5 Writing Tips from author Harlan Coben

Sometimes so much is going on that I have to step back a little from some things, and that’s what’s happened with blogging. I haven’t forgotten you, I’m still close by, and I’ll keep plodding along. I hope you’ll plod along with me.

Today I read helpful tips from bestselling mystery and thriller author Harlan Coben. Here they are for you:

Working off my Rule 3, I’m going to skip boring you with a long introductory paragraph and get straight to it:

1. You can always fix bad pages. You can’t fix no pages.

So write. Just write. Try to turn off that voice of doom that paralyzes you.

2. Never try to jump on a trend.

In part I say this because by the time you write it, the trend is over, but mostly I say it because you have to love what you’re writing and really believe in it.

3. Write like there is a knife against your throat.

The knife is right there and if you bore us, flick, you’re dead. Write with that kind of energy. Make every word count. The great Elmore Leonard said it best: “Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.”

4. The distance is nothing. It is only the first step that is difficult.

I don’t know who originally said this, but the first word you write each day is the hardest, the second word is the second hardest, and so on. Once you start, it does get easier.

5. There are days you just can’t write. Fill them with self-loathing.

What, snowflake, you wanted me to tell you it’s okay to feel this way? It’s not. On the days I’m not writing, I am wracked with guilt and self-hatred. If you’re not, try another profession.

I feel quite sure there are one or two points you won’t agree with, so tell me! What would you change about what he said? What works for you?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!  🙂  ♥