Suggestions for Aspiring Writers
I signed some Kindlegraphs for Kindle users today and came across one person who asked for writing advice. The Kindlegraph application isn’t set up for responding, so I thought I’d make a few suggestions, some of which you may have heard. First, I’ll tell you how I started writing.
Like all of you, I was a voracious romance reader. One day, I ran out of books to read. While my daughter was at school, I decided to write a historical romance just to entertain myself. It was terrible, but of course, I didn’t know it. I was just having a good time writing whatever popped into my head. Then one day, my friend Becky called, and I confessed my new hobby. Here’s the clincher. She had just been to a suburban branch of a local university where she saw a class advertised for how to write a romance. Becky gave me the phone number, and I called. I’d never heard of the author Patricia Kay, but I decided on a whim to sign up anyway. That class changed my life.
These days, most romance writing classes are taught online. Probably the best way to learn about them and everything else related to writing and publishing a romance is to join Romance Writers of America. Here’s a link where you can explore everything that’s available via RWA: http://www.rwa.org/ Depending on where you live, there may be local chapters of RWA with meetings that you can attend. It’s really great to meet other writers who love romance. You’ll also learn a great deal about the business aspects over time as well.
Probably, the best advice I can give you is to read lots of books and develop a writing schedule. You may meet friends who are new to writing and decide to form a critique group. Critique groups meet to discuss new material and to help authors figure out what’s working and not working in a story.
If you’ve been writing a romance or seriously considering doing so, check out the information on RWA. It’s the best place to start. By the way, I’m still friends with my first writing teacher, Pat. She’s a wonderful teacher! I don’t think she’s got a class scheduled this month, but you can check out her website periodically to see what’s coming up. Here’s the link: http://www.patriciakay.com/classes/index.php
Maybe one day, you’ll see your books on a shelf like this!
