Kat Lewis asked Michael Grant:

I am an aspiring author, but I truly have no idea how to even start. I'm often afraid to write anything down out of fear or failure. Any advice? Also, you are one of my all time favorite authors I absolutely loved the Gone Series and I am now reading Front Lines, which is amazing!

Michael Grant Well, in my opinion - which is not shared by most people who teach writing - you start writing by writing.

First off, bear in mind that no one sees anything unless you show it to them. For now you have perfect privacy - it's one of the best things about writing as opposed to, say, doing stand-up comedy - writers take their beatings in private - at least until they publish.

Second, even when you submit for publication it's not like the publisher sends a goon squad to your house to beat you up if they don't like your manuscript. The worst they can do is say, "No." That, too, is private unless you choose to make it public.

With that out of the way:

1) Have an idea.
2) Start writing it.
3) Decide you're actually pretty good.
4) Ten minutes later decide you're an idiot and have no business writing.
5) Then, if you really mean to this, fucking do it: write.
6) Repeat Step #4
7) Fix what you've written.
8) Repeat steps 3 - 7 over and over and over and over until you are done with your book and it is amazing!
9) Then go fix what you've written because no, it's not perfect, not yet.
10) Think about how to get the damned thing published and write a new question to Michael Grant asking how you do that.

99% of people who want to write never finish anything. There is 0% chance of publishing something you have not written. Of the 1% who do get published, most never make a living out of it. Of those who do make a living out of it, 1% get super lucky (JK Rowling, Veronica Roth) right off the bat. But most of us succeed not by luck, but by starting with talent, adding experience, learning from our mistakes, and not stopping.

The not stopping part is critical. This is not about having one great idea, it's about having a thousand ideas over the course of months. It's about discipline. It's about ambition and pride in your work. It's about learning your job, because that's what this is: a job.

If it doesn't work out it may break your heart. But if it does you will have the best job ever.

flag