I’m a very closed-minded, black-and-white person. I like having a set wayology of doing things I don’t like to deviate from. It makes sense that I really, really hate change.

So it should come as no surprise that when I hear of a new writing technique to try, I’m very skeptical about it. I have my own way of doing things, thank you. And my way is better.

Or so I think.

Time and time again, I’m constantly wrong about judging things before I try them. In summer of last year, my open-mindedness allowed me to change my writing and my writing life in ways I never imagined.

But why should you be open-minded about learning new writing techniques?

3. You Never Know Until You Do

You never know until you know! Wait, no, that’s not what I said. I was going off of Yoda’s very wise advice. There is no try. Only losers try. Winners do! But read that with the intention of “you never know until you try”.

Let’s face it. In most cases, you just don’t. You don’t know if writing faster, outlining, or creating character arcs are awesome things to do until you do them.

Who knows? You have nothing to lose but lack of experience.

I’m begging to be pinned. Just hover over me!

Last summer, I was introduced to something called plot structure. Now it sends excited chills down my spine and has taken my writing farther than I ever dreamed it could go.

So many amateurs dismiss plot structure without even trying, thinking the framework will limit their creativity. But if they would just do it and see for themselves, they’ll find a checklist for a seamless, gripping work of art that allows their creativity to skyrocket.

I only dabbled in outlining before I tried it. Now, I live and die by it. It’s erased writer’s block and put my mind at ease by giving sense to a whirlwind of ideas. I even outline my blog posts!

But I never would’ve been able to experience the joy of plot structure and outlining had I not been open-minded to just do it. I was willing to learn from authors who were more experienced than me. And, surprisingly, I was just humble enough to consider that hey, Miss Narcissist Me, maybe you don’t really know the best way to do this.

Which leads us to our next point.

2. Fools Hate Knowledge

Fools hate knowledge.
(Proverbs 1:22)

It’s foolish to refuse to learn from people who are more experienced than you. You can’t really learn from fellow dummies. Jesus said, “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?”

I’m begging to be pinned. Just hover over me!

For the first seven years of my writing life, my writing buddies were fellow amateurs. And we didn’t wanna learn anything! We had fun doing what we were doing and we were doing it totally awesome, thank you. Our stories deserved Pulitzer prizes, for all we were concerned.

Pretty foolish, wouldn’t you say?

Don’t be a fool. We don’t know everything. I let my writing hang out in Amateurville for years before I actually learned a single thing about the craft of writing.

Learn new techniques. Grow your skill. You can only get more awesome from here, because:

3. Being Teachable Allows You to be Skyrocketable (Growable)

If you close off what you do and never let yourself learn, you’re always going to stay in that state. You’re never going to become more awesome.

Be teachable. Realize that we still have a lot to learn. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by that, but the more teachable you are, the more skyrocketable you are. ?

I learned what action beats are, what scene structure is, what motivation-reaction units are… and my scenes skyrocketed. And I’m not saying that to brag; old alpha readers from my first draft are now reading my fourth draft two years later and can attest to the difference.

I’m begging to be pinned. Just hover over me!

I’ve been able to grow because I’ve been able to learn.

Conclusion:

Becoming open-minded changed my writing life forever. My stories have graduated from amateur descriptive dialog tags and one-dimensional characters to researched novels with plot and scene structure, better writing, and intriguing charries.**

It really is just as simple as being able to be taught… and to keep on writing. With every word you write and technique you apply, you’re getting better.

This week, I encourage you to be a sponge! Take time to learn more about the craft of whatever you do (probably writing, am I right?) from the masters and apply their techniques to yours. As K.M. Weiland says, “A gift that’s never developed wasn’t worth the giving.” Learn as much as you can and watch your skill level skyrocket!

What’s the most helpful thing you’ve learned regarding writing? For me, hands-down, it’s plot and scene structure. ?

*explodes at the possibilities and dramaticness and tension and disaster and pure epicness of plot and scene structure*

**I’m not just shamelessly self-promoting my writings ? My amazing alpha readers are giving me feedback. They have witnessed it firsthand and can assure you; Madison Lorfing was never be able to grow until she was able to learn—and she’s still learning, thanks to their help.