I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all writing advice. Every writer is unique and has to discover their own personalized writing process.
However, there are two things that will always make you a better writer: Reading and writing.
So read widely.
Read good stories and terrible ones.
Read the classics.
Read fanfiction.
Read everything you can in your genre.
Read outside of your genre so you know what makes yours unique.
Read children’s books and graphic novels.
Read nonfiction and academic essays.
Read poetry so you know that it’s okay to write in unconventional forms.
Read the authors you love and, yes, even the ones you hate.
Read anything and everything because that is how you learn the art of storytelling.
Then, when you’re ready, start writing.
Write on the days when passion burns inside your veins.
Write on the days when you’d rather stare at the wall than put pen to paper.
Write the stories that have ignited your soul on fire.
Write the ones that you’ve kept buried for years.
Write tiny stories and epics spanning millions of words.
Write journal entries and lists of what it feels like to be alive on summer evenings.
Write from different points of view.
Write beyond the boundaries of what society deems worthy.
Write whatever God has put on your heart and keep going.
There are going to be terrible drafts, but it’s through those terrible drafts that you’ll learn how to tell stories that resonate with readers.
For more specific writing advice, check out these posts on my blog.
The Long Voyage 