4 Steps to Being the Best Writer You Can Be By Edwin Crozier

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4 Steps to Being the Best Writer You Can Be By Edwin Crozier

Today, I have invited a return guest to be with us. Edwin Crozier will entertain the question, "How can we be the best writer we can be?" with some simple, easy to understand advice.

Before we get to Edwin's post, I have a couple of quick in-house announcements to make.

1. Please join me today at 3:30 pm Eastern as Felice Gerwitz's invited guest on her Blog Talk Radio show, Information In A Nutshell, where we will be discussing Hosting Successful Twitter Parties.

2. We have a couple of Kindle titles that you can win this week just by leaving a comment on a blog post. Bridges: A Tale of Niagara By dk LeVick and Without Regrets By Kristi Burchfiel are our Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway titles you can read about and then leave a comment for a chance to win. Check out these two books today!

Now, on to Edwin's post...

4 Steps to Being the Best Writer You Can Be

By Edwin Crozier

How much money do John Grisham and Stephen King make a year? That's who I want to be.

Have you ever thought like that? Have you ever thought if you could just be Terry Pratchett, Clive Cussler, or John Maxwell (okay, I'm a guy so I think about male writers, sorry), then you'd be a really good writer and you'd make lots of money? I know I have.

Here's the problem. I'm not any of those guys. I don't have the same education, the same experiences, the same passions, the same strengths, the same loves. I'm not ever going to be those writers. Perhaps the number one thing that keeps me from being the best writer I can be is the wasted years of trying to be someone else.

No doubt, when you think about becoming the best writer you can be, you think about training in writing, creative practice, journaling, and other exercises to actually hone your craft. Those are all necessary. But I want to hone in on the word "You" in that phrase "The Best Writer You Can Be." The fact is you can learn all the ins and outs of the craft, but if you're just trying to be someone else, you'll never be more than a hack.

You need to work on being the best writer You can be. Here are 4 steps for you to take.

Step #1: Break the molds.

Don't let the authors who are already out there be your mold. Obviously, what you read is going to impact you, and will be part of what shapes you as a writer. But you don't have to pigeonhole yourself as a particular kind of writer. You don't have to compare your writing to those other writers. Yes, yes, learn what you can from others. See what works and what doesn't. But don't let that put a stranglehold on your writing. Break the molds. Be you in your writing.

Step #2: Disregard the prophecies of others.

All our lives we are told by other people what we should become and what we should do. Our whole lives, parents, professors, and peers have prophesied where we should go, what we should become, who we should be. Disregard those prophecies. You don't have to write the book someone else told you to. (Unless, of course, you're working as a ghost writer—that's different.) You don't have to write in the field someone else thinks you should. Too often, those "shoulds" are other people trying to live vicariously through you. Break the codependent bonds with which you are bound and write about what you want to write about.

Step #3: Write from your strengths.

What do you know? What have you studied? What have you experienced? Write about that. Don't think you can only make money, make a living at writing, or be recognized as an author by writing the kind of stuff someone else writes. Who would have thought that writing about great customer service in government would go anywhere? But Wendie Pomerance Brick has written on this blog about what turned her "potential snooze-fest non-fiction into an award-nominated book." Joel Friedlander took his experiences of publishing his own books and turned that into something to write about in A Self-Publisher's Companion . That's what I call writing from your strengths.

Step #4: Write what you enjoy.

Writing is work, no matter how you cut it. If you don't let it be a labor of love, you probably won't do the labor necessary to write well. Too many people are trying to write the kinds of books or blogs they think will make big money. The problem is they don't really have any passion for that field of writing. They find it hard to maintain the disciplines because that is the only thing that gets them writing—sheer discipline. There is no enjoyment in it for them. Do you enjoy writing about food? Then do that. Do you enjoy writing about raising kids? Then do that. Do you enjoy writing about how to run effective Twitter contests? Then do that. Do you enjoy writing mysteries? Then do that. Do you enjoy writing about religious issues? Then do that. Don't bog yourself down trying to write blogs, articles, or books in some field or genre just because you think that's where the money is. Write what you enjoy. Trust me, it will come through in the writing. I'll paraphrase John Maxwell. Write about something you enjoy so much you'd write about it for free. Then write such good stuff that people will pay you for it.

The truth is to be the best writer you can be, you have to be you in your writing. Quit trying to be someone else. Be surprised at the money you can make and the recognition you can receive when you work at being you. However, in my book, you get something even better than money out of it. You get meaning, fulfillment, and personal value. You can chase the almighty dollar all day and fall asleep empty because you sold yourself out. Or you can go to sleep fulfilled because you followed who you are.

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Edwin Crozier was born an Air Force brat and grew up in Idaho, England, North Carolina, Texas, England again, and Arkansas. When he graduated high school, he was completely confused, thinking he wanted to be an Aerospace Engineer. Boy was he wrong! It didn't take him long to learn that his life would be about words and communication not numbers and diagrams.

He started school at Wichita State University, but graduated from The University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama.

While at his alma mater, he met Marita Bobbitt, whom he would somehow manage to trick into becoming his beautiful bride. Together, they have four children, whom they both love and adore. (And even though he was an English major and is now an author, he still struggles with when he should use "who" or "whom." Thank goodness for editors!)

Edwin preaches for the Brownsburg Church of Christ in Brownsburg, Indiana. He runs two blogs: God's Way Works and Give Attention to Reading.

His writing tends toward Christian inspiration and instruction. However, he also dabbles in general self-help and Public Speaking help. Most of all he just wants to be of some help to someone somewhere. Maybe you can be the next person he helps.

You can check out Edwin's books at his Amazon Author Page, including his new release, Getting To Did