Ryan M. Patrick

Since I’m a little burned out with writing and editing this week…decided to put together some lessons learned over the last 12 (!) years of my writing experience. Without further ado, here’s my list.

12 Things I’ve Learned in 12 Years of Writing

1. Don’t write in a vacuum – get feedback

For the first nine years that I wrote seriously post-USAFA, I never had anyone read my writing. It just didn’t really occur that it was something I needed to do – I knew I wasn’t good enough to get published yet, but I also was too scared to share my drafts with anyone. Call it irrational, but I just wasn’t ready. However, my writing really plateaued in quality. I wasn’t the worst writer, but I definitely wasn’t very good, and I wasn’t improving either. However, in 2021, I started to meet some people through real-life friends who got me started in online writing communities, mostly in Discord and Reddit. I traded feedback with some fellow authors, brainstormed tough writing questions, and got critique back on my own work. And I improved more in the three years that I’ve been getting feedback than in the nine before that. Like with spacecraft controls, closed-loop with feedback is better than open-loop without!

2. Can’t edit a blank page – finish your drafts!

My “one golden idea” – every author has one! – is the book currently titled The Europan Deception. It’s a take on a Robert Luldum-style conspiracy thriller in a sci-fi setting that will kick off the Dark Galaxy series that I’ve always wanted to write. However, I tried and failed to write it almost a dozen times since I first thought of it in 2005 when I was 16. In 2022, though, I finally finished a first draft. And it was rough, a lot of the things I thought worked didn’t when I sent it out to betas, but they were items that I would never have been able to fix had I not finished a draft. The real magic happens in edits, and as my writing group says, you can’t edit a blank page!

3. First drafts suck

This is a huge mental block that almost every single writer will need to get over at some point in their career. Your first draft of anything, regardless of whether it’s a short story or a 200,000 word epic fantasy novel, isn’t going to be that good – no matter how well you outline or worldbuild. The key is to just get something down, and then be able to see what you’re going to keep and what you need to get rid of or rework. It’s hard at times, but there’s real value in having a complete first draft – most people never get that far!

4. Read, especially in your genre, but also outside of it

I do a lot of beta reading, something like 10 to 15 novels a year and maybe double that in short stories and flash pieces. And I can tell incredibly quickly if the author is a heavy reader or not, mostly in the dialog. People who read heavily have a better sense of how dialog is written and how a book is meant to flow. And read both inside and outside of the genres you write in – you never know when a moment of inspiration will strike you from an out-of-the-box book.

5. Find a workflow that works for you

Everyone has their own preferred method for writing, whether that’s heavily worldbuilding and outling before writing or drafting without any plan – truly pantsing. Editing is different as well. Try different methods, one might work better for you than others, and you don’t know what your best approach for writing is until you’ve tried a few out. Figure out what method of getting words down works the best for you, then stick with it.

6. Critique others’ work – it’s as beneficial for you as it is for them

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I first started beta reading, but I soon learned that each time I read someone else’s work, I learned something that I could apply to my own. Looking at another novel or short story with analytical eyes gave me new perspective on my own writing and helped me not only help others but also my own work. It’s really helped in the editing phase. I highly recommend for newer authors to learn how to alpha/beta read (more on that later here, and in a future post!) and trade critiques with other writers.

7. No idea is unique

A lot of beginning writers are fearful that someone will steal their ideas and get to market first, making your own original story feel like a bad knock-off. I used to have the same fear, asking questions in vague terms and hiding all of my “cool plot devices” away from prying eyes.

But, and I’ve learned this from years of experience, ideas are cheap. It’s the execution that’s valuable. I could write one of my 5-page outlines, give it to someone else to write while writing my own version, and the two of us would come up with completely different stories. While I am somewhat protective of my nearly-finish drafts and completed manuscripts (too many horror stories), I’m more than happy to help brainstorm, share my ideas, and maybe give someone a glimmer of inspiration that they needed. All of your “unique” ideas have been done before, it’s your execution on them that makes them special.

8. Talk with other authors – they might be going through the same things as you!

Writing can be a lonely endeavor. It’s common to get stuck somewhere, either with writer’s block or burnout, or something else entirely. The thing is, you’re not the only writer who’s gone through it. I bet that whatever you’re struggling with, another writer is in the same boat. And maybe all you need to know is that you’re not alone – another reason why writing communities are so important!

9. Writing short stories is a different process than writing longer pieces of fiction

This might sound like common sense, but writing short stories is NOT the same as writing novels/novellas. It was a tough lesson for me to learn when I started writing shorts a few years ago. There’s different pacing, different reader expectation, and there’s so much less space than in a long-form work. I made tons of mistakes early on. But, my writing group suggested I read shorts stories – not what I had been reading, which was collections of shorts from my favorite authors, but what was actually being published in the mags. I haven’t sold any yet, but my quality has improved tenfold.

10. Respond to alpha/beta readers appropriately!

Thankfully I haven’t done much of this, but I have been on the receiving end quite a few times.

For writers, our books and stories are our babies. We spend hundreds of hours working on them, making them into the best possible state that they can be.

But, when we put them out there for feedback, sometimes it’s negative. Readers didn’t like a character, or a scene that you felt worked perfectly just fell flat. And that’s ok! That’s one reader, one data point, one thing that you can – or choose not to – use to improve your book. It’s not a personal attack, it’s not an indictment of you as a writer, it’s just a piece of feedback.

Unless the alpha or beta reader is out to bully you and make you upset – few of them are – the only way to respond is with “thank you.” That reader took time out of his or her day to read your story and provide feedback, the least you can do is to appreciate them!

11. Read craft books and listen to craft podcasts

A lot of writers don’t like craft books like Stephen King’s On Writing or Robert McKee’s Story. And that’s ok – all of the books on writing seem to run together after a while – but as a beginning writer, it’s important to read them and understand why some things work and others don’t. Podcasts are super helpful for continuing knowledge – I recommend Writing Excuses and 6 Figure Authors, but there’s tons more out there. Learning never stops, and sometimes information needs to be heard more than once for it to really sink in. Never stop trying to improve your craft.

12. Write, write, and write some more!

But, of course, the only way to get better is to keep writing. Even if you feel like you’re not improving, you are, you just aren’t noticing it. Try different genres, different lengths of work, different perspectives and tenses. Once you’re more established, the best promotion for your old books…is a new book. Keep at it, even when it’s hard or if you get negative feedback on one of your work – you are getting better. It’s a marathon, not a sprint!

Thanks for reading, and I hope that something in there helps in some little way!