I’ve been a published author for five years, but I’ve been writing for far longer, and when I look back on my debut novel, I cringe. It’s not that it’s bad, but I can tell how much I’ve grown as a writer since then. With each new book, I’ve learned more and tweaked my process.

Although I’m happy with my progress, I still have a long way to grow. The thing is, it took years of stubborn mistakes and forehead-to-desk lessons to get where I am now. And I hope that by sharing what I’ve learned with you, I can help you speed up your growth. I definitely wish I knew these tips sooner.

So this isn’t a list of vague writing tips. This is a confession of sorts. These are five things I wish I’d taken seriously from the beginning. They’re not sexy. They won’t guarantee a bestseller. But they’ll make you better — and save you from some of the pain I put myself through.

Let’s go.

1. Just Write. Don’t Break the Flow. Edit Later.

This one? This one stung.

Because for the first three books of my Chimera Trilogy, I flat-out refused to listen to this advice. It’s not that I thought it was bad advice, but I thought it didn’t fit my process.

Every time I saw that cursed red squiggle under a word, I had to fix it. Like an idiot, I’d stop mid-scene to correct a typo or reword a sentence. It felt responsible — professional, even. But what I was really doing was pulling myself out of the story. Every. Single. Time.

Getting back into the groove after stopping to edit a line derailed my writing momentum. I’d spend more time fixing than flowing. And I didn’t even realize how much it hurt my process until later. I see it now, but I definitely didn’t see it then.

Now? I don’t touch that red underline until draft two. Misspellings? Let ’em ride. Ugly sentences? Keep going. Because the raw messiness of the first draft is where the heart of the story lives. You clean it later. You can’t polish what isn’t on the page. This piece of wisdom is newly acquired and only used for my latest two books. So don’t…