Advice From Writers

Write, Write and Write Some More

Sam Marsden 

I've been really lucky because after three months on Wattpad my story Under Glass went to number #1 in the Sci Fi charts. Seeing the amount of reads and votes stack up in their thousands is thrilling. But the best part for me is the personal connections I make with readers. Sometimes you can tell from the comments just how deeply someone is connecting with the story and this is one of the best feelings in the world! I often get asked for advice about writing and I'm with Stephen King on this one. He says, "read a lot and write a lot." Reading a lot is easy. Writing a lot is not. I think it's important to put aside a set amount of time once a day to write. And no matter what, you have to turn up to that blank page. 

Sometimes my best work comes on the days I didn't want to write. Most of us get that awful voice in our head saying we're too tired to write, or too busy, or not good enough. But we must shut this voice out and give our creativity the space it needs to grow. Every day. No matter what! And as for not feeling good enough, well we all feel like that sometimes. I didn't write for years because I'm dyslexic and thought I'd never be good enough. But if you love writing, just do it anyway, even if you're no good. No one's much good to start with anyway. Writing's a bit like painting: it takes time to build up the skills needed. But persevere, work at your art and with time you will improve little by little, until one day you're like 'oh, maybe I can do this!'