How to Become a Writer with Self-Respect

Writing, while guided by common rules which enable us to be understood, is used slightly different by everyone who practices it. Because there is no ‘correct’ way to write stylistically, we have a diversity of writers in the cultural space. If you hope to make a career path out of writing, or plan to do it professionally in any capacity, you owe it to yourself to develop your ‘writing self-respect.’

Now, this might seem like a joke to writers who craft masterpieces only after a week-long panic about how they’re going to put pen to paper. For everyone else, you can easily become a writer with self-respect by reading and practicing.

Reading

One way you can keep up with your writing inspiration and to expose yourself to new styles, ideals, and methods of utilizing language is to read books in various genres. This doesn’t mean you should ditch your favorite fantasy or sci-fi pulp series. Reading this easily digestible material can expose you to new words and help stimulate the narrative centers of your mind.

Also, huge novels sometimes touch upon philosophical themes that really make you think. Indulging in poetry, plays, and songs can help you vary your style and spark your writing muse.

If you want an even more solid background, it’s important to read books which are considered great. Think Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Their published works played with style, theme and language. They helped you grapple with historical themes, which help improve your language capabilities. Their insight also made you want to improve personally.

Practice

The second way to respect yourself as a writer is to practice.  Write until you can’t write anymore. Get out of your comfort zone by varying your themes; experimenting with language and genre; and writing bad stuff.

If your reading and writing introduce you to different languages, practice speaking by using a service like AJ Hoge. This will give you the interpretative insight necessary to keep on top of your story, and help remove the constant worry about making a mistake. Don’t be afraid to miss the mark.

A good practice to keep in mind when writing: focus on content first and quality second. That’s what editing and revising is for.

What About You?

What do you do to become a writer with self-respect?

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