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Cheryl Strayed’s Advice For Beginner Writers
In this post, we’ve shared American writer, Cheryl Strayed’s advice for beginner writers.
Cheryl Strayed is an American memoirist, novelist, podcast host, and essayist. She was born 17 September 1968.
She is the author of the memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Her book Tiny Beautiful Things is a collection of the work of her alter ego, advice columnist Dear Sugar. She answers questions about life and love, sex and marriage, dysfunctional families, and the importance of healthy boundaries.
Wild was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as her first selection for Oprah’s Book Club 2.0. Her books have been translated into nearly 40 languages and have been adapted for both the screen and the stage.
Visit cherylstrayed.com
Here are her tips for beginner writers.
Cheryl Strayed’s Advice For Beginner Writers
- Write a lot. But do it on your schedule. This might be every day. It might not be. The point is not to follow other people’s rules but to make your own. Then follow them.
- Don’t be in a hurry to publish. Be in a hurry to become the best writer you can be.
- Find the work that moves you the most deeply and read it over and over again. I’ve had many great teachers, but the most valuable lessons I learned were from writers on the page. Study the sentences your favourite writers made until they live in your bones.
- Find your tribe and honour it. Become friends with other writers. Exchange work. Talk shop. Ask them questions about how they write. Tell them about how you do. This will make you feel less alone and you’ll share a bond with people who know what it is you’re up to on a core level. Be happy for them when they have successes. You’ll be glad they’re happy for you when your day arrives.
- Do your homework. If you want to publish your writing, research what that means. There is so much information available about everything you want to know. It’s your job to seek it. Don’t expect anyone to hand it to you. Apprentice yourself to the craft and the profession.
- Be brave. Write what’s true for you. Write what you think. What about what confuses you and compels you. Write about the crazy, hard, and beautiful. Write what scares you. Write what makes you laugh and write what makes you weep. What what makes you feel ashamed or proud. Writing is risk and revelation. There’s no need to show up at the party if you’re only going to stand around with your hands in your pockets and stare at the drapes.
- Be humble. Other people might be right when they tell you this or that isn’t really working in your manuscript. Listen to them. Challenge your attachments to the things you’ve written. This can be a painful process, but it almost always improves your work.
- Don’t believe that you have to ‘know someone’ to get published (or get an agent or win a prize). Nothing good that has happened to me as a writer happened because I knew someone. Everyone in the lit business is looking for poems and stories and essays and books they love. This doesn’t mean dumb things don’t occur, that there is no such thing as this leading to that because so-and-so knew so-and-so, but beautiful things happen far more often than most people seem to believe. Make people fall in love with your writing. That’s how you get published.
- Be strong. No one is going to ask you to write. Many people will tell you not to. Don’t listen to them. If you want to be a writer, be a writer. You don’t need permission. If you need permission let this be it. I give it to you. Now go.
Source for advice
Source for screenshot, credit Joni Kabana
TIP: If you want help writing a book, buy The Novel Writing Exercises Workbook.
If you enjoyed this, you will love:
- Jeanette Winterson’s 10 Rules For Writing
- Annie Proulx’s 5 Rules For Good Writing
- V.S. Naipaul’s 7 Rules For Beginner Writers
- Dennis Lehane’s 10 Rules For Writers
- Writing Advice From The World’s Most Famous Authors
TOP TIP: If you want fabulous writing advice, buy one (or more) of our writing workbooks.
Posted on: 17th September 2018
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