Meg Dowell Writes

1. Writing the same story with the same characters over and over again.

2. Writing more than you read. (There should be an “almost” equal balance.)

3. Not putting your work out there because you’re afraid of being judged.

4. Only writing when you “feel like it.”

5. Waiting until the last hour of your day to try to get some writing done.

6. Trying to write at a time of day someone else said is ideal, instead of when it’s most productive/convenient for you.

7. Grabbing at every single writing opportunity that comes your way. (There IS such thing as too much!)

8. Not going after the writing opportunities you really want because you “might not be good enough.”

9. Listening to writing advice from people who don’t do much actual writing.

10. Believing writing myths like “you have to write every day” and letting yourself struggle because of it.

11. Being afraid to admit that writing is hard and not always easy.

12. Refusing to take breaks or take the occasional night/weekend off. Hey, if you work hard and write often, you deserve all the rest.

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Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is an editor and writer, and a 12-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food, and Star Wars.

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