Write Like a Boss

by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, author of The Guardian Herd book series

The phrase Write Like a Boss has taken hold of me. 

But what does it mean, and why won't it let me go?

First let's deconstruct it. What is a boss?


According to Merriam-Webster, a Boss (noun) is: a person who exercises control or authority.
Boss is derived from the Dutch word baas, which means master.
Master is: one having control
Write (verb) is: to form letters or numbers on a surface
And Like (adjective) means: closely resembling the subject or original.

So the phrase Write Like a Boss literally translated means: 

Form Letters on a Surface with the Authority of One Who is in Control.

DO YOU WRITE LIKE THAT?

With authority? With dominance? With control? 

Do you control your words, or do they control you?

WHO is in charge of your writing schedule, your novel, your plot, your imagination? If your answer isn't "ME" (me as in YOU), then you need to start writing like a boss.

This was me at one time:

I can't think of what to write.
I don't have time.
My kids are home.
I should look for a paying job.
I should clean the house.
I'm a terrible writer.
I suck.
I'm a joke.
Every good horse-book has already been written.
I'm not a real writer.


This is not me writing like a boss. This is me not writing at all. This is me dying without ever accomplishing my dreams. Is this YOU?

Please, don't let it be you! Take heart. If I can do it, you can do it.

The truth is, you have to write like a boss to write at all. 

No one will take charge of your writing for you. No one will write that book that you were born to write. And no one will ever know what they missed reading because you never wrote it. 

How to Write Like A Boss:

• Write every day. 
• Be brave. It's just 26 letters. Make them obey you.
• When you're stuck, write through it. 
• When you're afraid, keep going. You're about to write something magnificent.
• Your words work for you. If they're lazy, inspire them or fire them, but don't let them slack off.
• Fire wimpy verbs.
• Don't listen to "I can't." You freaking can. 
• Set writing hours and post them. You're the Boss, you can do that.
• Accept help.
• Share your work. Yes, it's probably terrible, that's why you're sharing it--for a diagnosis--not for praise.
• Break only the rules you know.
• Never run from a tough scene. 
• We're all steaming piles of insecurity, get over it. Hard work trumps lazy talent. 
• When you finish a novel, celebrate, then start a new one. Accept the fact that you'll never be done. Writing is a journey, not a destination.

Now fire up your word processor and Write Like a Boss!

Writing Tips from Big Bosses:

"You can't wait for inspiration. You must go after it with a club." 

-Jack London

"People on the outside think there’s something magical about writing, that you go up in the attic at midnight and cast the bones and come down in the morning with a story, but it isn’t like that. You sit in back of the typewriter and you work, and that’s all there is to it."

- Harlan Ellison

"There’s no such thing as writer’s block. That was invented by people in California who couldn’t write."

- Terry Pratchett

"It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way."

- Ernest Hemingway

"Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer."

- Barbara Kingsolver

"It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly."

- C. J. Cherryh

"It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous."

- Robert Benchley

"A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it to be God."

- Sidney Sheldon

"First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!"

- Ray Bradbury

"Science fiction writers, I am sorry to say, really do not know anything."

- Philip K. Dick

"If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor."

- Edgar Rice Burroughs

“I do not over-intellectualize the production process. I try to keep it simple: Tell the damned story.”

—Tom Clancy, WD

“When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done.”

—Stephen King, WD

“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.”

—Ray Bradbury, WD

“Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.”

—Annie Dillard

“Writers live twice.”

—Natalie Goldberg

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit."

-Richard Bach

Do you have any phrases or chants that motivate you? Do you have any tips on how to #WriteLikeABoss? Please share them!