure, but never start a new story without completing your previous one. Every story reaches a point where it becomes hard to find new ideas. But, successful writers make it a point to finish stories. Make it a point to build that discipline and force yourself to finish what you start. That way, you will never be hung up on your previous work, and your mind will be fresh for a new start.
Image credit: Chris Potter on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Pranay.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Pranay Kanagat is a freelance writer who has a love for writing on various subjects. In particular, he enjoys creative writing. He is also studying for an Engineering degree.[/author_info] [/author]