I’ve had a sign over my typewriter for over 25 years now: Don’t think!
~Ray Bradbury

Best Tip from Ray Bradbury –

Bradbury also wrote: The best hygiene for beginning writers or intermediate writers is to write a hell of a lot of short stories. If you can write one short story a week—it doesn’t matter what the quality is to start, but at least you’re practicing, and at the end of the year you have 52 short stories, and I defy you to write 52 bad ones. Can’t be done. At the end of 30 weeks or 40 weeks or at the end of the year, all of a sudden a story will come that’s just wonderful.

This is also advice I like to give to writers who say, “Everyone tells me I need to write a book about my life. It’s great knowing my life is interesting enough for them to say that, but I wouldn’t know where to begin. Yes, it can seem daunting to think about writing a book, almost as daunting as actually writing it. So why not take Ray Bradbury’s advice?

When you think about writing 2000 – 5000 words (8 – 20 pages) as compared to writing 40,000 to 50,000 words (160 – 200 pages), it seems more doable and gives you that ‘almost’ immediate gratification we all like.  Also, the sense of satisfaction is a great motivator to keep you writing the next and the next until you feel complete.

If you’re having trouble getting started, this could be the best tip you’ve ever received. Even if you’re not intimidated by the idea of a book, it can still be a great way to organize your thoughts.

Try it and report back. I’d love to publish your efforts and questions in this blog. Please, let us in on your process. We all learn from each other. By the way, that’s what’s great about classes. You get inspired, get supported, and learn a lot. 

Keep writing, and enjoy the process!