How to be a practising writer

I’m changing the terminology I use about many areas of my life in order to change how I feel about them, including my writing.

I don’t want to call myself an amateur writer – because I’m not; I’ve been writing for a long time and it has negative connotations of being bad at something almost.

I don’t even want to say I’m an aspiring writer/author – because that makes it sound like something I’m not yet and it’s some destination to constantly try to reach.

Instead, I’ve landed on the term “practising writer”. The reason I like this is twofold:

It allows room for improvement, mistakes, and being a learner. It doesn’t demand perfection or rules or expectations.It makes it sound like something you’re always doing. You are writing often. It doesn’t mean every day or in a certain way, just that you are active. You are practising it, present tense; you are doing. You’re in the thing, getting your hands dirty!

I love this idea because it makes me feel like my writing is playful and fluid again. That I can write shoddy poetry on a whim in my notebook because that makes me a practising writer. That I am not a poet or an author, this solid thing with expectations attached, but just a person in the act of practising my craft. I find this very poetic and beautiful as a concept (but maybe that’s just me!).

Here are some quick tips for how to embody being a practising writer/author/novelist/storyteller:

Try to show up to write often – define what that means for you and your energy right now: once a week, twice a week, once a month etc.Practise writing – just write whatever comes to your head, use prompts, open a notebook to brain dump, whateverReview and reflect on your work – like an athlete or sportsman watching back game footage to review their form and performance, read back over your work: what went well? what could be improved? where did you feel bored? where were you most excited? Ask for feedback from othersLet drafts be drafts …as in a pile of rubbish if it needs to be!Get good at and excited about editing and revisions – that’s where the magic is, where you get to bring your vision to lifeRead widely and often and review what you liked or didn’t like about a book and why that might be or how it could influence your own workWrite in different styles, genres, or mediums to flex that creative muscle – blogging, scripts, poems, fantasy, romance, thriller, online, computer, notebook (it’s all valid and awakens different creative parts of you)Tell people that you’re a writer or novelist or storyteller – don’t be shy or only focus on what you get paid to do; writing for the sake of it is valid and worthy and beautifulEmbody the artist within – writing is an art form, so let loose and throw that figurative paint on your blank canvas!

Sincerely,

S. xx