Writers--Do What Is Right For You

As writers, we try to increase our knowledge of the craft by reading books on writing, attending conferences, and joining critique groups. I am a proponent of all three. 

Even so, we don't have to take whatever we glean from those three as gospel. Keep in mind that whatever you read or hear in books, at conferences or groups is someone's opinion. Yes, they can usually back up their suggestions with convincing stories or statements, but they are still giving you what they believe. 

You and I both know that what works for one writer might not for another one. We're individuals, and we don't all approach this writing game in the very same way. As mentioned several posts ago, some writers outline in detail before they ever put a word down. Others plunge right in with little thought as to the direction they're going or where they are going to land at the end. What works for me might send you into a tizzy, and vice versa. 

If you admire an author, then read an article detailing their writing journey and how they write, you might want to pattern yourself in the same way. Don't do it. Admire the author? Yes. Copy him/her exactly? No. Learn what works for you and then pursue that method. 

Learning what works for you is not an overnight lesson. We figure it out bit by bit as we move on our writing path. There's nothing wrong in trying a method that the author of a book about writing recommends. In fact, I encourage doing so. If you find it helpful, that's fine. If you get little or no results, then move on to something else. 

I see many calls for submissions that make it quite clear that the editors are looking for something unusual, quirky, out of the norm. That's where you can shine--disregard the so-called rules of writing and be a free spirit. Not everyone can do that. I certainly cannot, but there are writers who write for themselves and rules be damned. If it works for you, go for it. Do what is right for you. 

Veer too far outside the norm, however, and you might find yourself with far more rejections than acceptances. If you like to try the different methods, find the markets that will go along with that way of writing. They are the ones where you will more likely be successful.

What if a writing instructor tells you that you should be writing technical articles on mechanical engineering because you have worked in that industry, but your heart tells you to write short stories about FBI agents? In the first one, you have expertise but maybe you find it boring to write those technical articles. The short stories, however, are fun to write and come from your heart. Do what's right for you. 

Finally, remember this--we don't always know what 'is right' for us. It takes some time to come to that realization. I tried several different kinds of writing before I understood that personal essays and short memoir pieces were my strongest writing. It was right for me.