Who am I to give writing advice?
Nobody compared to Ernest Hemingway, Nora Ephron, or Lev Tolstoy.
Yes, I might do it anyway. But in this article, I’m channeling some of the world’s most celebrated authors as a source of wisdom on how to improve your writing.
So here are 11 pieces of timeless advice you can turn to whenever you need a boost of inspiration on your writing journey.
1. Seduce your inspiration
“Dress for the novel you want to write”
Elizabeth Gilbert
Waiting for inspiration to strike is the enemy of consistent writing, simply because you don’t know when you’ll feel inspired.
In her book, Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert talks about her favorite trick for getting inspiration and creativity to show up, especially on days when you’re feeling kind of blah.
Her advice is simple: take a shower, fix your hair, put on a nice outfit, and make the effort to look like someone your inspiration would want to spend time with.
Just think about it. Would you want to be around you when you’re disheveled, smelly, and wearing that old stain-covered t-shirt again? Doubtful.
Elizabeth Gilbert recommends to “present yourself to the universe in the most appealing way possible, not your yoga pants and a ragged tee-shirt.”
So next time you’re feeling sluggish or unmotivated, take Gilbert’s advice and get out of your PJs.
Maybe even swipe on some perfume if you want to feel extra seductive.
2. Put your subconscious mind to work
“Before you wake up in the morning and open your eyes, think very excitedly about what you’ll be working on and feel that something surprising and novel, maybe even a little unexpected will happen in your writing before noon.”
Joyce Carol Oates
You can use a similar approach at night by asking your subconscious mind to come up with an idea for an article, character trait, or plot twist as you sleep.
This way you get your subconscious mind tinkering on your writing behind the scenes.
Then, when you sit down to write the next day, ideas will bubble up to the surface and surprise you in the most pleasant and helpful way.
Actors like Kirsten Dunst physically write out “requests” to their subconscious minds before going to sleep.
For example, when working on the series Fargo, Dunst asked for insight into the character she was playing. The next morning, Dunst remembered she had dreamed of Scooby-Doo.
She realized the way they all scurry around from place to place intrigued her, so she used that as the inspiration for her character’s movements.
In her words, “you can do no wrong” when you use the power of your subconscious mind to generate insights and ideas.
Joyce Carol Oates would probably agree.
3. Find your optimal writing time
“I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write.”
Ernest Hemingway
Many writers swear by their process.
And the first step to having a writing process is to define when and how long you write for.
So whether you write at the break of dawn like Hemingway or after lunch, the key piece of advice here is to figure out a time that works for you.
For most people early in the morning is optimal because you’re less likely to get distracted.
It really comes down to when you feel most awake and creative, and when you can best limit interruptions.
If you can do that and just show up day after day, sooner or later you’ll see results.
4. Use your time wisely
“Plan out your writing in the morning.”
Leo Tolstoy
Knowing what you’ll write is just as important as knowing when you’ll write.
You can plan out your writing the night before or in the morning, doesn’t really matter. The goal is to sit down already having some idea of what you’ll write about.
I like to keep a list of articles I plan to work on and write an outline for my next article the day before.
That way, when I sit down to write I don’t need to waste time or energy figuring out what I’m going to spend my writing time on.
However, keep in mind that even talented, experienced, and famous authors have days where they feel totally useless and lazy!
Take a look at Tolstoy’s journal entry from July 12, 1855:
“The whole day I didn’t write anything, read Balzac and was working on building a new drawer. 1) Laziness, 2) Laziness, 3) Laziness… “
Hey, writers need a break too.
5. Trust your instincts
“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”
Herman Melville
When Herman Melville sent Moby Dick to publishers, he was famously told the story of a whale wouldn’t sell.
An editor suggested he change his story and substitute the whale for more recognizable (human) characters.
The key lesson here is to find your own voice and trust it to take you in the right direction.
Your unique “voice” can show up in many ways; the characters you use, your words, what you write about, and how you do it.
This is something many new writers struggle with, and the only tried and tested way to find your voice is to keep writing until you do.
This reminds me of a fantastic piece of advice from J.K. Rowling on how to find your own voice:
“Reading is the best way of analysing what makes a good book. Notice what works and what doesn’t, what you enjoyed and why. At first you’ll probably imitate your favourite writers, but that’s a good way to learn. After a while, you’ll find your own distinctive voice.”
