Simple Advice for Writers

In mid-November, I posted a review of an anthology for writers. The book cover is above.  The book consists of stories, essays, and poems by several writers. At the end of each offering is a prompt that might have inspired what they wrote and also a paragraph or two of advice for writers. 

Ahhh, advice. It can be given, but is it always accepted? Not by a longshot. Sometimes, we read the advice of other writers with a shield in front of us. The attitude can be Go ahead, teach me something I don't already know. At other times, we're wide open to any advice given. We want to soak it up like water in a sponge. 

I've been skimming through the book again looking at the advice the writers offered. I consider it a gift to us, the writer-readers. I'm not going to quote from the book but have chosen bits and pieces of the advice that was given to share with you. Many of the writers repeated similar advice. I find that, when multiple people advise the same thing, I'd better pay attention.

Advice from other writers:

• Don't be afraid to share your work
• Join a writing group
• Write!
• Try different mediums of writing
• Never stop growing as a writer
• Find a special place to write that is your own
• Learn from your failures

Nearly every one of those pieces of advice has appeared in a blog post here at some time, and often more than once. The reason being that whatever that bit of suggestions for writers to heed is important enough to bear repetition. 

One of the reasons I especially liked this anthology for writer-readers is that it offers more than the stories, poems, and essays. The prompts are excellent help for writing exercises, and the advice is worth a great deal. These writers put in a nutshell what some need an entire book to explain. An additional plus is the short bio of each writer. 

The pieces of advice in this book and on this blog are simple things. Nothing so technical or intricate that others scratch their heads when they read them. Do all those little things, and you'll be on top of your game.