ADVICE FOR NEW WRITERS
People, slowly but surely, have started asking me the same thing over and over again. Do you have any advice for people who want to write? Seriously, you wouldn’t believe how many “undercover authors” there are out there running around. The battlefields of Twitter are flooded with them. I give all of them the same advice. Write what you love, be consistent, and be open to a slap in the face on a regular basis (I’ll get to that part later).
First, write what you love. I love fantasy. I’ve had the imagination of a child for longer than a man in my age bracket would want to admit. That imagination helps me write my stories. Even the crappy ones. With my love for fantasy, it wouldn’t be a good idea to sit down and suddenly start writing romance. Why? Because it will, without a doubt, become as confused as a small person in the Big & Tall section. Don’t do it to yourself. Stick to what you know. This was one of the first lessons I learned while writing with Amazon.
Second, be consistent. I can’t stress this enough. You have to treat your writing like a damn business. A. DAMN. BUSINESS. You may not want to write every day, but you need to try to write at least five days a week. Just like a job, you will need a few days off to charge your battery and such. If you’re a real writer, even on your days off, you will be thinking about your work inside your head. I personally try to write something daily. It may be great, it may be crap, could be an outline, or a character development, but I’m writing. After this blog is posted, guess what I’m going to do. That right, you guessed it, I’m going to write.
Some people find it hard to write regularly. You may not be cut out to be a writer then. I usually aim for two hours of writing per session, or a little over 1,500 words. This becomes more important as you develop a following and people want to read your work.
Third, develop thick skin. THICK! The world of a writer is full of feedback, gut-punches and kicks to the nuts. You will learn to go with the flow, and in time you will expect the beating. This happens in a few areas usually, or at least for me. First area, the story. You think Harry Potter was the first youth in a story to go to a school for magic? Heck no, but his story was told so well that it became legend. With that, don’t worry if your fantastic book idea seems related to another book. Read that book, and then tell your story, because I promise you will hear about it in reviews if you don’t.
Reviews, another solid area where you need brass balls. No matter how well your work is, some people just will not like it. Accept it and move on. There are many top selling authors in the world, who have one star reviews. Your work simply will not be for everybody. It’s life. Screw them and keep on writing.
Lastly, don’t worry if you spell stuff wrong or have grammar issues. I’ve taken webinar classes taught by very well known, well paid, best-selling authors and they have a hard time spelling stuff on the dry-erase-board. That’s why we have beta readers and editors. That’s why I am falling in love with my blog. I can put what I want down, spelling be damned.
There is much more to being a writer, most of it you will learn as you go but these are all good starting points. Write what you love, be consistent, and be prepared for criticism. Until next time folks. Until next time folks ….I think I just coined my closing line for my blogs. Not original, but I like it.
First, write what you love. I love fantasy. I’ve had the imagination of a child for longer than a man in my age bracket would want to admit. That imagination helps me write my stories. Even the crappy ones. With my love for fantasy, it wouldn’t be a good idea to sit down and suddenly start writing romance. Why? Because it will, without a doubt, become as confused as a small person in the Big & Tall section. Don’t do it to yourself. Stick to what you know. This was one of the first lessons I learned while writing with Amazon.
Second, be consistent. I can’t stress this enough. You have to treat your writing like a damn business. A. DAMN. BUSINESS. You may not want to write every day, but you need to try to write at least five days a week. Just like a job, you will need a few days off to charge your battery and such. If you’re a real writer, even on your days off, you will be thinking about your work inside your head. I personally try to write something daily. It may be great, it may be crap, could be an outline, or a character development, but I’m writing. After this blog is posted, guess what I’m going to do. That right, you guessed it, I’m going to write.
Some people find it hard to write regularly. You may not be cut out to be a writer then. I usually aim for two hours of writing per session, or a little over 1,500 words. This becomes more important as you develop a following and people want to read your work.
Third, develop thick skin. THICK! The world of a writer is full of feedback, gut-punches and kicks to the nuts. You will learn to go with the flow, and in time you will expect the beating. This happens in a few areas usually, or at least for me. First area, the story. You think Harry Potter was the first youth in a story to go to a school for magic? Heck no, but his story was told so well that it became legend. With that, don’t worry if your fantastic book idea seems related to another book. Read that book, and then tell your story, because I promise you will hear about it in reviews if you don’t.
Reviews, another solid area where you need brass balls. No matter how well your work is, some people just will not like it. Accept it and move on. There are many top selling authors in the world, who have one star reviews. Your work simply will not be for everybody. It’s life. Screw them and keep on writing.
Lastly, don’t worry if you spell stuff wrong or have grammar issues. I’ve taken webinar classes taught by very well known, well paid, best-selling authors and they have a hard time spelling stuff on the dry-erase-board. That’s why we have beta readers and editors. That’s why I am falling in love with my blog. I can put what I want down, spelling be damned.
There is much more to being a writer, most of it you will learn as you go but these are all good starting points. Write what you love, be consistent, and be prepared for criticism. Until next time folks. Until next time folks ….I think I just coined my closing line for my blogs. Not original, but I like it.
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