Five Qualities Writers Should Strive to Exhibit
Some traits are pretty universally useful in basically any career context. However, every career path will require certain characteristics more than others, or require them to manifest in different ways. A goalkeeper and a neurosurgeon must both be unflappable, but the ways that quality shows up in each will be significantly different.
With that in mind, here are five traits that I think are of particular importance for writers, as well as some tips that may help you to develop them if you worry you might be lacking. The list is alphabetical, because to suggest that any of these traits are more or less important would ignore the differences between each of us as individual writers wherever we are on our writing journey.
Confidence
All creatives deal with self-doubt in some ways. But, if you don’t believe in what you are writing, it’s very likely no one else will either. If you don’t feel confident in your ability to write or the value of your ideas, it will bleed into what you write. No matter what you produce, your writing will improve when your personal voice projects confidence. Writing plagued by doubt will be filled with “hedge-you-bet” language—the common sayings we use to soften opinions and make them more palatable, give the illusion we know more than we do, or otherwise beguile readers with vagaries. Some tips:
A confident “I don’t know” is better than stumbling through a nonsense answer. If you have the chance, follow up with steps you’ll take to find out.
Think before you speak (and before you write). Be sure of what you want to say, then say it.
Ask a few friends to tell you three things they admire about you. Write those qualities down and read the list to yourself when you feel self-doubt.
Creativity
If you are writing fiction, your need for creativity is probably apparent to you; you want your characters and plot to feel both new and timeless, and it takes creativity to find ways to pull that off. However, even non-fiction requires creativity. What you say is important, but so is how you say it. Finding the best way to communicate your message clearly is a creative endeavor; you need your message to be easily understood and engaging, and you need to balance novel approaches with familiar frameworks. Some tips:
Your brain is the source of your creativity, but it’s part of your physical body. Take care of yourself. Get enough sleep and exercise. Eat a balanced diet.
Plan time to think deeply without interruptions. Plan time to test ideas on friends, family, or trusted co-workers.
Pick up a new hobby that also requires creativity, like painting, making music, origami, or blacksmithing.
Keep a dream journal.
Curiosity
One common bit of advice in writing is to write about what you know. It’s not bad advice, but it’s better if you rearrange it: know what you write. It’s good to write about topics you know nothing about, as long as you have the curiosity to do some research. Everything you write should be well-researched. If you are content with the first boiler-plate answer regurgitated by a search engine, it will hinder your writing. Some tips:
Find a community of experts in the topic you are interested in and start asking questions.
Read genres you normally avoid.
Find a restaurant that serves a kind of food you’ve never had, and go try it.
Go down a wikipedia rabbit hole.
Humility
No matter how great you feel about the draft you just completed, your editor will find mistakes. No matter how many mistakes your editor fixes, your readers will find more. No matter how eloquently you present your ideas, some people will disagree with you (and probably find a very rude way to express their disagreement, too). No matter how successful your work is, and no matter how you measure success, there will be people with greater success. No matter how much acclaim your work garners, there will be those who think it sucks. Humble writers know all of this and remain unbothered. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less. Some tips:
Ask yourself: If I knew for a fact no one would ever read my work, would I still enjoy writing it? If the answer is no, consider what it might take to shift your mindset.
Whenever consuming media, think up 3 compliments for every criticism that pops into your head.
Genuinely examine all feedback, no matter who it comes from. You can dismiss feedback from someone trolling, but don’t assume someone is trolling just because of negative feedback.
Ask someone you disagree with to explain their point of view, then listen without interrupting (and try to understand them, instead of just seeking ways to refute them.)
Resilience
As a writer, you are going to face a lot of rejection. That rejection will always sting at least a little. Sometimes a lot. Humility should help rejection sting less, but without resilience, your first rejection will also be your last. Resilience allows you to balance knowing that your work won’t click with everyone and believing that it will click with someone. The only way that other people might see your work and be moved by it is your bouncing back, pushing on, and continuing to write—even when it feels like you are the only one who will ever appreciate your work. Some tips:
Don’t overanalyze a “no”. Whether it’s a copy-pasted template or heartfelt personalized rejection, take it for what it is and move on.
View rejections as “process of elimination.” You are slowly whittling away the agents, publishers, or audiences that aren’t resonating with your work.
Embrace the power of “yet.”
Don’t view a rejection as an absolute. Just because one work doesn’t seem to be finding an audience doesn’t mean none of your work will.
Don’t internalize rejection. A rejection may reflect on the value of the project, but it doesn’t reflect on your value as a person.
What about you?
Do you agree with this list? What traits did I leave off that you think need to be on the list? Have you tried any of these tips before, or do you have any tips you’d add? Comment below, and let’s talk about it!
