Good advice for aspiring writers?

     This holiday season is crazy! Then again, when isn't it. My shopping is FINALLY done (after having to have several packages overnighted for a zillion dollars so they get places in time) so I feel like I can take a deep breath and relax for a minute. And of course I spent that minute watching wonderfully, horrifically cheesy Christmas movies on Netflix. Thank you ABC Family.

     Today I got some writing done, and went back and tweaked a few things. I also joined NaNoWriMo (a little late, obviously, as it is no longer November). I was reading through the information they have (and there's a TON) and the advice they've posted as well. I think, despite having been writing off and on for a good fifteen years, I am still refining my process and finding out what works for me. NaNoWriMo advises writers to just write, write, write and don't worry about going back to edit and revise until you've got a completed first draft.

     On the one hand I agree with that, or at least that seems like sage wisdom if getting the book done is the most important thing to you. I also understand that expecting a perfect first draft that wont need revisions later is unreasonable. However, I do think it's important to get things right, and I am always coming up with new ideas or plot lines or changing my characters background or motivation until I feel I've gotten it right which means that editing while I'm only 1/4 of the way through my story is a way of life for me.

     I've read some (not a ton) of advice for aspiring writers and I've gotta say that the best advice is probably that there is no hard and fast rule for what works for everybody. Sometimes I like to take a day off and not write at all, just watch dumb movies and recharge my batteries. Other times I'm glued to my laptop for days on end. I guess as I go on I'll continue to figure out what works best for me.

     That was a long tangent. Anyway, Happy Holidays! I'm going to try to get in as much writing as I can over the next week but with Christmas, New Years, and a few Birthdays thrown in I'm not sure how much I'll accomplish.

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