1. Read a lot. Reading is how you feed your brain, and I firmly believe that no good writing happens without reading. Read widely, and try imitating what you’ve read – in terms of style, or theme, or structure.
2. Write what scares you. If it’s not scaring you, at least a little, it’s probably not taking enough risks.
3. When writing, try and turn the “editor” side of your brain off. (I have a sign over my desk that says “WORRY ABOUT THAT LATER”.) Then, when the draft is done – even if it’s very rough – you can put your editor hat on and fix all the plot holes and awkward sentences.
4. Treat writing as fun and as work. You should write things that excite you, and you should generally enjoy it – if you’re not excited about what you’re writing, put that project aside for a while and try another. And come to your desk (or your laptop, or your notebook) regularly, as if it’s a job.
5. Never underestimate the power of cause and effect. You should be able – at least when you’re done – to articulate how each event in the story causes the next. It’s so simple, but it’s one of the most common mistakes I see in stories (including my own): events that have no consequences, and events that happen out of nowhere. Cause and effect! That’s what changes a mere series of events into a story.
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng is out now.