Some ramblings on writing

When I first started writing about six years ago, I'm not going to lie—my writing was pretty atrocious.  I head-jumped, wasn't really aware of the proper format regarding speaking patterns and dialogue tags.  Let's not even talk about constantly switching between past or present tense.  Yeesh!  But you know what?  Every project I wrote—whether I finished it or not—got better.  So, my friends, I want to tell you a few things I've learned along the way.

1. You're writing will never get better unless you keep practicing.  Seriously.  The more you write, the more you learn the craft.  You can't expect to go to the Olympics and perform a triple lutz in an ice skating routine of you've never stepped on the ice and fallen on your bum at least once, right?  The same is true in writing.  Whether you're writing your first novel or your tenth, just the practice of writing alone will help you grow as a writer.
   
2. Just like practicing writing, reading in your preferred genre will help you grow in leaps and bounds.  Truly.  Let's say you've chosen to write an epic fantasy novel that includes dragons, faeries, water nymphs and an army of lightening riders who battle to save the kingdom of Valetross before it can be conquered by the evil army of the un-dead King of Scorchio—but all you read is contemporary romance.  Okay, so romance can be in almost every YA+ book, but it has it's time and place.  The more you read fantasy similar to what you are righting, the more your story will follow certain expected patterns.  You'll also learn what is acceptable in terms of novel length, character arcs, etc.
   
3. Get involved on Twitter and other social media outlets.  For Reals.  About six months ago I started actually using Twitter.  I'd been a member since September 2010, but never used it because I didn't understand how it worked.  Since becoming active on Twitter, I've not only secured a publishing contract for my first novel, but I've made some great online friends, learned even more about writing, found links on the internet to help build my craft and learned about so many FREE contests run by writers, agents and/or publishers.
   
4. Writing doesn't have to happen every single day.  Many people will tell you that in order to complete a novel, you must write every day.  I have found that nearly impossible.  If you're a writer who can push out a novel every 30-60 days, I applaud you—you have a gift!  I say write when inspiration hits.  Find a time you feel most productive and write then, you're writing will be better for it.  If you force yourself to sit and write when you're not feeling inspired, the writing will most likely show it.  It will feel flat and can lean toward the boring and not essential side of writing.  That's okay for word count, but when it comes down to it, word count isn't all that matters.

So now, I am off to read through an ARC for a review and then, maybe if inspiration hits, I'll do some writing of my own.