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The Important Thing to Remember About Writing If You Think Your Work Sucks!

The Important Thing to Remember About Writing If You Think Your Work Sucks!

The Important Thing to Remember About Writing If You Think Your Work Sucks!
Photo by Mike Haeg

The Important Thing to Remember About Writing If You Think Your Work Sucks!

Do you ever look at your writing work and say, "Wow, this really sucks!"?

I have done that in the past and I still do it, especially now that I'm writing a novel in thirty days for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). My writing just doesn't compare to the writing work of my favorite authors, like John Lescroart and Phillip Margolin.

But the important thing I keep reminding myself is that I'm comparing my first draft to their published work. I don't get to see their first drafts, so maybe my first drafts look like their first drafts. Maybe yours look like theirs, too.

A lot of work goes into creating a solid piece of writing. When we read a traditionally published book, we're reading the final, professionally edited version. We don't get to see the planning stage, the first draft, or the many revisions. So, when we're writing our first drafts of novels or even blog posts, we have to remember that they're going to need a lot more work before we can call them done.

Another thing to remember is that our writing work improves with practice. We don't start out as experts, even if we've been studying the craft for years. And our writing skills won't improve unless we're putting into practice the things we're learning.

Learning how to write well takes time and practice. As we write, we must remember that so we avoid becoming discouraged during the process.

Keep at it. Keep getting those words down on the page. Continue to study the craft and practice your writing to improve your skills. You can do it!

Jody Calkins
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