Monthly Archives: June 2012

Okay, let’s start by agreeing that, to some degree, sinning is fun. Maybe not altogether right, but fun just the same. Here we aren’t talking about that kind of sinning. Here we are talking about the kind of sinning that can kill a writing career. We all do them from time to time but just like regular sinning, i.e. greed, murder, sloth….all that stuff…(I don’t keep up on what the actual big 7 are, the less I know, the less likely I am to…well…you understand…) if you do them too much…well all hell will break loose.

Here are the 7 deadly sins of writing:

1. Not Writing – No doubt the biggest sin a writer can commit is, well, not writing. We all do this from time to time. I am notorious for getting involved in other things and allowing my writing to fall by the wayside. (What is the wayside by the way?)  The only way to be a writer is to write. So not writing…huge sin!
2. Not being Honest – Not being honest, especially with yourself, is so self-defeating for a writer. In the words of country singer Kenny Rogers (whom my mother still pines for) you gotta know when to hold em and know when to throw them away. If we aren’t honest about how our writing is going, we are wasting our time.
3. Throwing punctuation to the wind – Let’s be honest here…(see number 2) punctuation is important no matter how you choose to write. I know, I know, what about that artsy fartsy way that folks are writing these days, you know, without the proper punctuation? Honestly? (see number 2) It’s crap. Some critic somewhere said, hey this is cool and others followed like lemmings over the cliff. Punctuation is important folks…use it.
4. Not sticking up for yourself – Okay, I know…many of you are tilting your head sideways at this one and saying, “huh?” Hear me out…we, are writers, work hard and we work long hours trying to do what we do. Most people don’t get this. Ask my family…I have a son who thinks that he can drop his kids off with gramps any time because I work at home. The other day my middle son had the nerve to tell me how tired he was from bagging groceries for 6 hours when all I did was sit and write. My 12 year old daughter is pretty sure that whenever she needs something she can waltz into my office and announce that need and I am supposed to drop everything and make it so. These folks think that I am the Sulu of the household. (Star Trek reference there for the clueless or very young) It’s frustrating and one of the worse things I can do is give in. Once you give in, it’s all over. When everyone else is poo-pooing what you do…tell them to cut it out.
5. Not believing in your work – Here is the thing, as with anything else; if you don’t believe in your work it will turn out to be crap. You, the writer, have to believe that the stories you tell are the stories people need to hear. You have to believe in what you do, if you don’t know one else will either. Be your own cheering section.
6. Organize damn it – One of the worse things you can do to yourself is ignore organization. I truly believe that God (disclaimer here…or whatever you believe in) had a pie chart, a white board, an outline and backstories for everything already done before he ever said let there be light. He’d have to right? Not being organized and throwing everything on the table hoping that it will resemble something is just plain ignorant. Organize your writing life and it will love you for it as well as be productive.
7. Not living like a writer – This is by far, in my mind, the largest of the 7 sins. I am here to tell you folks, if you don’t live like a writer, you’ll never be a writer. What do I mean by “live like a writer”? Simple, guys who are cops live the life of a cop. You won’t find them hanging out in the bad parts of town picking up hookers….they are cops for Pete’s sake. Medical people live the life of medical folks…choking in a restaurant? A medical person will save your behind no matter what happens because they are compelled to. You are a writer…don’t make excuses for it…do it and then make people respect it by respecting it yourself. When people ask me what I do, I say, “I’m a writer”…sure most folks follow that answer up with a look of skepticism but I don’t care…it’s what I do, it’s who I am…and I dare anyone to argue the point with me. You have to be like that too. I love book stores; buying pens and software that makes my writing more productive and that’s okay…I’m a writer. So put up all that writing stuff in your home office and watch The Shipping News as many times as you want….it’s okay.

These are the 7 deadly sins and trust me; if you continually breech any of them…you will fail as a writer. Take heed fellow writers…if you are a writer and you are not doing it…you will actually go to hell…well the writer’s hell anyways…the one where the world passes you by while you sit drowning in your beer watching someone else get published.

© The Writer’s Advice, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.