- Write because you must.
- Write to show your unique take on the world and what matters to you.
- Just as you’ve read stories and skipped the “boring” bits, make sure there aren’t any “boring” bits in your own work. Use your experience of what you like to improve your own writing.
- Write true to (a) yourself and (b) your characters.
- Why write unless you love doing so? It’s the only thing to get you through all the rejections. Try to see rejections as stepping stones to improving what you write.
Writing can be like driving in that you need enough confidence to do it well but not so much you come across as an arrogant tit. I don’t believe in writers’ block but do accept there are days when the words simply refuse to flow well. I think that’s a normal part of being a writer.
We’re not robots - there are bound to be times when life, difficult circumstances or whatever prey on our minds and that’s bound to affect the writing. What matters is you keep writing - anything at all, seriously, it does work - and remember every writer has had their day when they felt like packing it in. The world would’ve been poorer had they done so.