Advice for New Writers

The most obvious advice for new writers is also the one everyone says:

Write.

You cannot become a writer without writing. Ideas are wonderful, characters are exciting, and planning can be addictive, but at some point, you have to put words on the page.

However, looking back at my own journey, the biggest hurdle wasn't actually writing.

It was letting someone else read what I'd written.

By the time I showed another person one of my works in progress, I had already started 24 novels.

Twenty-four.

Some were little more than ideas expanded into 5,000-word outlines. Some were much further along: 40,000, 60,000, even 80,000-word first drafts.

I had spent years creating stories, but I kept them safely hidden away.

And I think a lot of writers do this.

We tell ourselves we're not ready yet.

The draft needs more work.

The idea isn't good enough.

I'll show someone when I've fixed this one problem.

But the problem is that writing is not something we perfect alone in a room. At some point, you need feedback. You need to discover what works, what doesn't, what makes another person turn the page, and what only makes sense because it's been living inside your own head for months.

Showing someone your work is terrifying.

It feels like showing someone a piece of yourself.

But it is also the point where writing starts to become real.

So my advice for new writers would be:

Write the story. Finish the draft. Then let someone see it.

It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't even have to be good yet.

A first draft is not a final product. It's a conversation starter.

Find a trusted person. Join a writing group. Get beta readers. Share a chapter if sharing a whole manuscript feels impossible.

The goal isn't to prove that you've written a masterpiece.

The goal is to stop writing in isolation.