YOU SUCK! (And Other Totally Inspiring Writing Advice)

As the official Young Writers Philippines Tweeter, I get to search hundreds of writing tips when I link you guys to them on our Twitter. Most of them are inspirational, while others are more technical. Nevertheless, these writing tips are helpful. They do make you more aware of what you're writing. So, having explored countless websites offering writing advice, I've decided to give you advice of my own.

1. ADMIT TO YOURSELF THAT YOU SUCK -  Whoa. Okay, I know this sounds a bit mean, but the truth is, we all suck. But is that a bad thing? Yes, if you don't do anything about it. You need to accept the fact that we aren't great writers yet. You're still young. No one was born with the exceptional talent of writing. If you learn to accept that you do suck and that you do need help with your writing, you can enhance your writing skills. That way, you can create something that is truly beautiful.
2. STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHER WRITERS - I read some stories written by people around my age and quickly found myself becoming insecure of my abilities. The stories were just so well-written, and the readers were so happy by those stories. I was suddenly so sickened by my own writing that I decided to reread and edit everything that I wrote. But after editing and questioning my life's purpose, I realized that I hated what my stories had become. It was like its soul had been ripped out. And then I understood that I didn't have to be like a certain writer. Sure, it's okay to study how they write, but changing your writing entirely is not. Why try to write like someone else?
3. DON'T BE AFRAID TO SHOW YOUR WORK - How else are you going to know if your work is good if you don't show it to anyone? Chances are, you think your work needs to be ripped into a million pieces. But what if it isn't bad? What if it's the best thing that has ever happened to literature? Just show it to your friends and ask for their opinion. If they like it, great! If they don't, ask them why. Your work will never reach its full potential unless you let people help you with it.
4. EXERCISE YOUR WRITING SKILLS - Meaning write. Write a lot. Write every day. Write whatever you want to write. This way, you'll get used to writing. You will soon view writing as something fun instead of something that'll only make your fingers hurt.
5. ACCEPT CRITICISM - I know it's hard to listen to people pick on the essay you worked on for ages, the essay that made you sacrifice precious hours of sleep because you wanted it to be perfect. So what do you do with these critics? Punch them in the face You need to be grateful. Be grateful that they took the time to review your work and that they actually want to help you make it reach its full potential. Chances are, these critics have gone through so much, making them experts. Trust them. Thank them.
6. READ AND READ SERIOUSLY - I do two kinds of reading: casual reading and serious reading. Casual reading is when I just read to have a good time, to cry and to laugh at whatever happens to the characters. Serious reading is when I study how the writer developed his story. I take note of his techniques and his way of progressing from one scene to another. You can do this, too. It's fun and helpful.
7. BE ELSA AND LET IT GO - Writing has all these "rules" that can make your head hurt. They can also suck the soul of your story if you pay too much attention to them. So my advice is to let it go. Let the words flow. Don't limit yourself. Don't read what you've written until you've finished writing. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. You can worry about that later.
8. TAKE A COFFEE BREAK - Writing too much can drain you and your story, so take a break sometimes! You shouldn't be worried if you're writing slow (unless you have a deadline) because you have all the time in the world. Just take your time. Relax. Do other things that make you happy.

There you go! Hopefully those can help you with your writing as they have helped me with mine. How about you? Do you have any writing tips you can share with other writers? Feel free to add them below!

Happy writing!

Gail