This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
1. Be curious about the world and look at it closely. Everything (people, situations, settings, stories, encounters) is potential material for your book. Even when you’re not putting words on paper, your writer’s brain should be whirring with ideas, making connections, solving problems, having experiences and making observations that can feed straight back into your stories.
2. Write every day, even if it’s only for five minutes.
3. Read widely – try to avoid getting stuck in a particular genre or with a particular writer. A varied diet will keep your writer’s mind fresh.
4. Experiment with different writing genres – each one can teach you something about the art of writing. Even if you’re never going to be a crime writer or a poet or a romantic novelist or a playwright, play with these genres and think about how they can inform your writing. And who knows, you might take yourself by surprise and find a niche you never thought you’d inhabit!
5. Walk. Fresh, air, exercise and the rhythm of putting one foot in front of the other will help you stay physically and mentally fit as a writer.
What Milo Saw by Virginia Macgregor is out now.