I’ve seen a lot of “How do I…” questions lately.
“How do I make this feel more emotional?”
“How do I write a compelling villain?”
“How do I make my prose less clunky?”
“How do I fix the pacing in my middle chapters?”
And the truth is—none of these have a one-line answer. Not really.
There’s no magic formula. No secret trick. No phrase I can say that will make it click and give you the answer that you’re looking for.
Because all of them come down to the same thing:
You do the work.
That’s not meant to be dismissive. It’s the best, clearest answer I can give.
Here’s what “doing the work” looks like in this context:
Step One: Write it as well as you can.
Put it down. Get it out. Write the scene, the dialogue, the chapter. Don’t hold back waiting for perfection. Just get the words on the page. There’s a good chance that many of them will be the wrong words… but that’s fine.
You can’t fix what isn’t there.
Step Two: Identify where it’s not landing.
This is the tricky part—figuring out what’s not working, and why. You can’t fix a problem you haven’t diagnosed.
Sometimes, you can feel something’s off but can’t quite name it. That’s where outside help becomes useful.
Read like a reader, not a writer. See if it works.
Step Three: Ask for targeted feedback.
Not vague “what do you think?” comments. Ask someone—preferably someone who understands writing—to help you pinpoint the issue.
Find people who will tell you the truth, not just pat your back.
There are people who can help with that (I’m one of them), and there are communities of writers out there. Feel free to ask me for a recommendation.
Step Four: Rewrite. Revise. Reshape.
Take what you’ve learned and rewrite it. Or edit what’s there. Or burn it down and build something better in its place.
Then—if it still isn’t right—do it again.
Repeat until you’re happy.
That’s the answer.
Not fancy. Not glamorous. Just the craft in action. Draft, reflect, adjust. Repeat as many times as it takes.
It’s okay to ask questions. But the real growth comes from the doing.
So: do the work.
And when you’re stuck, ask better questions. Not “how do I fix this?” but “what’s not working here?”
Not “how do I make this good?” but “how do I make this better?”
That’s where progress lives.
That’s where your writing gets stronger.
And the good news?
You’re not alone in it.
We’re all still figuring it out—one messy draft at a time.