10 Best Pieces of Writing Advice
- Jenna Moreci
- Dec 23, 2025
- 7 min read
HelloOoOo everybody!
We're getting right into it with some good old-fashioned writing advice. Namely, the best writing advice I have ever personally read, received, or developed over the years. I'm handing my wisdom down to you. Let’s cover the absolute, all-time best writing advice, in my humble opinion.
This video is sponsored by Skillshare. As always, all opinions are my own.
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Number 1: Habit Is Far More Reliable Than Inspiration
Everyone talks about feeling inspired to write, which is nice, but it's also fleeting. The key to getting words on the page is to make it a habit. Create a writing schedule and stick to it. This is far more useful than inspiration will ever be, in a million years. If you only write when you're feeling inspired, congratulations, you'll get one book done by the time you're on your deathbed, and it'll probably suck.
Instead, train yourself to make writing a normal part of your daily routine. Do it until missing a day of writing feels abnormal or wrong. People who talk about waiting for the words to come to them, or being overtaken by their muse, are full of shit. The authors who actually make writing a full-time career did it by making their work a habit.
Number 2: Always Assume Your Reader Is Smart
When you write for a stupid audience, you create a stupid book. I'm sure you can think of a few. Writers often feel the need to explain every concept in their book because they're afraid that readers won't get it. Two characters share glances across the room, they blush at the sight of one another, they fumble over their words, but the writer still feels the need to say they were deeply attracted to one another. You don't say! Doing this insults your readers' intelligence, which will make them wonder if they're too smart for your book.
That's not to say you should ignore feedback. If multiple betas tell you that a concept doesn't make sense, fix it. But you don't need to explain every single detail; let readers figure out shit based on the context and descriptions. That's kind of the whole point of reading. And despite all the showing and dialogue, a couple of readers might not get something.
“Wait a second, these two people who are constantly flirting like each other? But you never said so!”
This minority of people are idiots, and there's already a ton of books out there written just for them.
Number 3: If You’re Not Sure What To Do Next, Break Your Character’s Legs
A lot of writers struggle with advancing the plot, especially if they hit the middle of the book. And the solution is simple: anytime you're not sure where to go, complicate shit. Whatever the problem is, make it worse. It could be something like a curveball or a plot twist. It could be a death or injury. It could be something as simple as an upcoming test or a work deadline. Every plot includes some kind of difficulty that the main character is trying to navigate. So if you make this difficulty worse, this will fuel the plot and make it much more compelling.
Number 4: No One Remembers a Trend Chaser
Trend chasing is very common because it provides a safety net. You already know this book has a chance of selling, because the audience is explicitly clear. The thing is, people always remember the writers who start the trend; they don't remember the chasers. That's fine if you're writing just to make a quick buck, though I'd argue that you chose the wrong business for that. But if you wanna make writing a sustainable career, people need to remember your name.
On top of that, once a concept becomes on trend, half the time it's too late. It takes years to write a quality novel, and by the time you're finished, that trend will be long over. So stop worrying about what's selling at the moment. Most of the big guys didn't write their concepts because they were trendy. They made them trendy.
Number 5: Just Because You Know Everything Doesn’t Mean the Reader Needs To Know Everything
You created a vast world, complicated characters, dark backstories, morals, themes, and symbolism. Now you gotta hold back and make sure you don't barf it all out on your manuscript. That world you created, the reader doesn't need to know every single detail. Unless the imports and exports are directly tied into your plot, no one gives a fuck, I assure you. I'm sure your supporting character had a very heartbreaking childhood, but unless it's tied into the storyline, we don't need him to recount it in a soliloquy. Your job as the creator is to know everything, and also to know when those details are relevant. If they're not, can it.
Number 6: You’re Gonna Be Embarrassed at Some Point, so You Might As Well Get Over It
Writing a book is humiliating. There are going to be moments when you want to crawl into a hole and die. If you plan on surviving this career, you really need to accept this now.
