@LynnHBlackburn

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about my early years as a writer. I had no idea what I was doing and I was so eager to learn. I took courses and went to critique groups and attended conferences, all in an effort to figure out how to do this writing thing right. And do you know what I remember most about that time?

Being confused.

There are so many different books, different authors, different opinions.

Here are a few…

• Outlines are a must. Outlines are evil.
• Read everything. Don’t read much at all.
• Write in the morning. Write at night.
• Write every day. Write 1000 words a day. Write 2 hours a day. Write at the same time every day.
• Edit as you go. Finish your first draft before you revise a word.
• Use Scrivener. Only use Word.
• Critique groups are a must. Critique groups are a waste of time.
• Join ten different professional organizations. Don’t join any.
• Get an agent. Don’t get an agent.
• Traditional! Indie!

Are you confused yet? I know I certainly was. As a card carrying member of the Perfectionistic People Pleasers Club, all the different opinions made it very hard for me to figure out what *my* writing process was. I was terribly afraid that someone was going to find out how I was doing it and they were going to tell me that I was doing it ALL wrong.

Maybe I’m the only one who has ever felt this way, but I doubt it. 

So let me help try to help you out a little. As you head off to your favorite conference or sign up for an online class this year, here are a few things to keep in mind. Consider it some friendly advice from someone who’s been there.

9 Things I Wish I’d Known

1. Take classes from authors who do things differently from each other. Plotters and Pantsers. Indie and Traditional. Don’t assume one way is the way for you. Be open to varying perspectives.

2. When you get home, try everything you heard. Never used an outline? Make one. See what happens. Never tried to get up early to write? Set your alarm an hour earlier for a month. Well, okay, maybe try it for two weeks. You might be surprised at how much you get done. Or you might not. But at least you’ll know either way.

3. Embrace the fact that there are as many different ways to write a book as there are writers who write them. Don’t let the different methods make you crazy.

4. Do not buy into the lie that you aren’t really a writer because the method your favorite author uses doesn’t work for you. It works for them. That’s great. You aren’t them. We already have them. We need you.

5. As you’re experimenting with different methods, pay attention to what actually works for you and then…

6. Relax and write your book that way.

7. Don’t panic when it takes a while to figure out what works best for you. Your odds of landing on the perfect method on your first try are extremely low. Your odds of never finding something else that works better are even lower.

8. Pray over everything, not just the story or the plot. Pray over the method you’re trying. Pray to know what time of day you write best. Pray for inspiration. Pray for eyes to see what is working and what isn’t and then pray for the courage to drop the stuff that isn’t working.

9. Remember that you have access to the ultimate Creator. He can—and will—guide you in your creative journey.

So what about you? Do you have any experience with conflicting writing advice? Any stories to share about how you discovered what works for you? Let’s talk about it in the comments.

Grace and peace,

Lynn H. Blackburn loves writing suspense because her childhood fantasy was to become a spy—but her grown-up reality is that she’s a huge chicken and would have been caught on her first mission. She prefers to live vicariously through her characters and loves putting them into all kinds of terrifying situations—while she’s sitting at home safe and sound in her pajamas!

The second book in her Dive Team Investigations series, In Too Deep, released in November. She is also the author of Beneath the Surface, Hidden Legacy and Covert Justice, which won the 2016 Carol Award for Short Novel and the 2016 Selah Award for Mystery and Suspense.

She lives in South Carolina with her true love and their three children. You can follow her real life happily ever after at www.LynnHBlackburn.com and on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.