The first piece of writing I shared with the internet was when I was thirteen. I’ve gone from fanfiction.net to being published and in this journey I’ve learnt a lot along the way. So, here are five things I wish someone had told me about writing.

1. Don’t be so focused on perfecting it. My biggest enemy when it comes to finishing a book has been the need to perfect it. But the hard part is, you’ll keep editing one scene over and over again and not get anything else done. Keep writing, even if it sounds terrible, keep writing. Then, at the end you can come back and fix it.

2. Not everyone will resonate with your work. Even though this feels like common sense, I wish someone had said this to me before I had received my first negative comment. But it is, what it is. Writing is art, and art isn’t meant to be appreciated by everyone.

3. Use NaNoWriMo. They have graphs and trackers that help meet your goal. It’s amazing how much the human psyche thrives from meeting goals and tracking your progress.

4. Do writing sprints! Initially, I was very intimidated by the concept. If you don’t know, writing sprints involve timing yourself in increments usually with fellow writers and writing as much as you can in that period. I was so worried that I would write ten words when everyone else was writing in the hundreds. But after my first few sprints I found out that my brain managed to find newfound motivation to write so many words! And the companionship of writers during these sprints is super motivating.

5. Have support. Whether you choose to share it with those around or the online writing community. Put yourself out there. Meet new people. Connect with others. I would not have made it this far if it weren’t for the people I met through writing.

Now that you’ve heard mine, I would love to hear the words of wisdom you’ve gathered through your own journey!