Today’s post brings another double dose – this time of the letter “I” as we delve into INSTINCT and INTEGRITY.

It’s said that you should trust your instincts. Rather, I say to use your instincts. Intuition is a strong tool, and if you feel something is right or wrong for your writing, trust yourself. However, it can’t hurt to make a note of what you choose not to include, as you never know how it might come in handy in the future. If you don’t write it down, you’re more likely to forget it. Keep all your thoughts, as you never know when they might become useful and creatively stimulating in a way you never considered.

The same is true for your reading. If you aren’t enjoying something, moving on from it is probably a wise idea. It will bring you that much closer that much more quickly to reading something you will find yourself thoroughly engrossed in. Using your instincts to help you find your favorite genre, learn more about your favorite authors, riffle through bookshelves, judge books by their covers (or choose not to), and decide which order to use for your queue of books will ultimately hone your instincts and make it easier to do all these things the next time.

Regarding integrity, writers and readers must both possess this characteristic. Without integrity, writers may not be living up to their own wishes and desires for what they want their writing to be or how far they want their writing to go. They may be giving in to what everyone else wants based on critiques, reviews, or a number of other things. So long as writers have integrity, readers will realize this and be more invested in the writing that they know the author put every bit of themselves into wholeheartedly. Readers must also have the integrity to say what they feel, which may sound counterintuitive based on the idea that writers should listen to themselves first, but it doesn’t mean that they can’t take stock of what readers have to say based on where they see snippets of truth in said reviews that can help them grow stronger in their writing craft.

It may be an instinct to have integrity, but sometimes it’s important to not take everything and anything for granted and instead consider instincts first, which will give you more integrity, making your role in the whole writing and reading process as integral as ever.

How do you use your instincts? Do you trust them? Are they more trouble than they’re worth? Share your thoughts in the comments below!