6. Don’t wait until you feel ready
“Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you’re doomed.”
Ray Bradbury
The big mistake many people make (including myself) is waiting to feel ready to write.
Three years ago, I’d read about writing, think about writing and talk about writing.
The only thing I wasn’t actually doing was writing.
This piece of advice from Bradbury and variations of it from other writers finally got me to the point where I realized this simple truth about writing:
The more you write, the better you’ll get, and the higher the probability you’ll write something good.
So don’t wait around to write your masterpiece cause you’ll probably end up with a whole lot of nothing.
Instead, write a lot of really shitty stuff, and eventually you’ll write something pretty darn good.
Here’s another quote I love from Ray Bradbury:
“Remember the pianist who said that if he did not practice every day he would know, if he did not practice for two days, the critics would know, and after three days, his audiences would know. A variation of this is true for writers.”
As Ray puts it, after a few days of not writing, your style will “melt out of shape.”
The best way to stay in shape?
Keep writing.
7. Avoid boring your readers
“It had better be quirky or perverse or thoughtful enough so that you hit some chord in them. Otherwise it doesn’t work.”
Nora Ephron
People get bored fast.
Especially if your writing is a total snooze fest.
Readers want to read about quirky, embarrassing, and real-life stuff.
It’s what makes people care.
And adding personality to your writing is the best way to get people to feel like they connect with you.
I won’t go into detail here because this article from David B. Clear is pretty much as good as it gets when it comes to explaining how to write with personality and avoid boring your readers.
8. How to get unstuck when you’re stuck
“If you’re lost in the plot or blocked, retrace your steps to where you went wrong. Then take the other road. Or change the person. Change the tense. Change the opening page.”
Margaret Atwood
You’re working on a scene or article and you hit a dead end.
Yes, it’s frustrating. But take it as a sign that something isn’t working, not that you need to abandon what you’re doing.
Instead of letting yourself simmer in frustration, back up or make a U-turn.
Try out a different intro. Introduce a new character. Look at the story from someone else’s perspective.
You might find some fascinating new avenues to explore along the way.=
9. Trust your reader
“Trust your reader. Not everything needs to be explained. If you really know something, and breathe life into it, they’ll know it too.”
Esther Freud
I love this piece of advice.
Movies, TV shows, and books that stay on your mind long after you finish them are the ones that let you piece together the deeper truths on your own.
Shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad are perfect examples of this. Or Hemingway’s novels, in particular, The Sun Also Rises.
So many nuances about the plot and characters are conveyed indirectly through symbols and subtext.
This is what’s known as the “Iceberg Method” in writing.
It’s the idea that not including everything actually makes your story stronger.
Readers gravitate to this kind of writing because it’s fun to feel like a detective who picks up on clues that lead you beyond the obvious meaning.
It shows your readers you trust them and know they’re smart enough to figure things out on their own.
And who doesn’t like to feel smart?
10. Create tunnel vision
“Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.”
Henry Miller
Having lots of ideas is great until you have to pick just one.
You wonder if you’ve chosen the wrong article idea, or you worry you’re writing the wrong book.
Sound familiar?
Doubting your choice is the fastest way to get sidetracked and drop your article or book altogether.
So once you’ve decided what you’re working on, do your best to forget all the other ideas and focus only on the one you’re writing.
Otherwise, you’ll jump from idea to idea without finishing what you started.
11. How to generate emotion in your readers
“Instead of telling us a thing was ‘terrible,’ describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was ‘delightful’; make us say ‘delightful’ when we’ve read the description.
All those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are like saying to your readers, ‘Please will you do my job for me.’
C.S. Lewis
At the end of the day, people read to feel something.
Whether it’s inspiration, love, fear, or something else, unless you can make your reader feel emotions, they won’t stick around for very long.
This comes naturally to some writers, for me personally this is the hardest part of writing.
So how do you generate emotions?
According to C.S. Lewis, you should avoid adjectives because they make you lazy.
So instead of saying “it was terrifying”, try to describe the moments leading up to the feeling as clearly as possible.
That way, you’ll naturally generate the feeling in your reader too.
Lyuba golovina 
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