Universal Truths for Writers part 1 of 7
I, and I'm sure you, have come across many lists on the internet providing platitudes of wisdom to live by. Some of them are useful, others are merely quaint, not all of them apply to everyone in every situation. So rather than try to offer up snippets of what I've learned to the masses, I thought I would try to focus my efforts.
I wear many hats. I'm a husband, a father, a son, a brother, and an uncle. I work for the government, supervise professionals, am on a management team, and am a servant to the citizenry. I read, critique, and write. I could offer advice to anyone who participates in any of these arenas, and I gladly open my arms to anyone willing to share what they've learned with me as I am far from an expert in anything.
To try and speak to all of these at once would be a truly daunting task. While interrelated, none of them is exactly the same and each requires a very different set of skills to be successful. Given the fact that this is a Goodreads blog, and those reading it are most apt to be familiar with me because of my writing, I will attempt to offer up what I have found to be 7 universal truths for all writers everywhere.
I hope you find them useful.
The first universal truth for writers is that you must never stop learning. Albert Einstein said, "Once you stop learning, you start dying." As a writer it is important to continually learn. You must learn the craft, take writing classes, participate in seminars and conventions. For example right now I'm taking a course titled How Writers Write Fiction, being conducted by the University of Iowa. The fact that I'm a published author does not give me permission to close myself off to what a class like this has to offer.
Furthermore writers must research EVERYTHING. We have to learn our subjects, and content so that we can speak with truth and authority. Our readers expect us to deliver stories with authenticity, and if we fail to learn the setting, characters, and facts that create our stories then our readers will know and they will not be forgiving.
Thank you for taking the time to read what I've written. Tune in next week for part 2.
I wear many hats. I'm a husband, a father, a son, a brother, and an uncle. I work for the government, supervise professionals, am on a management team, and am a servant to the citizenry. I read, critique, and write. I could offer advice to anyone who participates in any of these arenas, and I gladly open my arms to anyone willing to share what they've learned with me as I am far from an expert in anything.
To try and speak to all of these at once would be a truly daunting task. While interrelated, none of them is exactly the same and each requires a very different set of skills to be successful. Given the fact that this is a Goodreads blog, and those reading it are most apt to be familiar with me because of my writing, I will attempt to offer up what I have found to be 7 universal truths for all writers everywhere.
I hope you find them useful.
The first universal truth for writers is that you must never stop learning. Albert Einstein said, "Once you stop learning, you start dying." As a writer it is important to continually learn. You must learn the craft, take writing classes, participate in seminars and conventions. For example right now I'm taking a course titled How Writers Write Fiction, being conducted by the University of Iowa. The fact that I'm a published author does not give me permission to close myself off to what a class like this has to offer.
Furthermore writers must research EVERYTHING. We have to learn our subjects, and content so that we can speak with truth and authority. Our readers expect us to deliver stories with authenticity, and if we fail to learn the setting, characters, and facts that create our stories then our readers will know and they will not be forgiving.
Thank you for taking the time to read what I've written. Tune in next week for part 2.
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