19 Dec 2023

Tips For Beginner Writers

Can a writer be a beginner? Is he more of an author in the making? I have already been able to mention this distinction — between author and writer — in several articles. This is also a question that I systematically asked the people interviewed throughout 2021 on the blog, like Caroline Nicolas, editor, or Laure Limongi, Vincent Germani and Nikos Precas. 

Whatever the case, this notion of a beginner writer remains central because it rightly implies that writing is a profession that can be learned. And this learning can be of variable geometry: training recognized by the State, internships over a few days or a few months, and/or self-taught courses with advice gleaned along the way. The main thing is that you adopt the path that suits you and that you can test as many practices as possible to build up your author's range. 

Accept and assume your status as a beginner writer to better progress

The first step is that of becoming aware of one's status: that of being at the beginning. This is not always an easy thing to accept. The humility of the creator who is just starting out – a recommended companion throughout his journey as a writer – must establish itself as a foundation on which to build, and not an obstacle that would prevent progress. . 

We must therefore accept that we have everything to learn and experience so as not to prevent ourselves from writing and living. 

The temptation can be great to think that, because we were good in French classes or in philosophy, because we followed fairly long studies or, worst of all, because our close friends have complimented us on some poems produced as teenagers, we would be "made to write". 

Nothing could be more deceptive, and a perfect breeding ground for future disappointments. 

There is nothing shameful in calling yourself a beginner writer, it allows you to relieve your shoulders of a weight that is still far too heavy that we would already try to carry: that of the literary quality of our writings, of their strength in already winning the support of unknown readers. 

It's way too early, even if it can come very suddenly for some. A few out of thousands. 

So let's keep a cool head, take one step at a time and, after a long endurance race, some of us will be able to call ourselves a "writer". quite simply. Again and again, it is the journey that matters, and not the destination. 

What advice should you follow as a beginner writer? 

How to make sure the writing advice you follow is "good"? ? What criteria should be based on? First of all, a "good writing tip" will be advice that made us write. It may seem simplistic to say it but there are a plethora of ideas that make you think and debate, but in front of us the sheet remains blank. Then, it seems to me that good writing advice is one that we enjoy following, and which produces results. That is to say? Which allows you to advance your novel project or collection of poems, which allows you to progress as an author whether by following advice only once or by the benefits of repetition. Finally, good writing advice seems to me to be advice that we integrate into our daily lives, to which we return, and which we want to share. Advice that helped us and which did not demotivate us!

tips to help you get started and last

write
It's a refrain that you may (already) be tired of hearing. You no longer have to (only) hear it, you have to follow it, integrate it, make it your own because it is this practice that will take you beyond the status of writer. debutante). Let's remember one obvious thing: a writer writes. So write as often as possible, whether as part of your book project or related productions. Never be ashamed of what you write, you will never be forced to reveal your experiments to others. 

Don't compare yourself to accomplished writers
The eternal tendency to compare ourselves which induces imposter syndrome, especially among beginning writers. It pains me to write it but it is a reality that continues. The simple fact of following training or writing advice given by authors (re)known to the general public is often enough to paralyze. We have not yet written anything convincing, never published so who are we to carry out the same exercises and claim to follow the last Goncourt's method? But precisely ! It's never about comparing yourself, about "rising yourself to the height of" prematurely — besides, no one is superior, and it is not a literary prize that changes anything — but rather to be inspired and to save time. If experienced writers advise this or that practice it is because they have experimented with other things before and that is what worked. So you might as well not make the same mistakes.

Test all the exercises and best practices, then choose
No advice, no exercise will be bad in itself (except if it involves not writing). Some will suit you, others not at all. But how can you know without having done them at least once? It is therefore a matter of getting into the concrete, using your keyboard and experimenting and then keeping only what is effective for you: what allows you to move forward, to stay motivated, to build yourself as a writer.

Practice “less but better”, don’t spread yourself too thin
Do not multiply writing advice, resources, masterclasses simultaneously. You will probably need time to absorb each piece of advice, each writing course, each book or conference. If you show bulimia while thinking of saving time, you run the risk of remembering nothing, of remaining on the surface and of having the perception of having wasted your time and/or your money in the long run. . Take your time, it's a long-distance race. 

Find your own balance between reading and writing
Write regularly without forgetting reading as a source of learning and constant escape. Every writer has their own balance to find between the two. Some alternate, others need to combine the two in their daily lives. Neither option is better than the other, just be careful that reading doesn't disappear from your life because you started writing. And you don't need to be a big reader, here again it's a question of quality and attention, never quantity. 

Take responsibility for your daily life as a writer
Just as you must find your own balance between reading and writing, between inspiration and experimentation, assume your own daily life and rhythm as a writer. Whether you prefer to write early in the morning or in the afternoon, alone in your living room at night or surrounded by strangers in a coffee shop, whether you write for 3 hours every 3 days or half an hour every day, whatever. And it's not about being a 'beginner'; which changes something. Personalize the advice we share with you to your situation, your tastes, your desires. 

Follow through on your projects
Complete a manuscript, a play, a collection before starting another. Bringing a writing project to fruition allows us to prove to ourselves that we are capable of finishing, of making what we had imagined come to fruition, that these are not just empty words but a real approach. Let our journey as a writer build little by little. So hold on and finalize, it will always be good to resume, correct, improve after a few months of break.