There's one or two secrets to good writing. The first one is the most grueling. What is it? Show up and write. Having a bad day and not feeling motivated to write? Still make at least fifteen minutes for it. Sick as a dog and barely awake enough to write? Still make at least fifteen minutes for it. Locked in a cage and your laptop is across the room? Ok, maybe that's a bit too complicated to make fifteen minutes for writing when you're trying to escape the cage.
But, the first secret to good writing boils down to make time to write. And try to make sure that you are writing more than a shopping list on a regular basis. It may be bullet notes of a story outline you want to write some day. It may be a daily journal entry that is full of your laments about the stress of your job. It may be sneaking in a thousand words on a cherished secret manuscript. Making writing a priority leads to good writing.
The second secret to good writing is just ugly. It can be gut wrenching and heart breaking. The second secret to good writing is editing and revision. Editing is tedious and painfully boring. It takes many rounds of editing to take a really rough manuscript and clean it up. Revision is the process of rewriting and including all of those edits. It can take so much energy and effort that it feels fruitless. It can lead to the elimination of cherished scenes and characters. (Just remember when you remove those things, they can be recycled into another work. Nothing is lost if you keep notes.)
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