Mentor Others To Improve As A Writer

That famous adage “When we teach, we also learn” applies well to the art of writing.

At some point as you progress as an author, you will reach the stage where you can look at someone else’s work and genuinely say, “I can improve that.” Not from some egotistical standpoint, but because you’ve already made all those mistakes yourself, learned from them, and began to apply them to your work. Such things become easy to spot, at that point.

                It’s not just mechanical aspects, either. After you’ve written a few novels, you should have a sense of how to draw a reader in and keep their attention. Or at least not scare them off or bore them to tears. Beginning writers make a lot of mistakes in that regard. They fail to make their characters compelling. They don’t establish any sort of connection between reader and protagonist. Their introductory chapters, in particular, lack any oomph.

A poor paragraph flow, excessive dialog tags, “telling” when you could be “showing”, and things of that nature can turn a reader off quickly, and are common with newly-minted authors.

I am of the belief that not only should you be able to edit others, it’s something you need to occasionally do. That’s not to say you owe it to anyone else to edit their entire work into something more palatable, but taking someone’s first chapter and polishing it to something closer to decent is a rewarding task. Each time you improve the work of others, you reinforce those techniques in your own skillset. Rather than just writing “in the zone” on your own, you become more conscious of what works and what doesn’t, and why. That can only lead to more polished pieces for you.

Furthermore, many authors write in a void, early on. Imagine how you might have benefitted if someone with a bit more skill had taken up your first novel or short story and said, “Try it like this, instead.” A little direction early on can go a long way. I've edited two pieces recently, and both authors were both grateful and receptive to improving their work. It's likely that my influence will resonate throughout the rest of their writing careers.

I see far too many young writers on the verge of giving up. It’s difficult to get people to read their work, and it’s entirely possible that they might quit before they’ve developed enough of a style to gain a readership. At the very least, you can rest well knowing you’ve tried to improve the world of literature to a small degree.

I’ve found that Reddit is one good place to find such writers. There are several groups for critiques and beta reading, among other things. I’m sure similar things exist on Facebook and Twitter. Let’s face it, almost everything on Wattpad could use a facelift.

So get out there and touch someone’s life today. Be a part of the writing community, rather than just being a writer. The work you improve just might be your own.

On a related note, I've finally polished up one of my novels to the point where I feel comfortable recommending it to people. Check out the new edition of Radar Love on Amazon.