Yesterday, I posted a status on Facebook about my new novel I’m working on: “This is a tear-jerker. Possibly the best story I’ll have written so far.”
That got me to thinking whether I’m conceited or deluded, to say that I’m now writing the best thing I’ve ever written. After all, who am I to say that anything I’ve written is worth anything?
Well, years and years of experience might have something to do with it, including all those stories I wrote that turned out to be utter crap. Enough people tell you that they really enjoyed such-and-such a story or such-and-such a book or such-and-such a blog post, and you begin to see the patterns that work and those that don’t.
But what if you don’t have those years of experience?
I believe that even if you’ve just started writing, you should be able to say that you’re writing “the best thing you’ve ever written.” Because everything you write should be better than what came before:
- Always be looking for ways to improve your craft.
- Write better and better and better, with each new piece you write.
- Read, read, and read some more; the best of those writers will rub off on you.
- Experiment with new things, new styles, new processes; keep doing what works.
- Write your passion, and find passion in what you write.
- Strive to make every new work the best thing you’ve ever written.
Not everything you write will, in fact, be better than what you’ve written before, because you’ll try new things that sometimes won’t work out, and you’ll occasionally write something that feels awkward to you, and sometimes you’ll be in a funk. But if you’re working on a new story or article or novel or blog post or anything else, and you suddenly feel like this is the best thing you’ve possibly ever written…
Give yourself a pat on the back, because it probably is.
-TimK
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