Firefly
Troubadour
Practice is always going to be the most useful thing you can do to improve your skills, but I personally mindlessly plodding on on a single project just “to finish” with hardly a thought towards building your skills is about the single least effective way to practice you can find. As others have said, there needs to be a back and forth between writing and critical self analysis if you want to really move forward. People have a tendency to believe that “just keep doing it” is enough to get better, but that’s really only true if you’re pushing yourself. Repetition will help you get more comfortable and confident with things that you’re working on, but you won’t magically stop making mistake with sheer volume of words if you have no clue you’re even making it.
I agree with Devor that “just write” is much more useful advice when taken as “just write something” rather than “just keep writing your WIP”. Finishing stuff is important, but sometimes you do need a break from a certain project.
I, too, can be pretty picky about ideas, and I find that it often helps me to write short. If I’m lukewarm about an idea, It doesn’t matter as much, cuz I’m only committing to it for 300 words.
I’ve also found it helpful to pay very close attention to the kinds of ideas I find interesting. I’ve started making lists of all the tropes/situations/character types that make me tick, and the more I get a feel for it, the easier it is to come up with ideas/prompts that are fun for me to write.
I don’t know. Stuff like that is different from person to person and what works for me might not for you, but this is what’s worked for me.
I agree with Devor that “just write” is much more useful advice when taken as “just write something” rather than “just keep writing your WIP”. Finishing stuff is important, but sometimes you do need a break from a certain project.
I, too, can be pretty picky about ideas, and I find that it often helps me to write short. If I’m lukewarm about an idea, It doesn’t matter as much, cuz I’m only committing to it for 300 words.
I’ve also found it helpful to pay very close attention to the kinds of ideas I find interesting. I’ve started making lists of all the tropes/situations/character types that make me tick, and the more I get a feel for it, the easier it is to come up with ideas/prompts that are fun for me to write.
I don’t know. Stuff like that is different from person to person and what works for me might not for you, but this is what’s worked for me.