“But Jennaaa, what if I get bad reviews?”
You will get bad reviews, everyone does. If Stephen King isn't immune, why should you be?
“But Jennaaa, my mom is going to read this.”
Do you think my mom doesn't read my shit? Someone gets their dick sucked in The Savior's Champion. Look, I hate to break it to you, but you chose one embarrassing ass career. Which leaves you with two options: either you can write nothing and live your life forever worrying about what people think of you, or you can take that tail out from between your legs, write your book, and face the music when it comes.
Number 7: The Reader Should Never Finish a Chapter With All Their Questions Answered
There is only one chapter of your book where the reader should finish it, and maybe possibly have all their questions answered. And that's the last chapter...if it's a standalone. When a reader has no more questions, they have no more incentive to keep reading. So for every question you answer, make sure one or two more questions are created. Say your chapter answered the question, “What happened to the protagonist’s mother? She's dead!”
Now the questions are:
How did she die?
Was it murder or suicide?
If it was murder, who killed her?
Keeping your reader in the dark is the easiest way to keep them turning the pages.
Number 8: Making Aesthetic Boards, Talking to Other Writers, and Daydreaming About Your Characters Is Not Writing and Never Will Be
Nine times out of ten, unless you're writing, editing, or outlining, you're not being productive. Everything else is just an excuse.
“But Jennaaa, aesthetic boards help me visualize the scene.”
You know what else would help you visualize the scene? Writing it.
“But Jennaaa, alternate universe fics helped me get to know my characters.”
You know what else would help you get to know your characters? Writing them.
Of course, there are going to be times when you need to research content for your story or the publishing industry. But overall, stop lying to yourself. Finding face claims won't boost your word count or get your book published, and you know it.
Number 9: Inch by Inch, Life Is a Cinch
Yard by yard, life is hard. This isn't writing advice per se, but it applies to the industry seamlessly. “I wanna become one of the greats, but it seems so overwhelming.” First of all, if all you want to do is become "one of the greats," you'll probably never be great. Just saying.
Second, that's a hell of a lot of pressure to put on yourself when you haven't written a damn word. Instead of aspiring to become famous, aspire to write 20,000 words this month. Instead of aspiring to sell hundreds of thousands of copies, why don't you aspire to sell 1,000 copies? Did you know the average traditionally published debut novel sells 3,000 copies in its lifetime? Might need to readjust your goals there just a tiny bit.
If you break your goal down into parts, not only will you feel good about yourself more often throughout the process, but you will have much better odds of achieving your endgame.
Number 10: Write What You Want To Read
People like to say write what you wanna write. Sometimes that's good advice, other times not so much. A better option is to write what you wanna read, which for a lot of people is what they want to write. But some people only wanna write sex scenes, or they only wanna write fight scenes. Nonstop severing of limbs does not a story make.
Writing what you wanna read is a great idea for a variety of reasons. One, you already know the book doesn't exist yet. If it did, you wouldn't have to write it in order to read it. Two, you already know there's an audience for the book, because you want to read it.
“But Jennaaa, what if no one wants to read what I wanna read?”
I have a sneaking suspicion you're not as unique as you think you are.
And three, you will be much more passionate about the story if it's something you genuinely want to read. It'll be way easier to get through even the most grueling parts if you care about the project.
So that's all I've got for you today!
This is the best writing advice that I have personally heard. Do with it as you please. Take it to heart, improve upon your craft, or ignore it. What do I care?
A huge thank you to Skillshare for sponsoring this post topic, being so supportive of my channel, and always dishing out quality content. And on top of that, Skillshare is giving you guys a two-month trial of Skillshare Premium for free! That’s zero dollars, nothing, nada, zip, no money! Two months that don't cost a dime. All you gotta do is click on the link. Cash in on your free trial. Take a few classes, take my classes! This offer is only available for a limited time; only the first 500 people who click the link will get in on it. So do it now.
*This post is sponsored by Skillshare. As always, all opinions are my own.
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