5 Writing Tips You Learned From Your Mother

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When you were growing up, your mother sounded like a broken record.

Every day it was the same old spiel:  “Eat your peas.”  “Are you wearing clean underpants?” “That coffee will stunt your growth.”  “You’ll poke your eye out.”

You spent most of your childhood years trying to ignore the sounds coming out of her mouth.  After all, she was overbearing, paranoid and generally full of it.

Or was she?

Actually, some of your mother’s demands (no matter how irritating) held real pearls of wisdom for your writing life.

Consider what you might learn from the following motherly advice:

“Keep Yourself Regular.”

Mom was always a big fan of fibre.

Never mind “Fruit Loops,” or “Frosted Flakes,” for breakfast like other children in your neighbourhood got to eat;  her cupboards were stuffed full of plain oats and unprocessed bran, instead.

You didn’t even know white bread existed until you went away to college, and even then you were too afraid to eat it.  You couldn’t shake your mother’s admonishments on the dangers of constipation.  The pain!  The bloating!

As a writer, you need to stay regular too.  Fibre will help, but think more along the lines of keeping a regular work schedule.

One of the biggest mistakes amateur writers make is to treat writing like a hobby.  If you want to be a serious writer, you have to treat it like your job.  Setting aside specific work hours–just as you would for any other job–will help you reach your goals.

“Don’t Run With That In Your Mouth!”

Why did your mother hate to see you climbing on the playground with a lollipop in your mouth, or walking around while eating a peanut butter sandwich?

Mothers tend to envision the worst-case-scenario whenever humanly possible.  She was deathly afraid that if you tried to do two things at once, you might not be paying attention and choke.

The same goes for your writing.  If you’ve got too many things on the go at once, you won’t be doing justice to any of your projects.

If you must take on several assignments at once, prioritize.  Complete the most important ones first and work your way down.  Compromise on something else that can be put on hold for a short time.

Don’t let yourself burn out.  Do whatever works to ensure you’re not juggling too many tasks at once.

“Try Everything At Least Once.”

What difference did it make to your mother if you thought creamed corn looked and smelled  like your baby sister’s vomit? And liver fingers?  You were fairly sure you weren’t going to like those.

But, in Mom’s immortal words: “How do you know you won’t like it if you don’t try it??”

She had a point, you know.

We often gravitate toward one certain type of writing–our own niche.  While niches are good, have you considered what you might be missing out on?

You’re an ace blogger, but have you tried penning a short story or poem?  You consider yourself a novelist, but have you ever put your hand to a journalistic piece?

If you haven’t tried out many different forms of writing, you could be missing a golden opportunity. Just think, you might be talented in more than one area.

How will you know if you don’t try?

“If Everyone Else Jumped Off A Bridge, Would You?”

Mom didn’t care if everyone else in your class was allowed to watch “Hyper Teenage Zombie Cheerleaders From Outer Space.”  Peer pressure was irrelevant to her.  She wanted you to think for yourself.

As much as it irked you at the time, stop and think about the connotations of this advice for writing-market trends.

While it’s important to be aware of what’s selling and what’s not, we shouldn’t let the market rule our writing, or allow ourselves to fall prey to every passing trend.

At the moment, it’s painfully obvious the young-adult fiction market is dominated by a certain teenage vampire romance and several other copycats.  Does that mean you should throw out your manuscript and start working on something similar?

Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean you should.  Consider market trends, but ultimately, be true to yourself.

“Life Isn’t Always Fair!”

Instead of getting the bicycle you wanted for Christmas, you got socks and underwear.  Your brother was allowed to sleep at a friend’s house on Friday night and you weren’t.  The forward on the other soccer team purposely kicked you in the shin and the referee didn’t say a word.

Unfair?  Yep.  But according to Mom, that’s life.

The publishing industry isn’t always fair either.  Sometimes books get published that are absolute rubbish–and they sell like hotcakes.  Other times, a veritable masterpiece might be overlooked because it appeals to only a small audience.

You might catch an editor on a day when her assistant spilled coffee on her lap.  Maybe her dog just died, or the car broke down.  While none of these mishaps have anything to do with you, you could still end up paying for them.

Life isn’t always fair, so accept it and move on.

Thanks Mom!

On behalf of all the writers out there, thanks Mom for teaching us the importance of regularity and for making us try creamed corn.

Thank you for your expecting us to follow our own paths and giving us a much-needed dose of reality.

Maybe you didn’t know it, but making us sit down while we ate taught us important lessons about writing.

You were right all along.  We’ll even let you say “I told you so.”

Suzannah Windsor Freeman is the creator and chief editor of Write It Sideways, and author of The Busy Mom's Guide to Writing. Her short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Grist: The Journal for Writers, Saw Palm: Florida Art & Literature, The Sand Hill Review, and The Best of the Sand Hill Review anthology.

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