3 Bad Writing Instincts and How to Transform Them into Good Instincts

As you begin revising your November novel, you’ll probably notice a lot more about your manuscript now that you’re looking at it with a critical eye—some good, some that needs reworking. Today, Municipal Liaison Rebekah Loper shares some good and bad writing instincts that may help you with your edits:

When you sit down with a blank page and a story idea, you’re bringing all the habits you’ve learned along the way, and those habits aren’t always good.

If you’re a new writer, you’re bringing along all that maybe-not-so-helpful advice everyone shared when you announced your book writing intentions. If those advice-givers haven’t actually written a book ever, ignore them.

Bad Instinct #1 – Explaining Too Much

Ah, the dreaded info dump. We’ve all read one, but it’s hard to catch ourselves while writing one. And for NaNoWriMo, we’ve told ourselves that any words are good words, so long as they get written, and this is true. You can’t fix an unwritten story.

Info dumps usually don’t become noticeable until we’re re-reading a draft, and they’re so challenging to get rid of because as the creator of our stories, we love what we write (mostly).

Good Instinct Alternative – Knowing Your Story & Its World

The knowledge contained in an info dump isn’t bad—it just doesn’t necessarily belong where it ended up. And yes, sometimes that information doesn’t belong in the story at all but it’s almost always something you, as the author, needed to know.

Learn how to tease your readers, only giving away information as necessary. For those info dumps you just can’t part with, pull them out of your story and put them in your story bible in case you need to reference it later.

Bad Instinct #2 – Mimicking Another Writer’s Voice

As you delve deeper into the world of writing and begin to study the processes of the craft, you’re going to stumble across advice telling you to find your own writing voice.

Finding the elusive, mythical creature known as ‘my writing voice’ was a daunting task when I first stumbled across this advice—especially since it was never well-defined. I remember being advised to read a lot, and learn to recognize other ‘writing voices’. While learning to recognize these can be a beneficial skill (especially if you ever want to be a ghostwriter), this never actually helped me write better stories.

It can also be tempting to try and sound like another author, particularly one you admire. But then, instead of telling your own unique stories, you start to tell someone else’s.

Good Instinct Alternative – Recognizing the Sound of Your Own Voice

“So how do I find my writing voice?” It’s actually simple—you write.

Your voice is already there. It’s not something you find, it’s a skill that you hone.

‘Writing voice’ is the way you phrase sentences, the cadence you naturally fall into. Often, you’ll find your writing voice is easy for you to read aloud, because it sounds like you.

Reading your own work aloud is a great way to refine your voice, especially in later drafts of a book. Take note of the places where you instinctively want to use a different turn of phrase, or a word just doesn’t quite mesh with what you were trying to convey. Then re-write it how you want to say it.

Bad Instinct #3 – Being Overly Protective of Your Story

No matter how experienced of a writer you are, the first time you send a new story out to critique partners, beta readers, or even an editor, you’ll be really nervous. For new writers especially, those nerves might start when you even think about sharing your work with someone else.

It can also happen when you find out someone else has written a story with a very similar premise to yours. Then you start wondering if, by the time your story is ready to be unleashed in the world, your words will even matter anymore. (They will. Even if premises are similar, no story told by two separate people could ever be the same.)

Those feelings might be so fierce you’re tempted to just shove your story in a drawer and forget it. But if you do that, you’ll never grow into your full potential.

Good Instinct Alternative – Recognizing the Value of Constructive Criticism

It’s okay to be selective about who sees your stories, especially in those very early drafts. Your critique partners (other writers, preferably) and beta readers should understand that the story is pretty raw at this point. No first draft (and rarely second or third drafts) is ever ready to be released wild into the world.

You will need to practice accepting feedback, especially from more experienced writers and readers who know your genre. You’ll need to learn how to recognize when a piece of feedback doesn’t actually apply to your story.

Trust your gut. Be selective in who you let read your work, and if a critique partner or beta reader just isn’t meshing well with your vision, don’t be afraid of ignoring their advice.

What bad instincts have you noticed in your own writing habits? Or, conversely, what good instincts came easily to you?

Rebekah Loper began creating fictional worlds and epic stories as a child and never stopped. Now she also helps inspire others to write their stories through her volunteer work as a NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison, and with her workbook, The A-Zs of Worldbuilding: Building a Fictional World From Scratch. Her most recent release, a fantasy short story titled The Path of Mercy, is available in Beatitudes & Woes: A Speculative Fiction Anthology.

Rebekah lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her husband, a dog, two formerly feral cats, a flock of chickens, and an extensive tea collection. She is often found battling the elements in an effort to create a productive, permaculture urban homestead on a shoestring budget.

She blogs about writing and urban homesteading at rebekahloper.com, and has been a contributing writer for Fantasy-Faction.com. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Top photo by Free To Use Sounds on Unsplash.