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Having friends and family members is an excellent way to get feedback on your work. However, and this is a cautious however, be prepared for a few things before handing over your writing. There is great potential–especially if it’s a close friend or family member–that the relationship that person has with you might skew the objectivity he or she is able provide. While it will be a great help in the way of positive feedback (yay!), keep in mind that the person probably values the relationship over the honest, valuable comments your writing needs. Imagine the rude awakening if you hand your manuscript or short story to the next person and you find out you don’t use commas correctly! You can never go wrong with getting your writing into the hands of loved ones, but be aware that they aren’t trained editors and won’t be looking for the things that will make your story be the polished prose you desire.

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Are you writing your next piece for a contest, magazine article, or some other format that limits your word count? Managing your creativity to a precise number can be difficult, and it can often leave you feeling like your work doesn’t sound “like you.” Don’t be discouraged, though. A helpful hint is to tackle the task as you would under normal circumstances; that is, don’t think about the word count. If you write to a specific number it’ll keep your imagination from flowing freely. Instead, write the piece–get it all on paper…  and then look at your word count.