Celeste Chaney
1.) Let fear be your compass.
Sometimes the things we're afraid to do are the very things we should be doing. If you live outside of fear, you'll not only become stronger, you'll also have a greater wealth of experience to draw from. The best thing about being a writer is that EVERYTHING becomes fodder for your work. So get out there and live a little!
2.) Take yourself seriously.
Even after I quit my job to write my first novel, I'd tell people that I was a marketing consultant when they asked what I did. I wasn't lying, I was consulting a bit, but what I really wanted was to be a writer (hence the fact that I quit my job to do it!).
The point is, I didn't take myself seriously enough as a writer to tell other people that's what I was.
If you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect others to believe in you?
3.) Start writing NOW.
Not after you get your MFA, not once work slows down, not in a year, or after the holidays, or in two weeks, or tomorrow. Now.
I heeded this advice from Debbie Millman (look up her commencement speech) and quit my job in marketing immediately. (Literally -- I submitted my resignation letter a mere five minutes after listening to it.)
It doesn't matter if it's a novel-length project, a short story, poem or journal. Just WRITE. Do it every day.
4.) Read, a lot. Every writer says this because it's true. Diversity is key. Get out of your comfort zone and try new genres and styles. Short stories and poetry are some of my favorite things to read because they teach me, very quickly, new techniques and approaches.
5.) Join a writing group. Again, the more diverse, the better. My writing group is full of incredible, intelligent human beings with a wealth of experience between them. We have an archaeologist, a hairdresser. People in their 20s all the way up to their 70s.
And they're all far better writers than I. They push me, support me, and keep me hungry.
6.) Get Scrivener (the computer program).
I was half-finished with my novel when I found it. It saddens me to think of the time I wasted not having it.
It is simply the best program to organize your thoughts and help you stay productive.
7.) Submit your work.
I wrote my first short story after I'd finished the novel. In retrospect, this was a mistake. I wish I had done more short story writing first. It's a great way to hone your craft and get (relatively) immediate feedback on your work. Don't stop submitting something, either. Just because a literary magazine has rejected a piece doesn't mean that, with a few tweaks, it can't find a home elsewhere.
Sometimes the things we're afraid to do are the very things we should be doing. If you live outside of fear, you'll not only become stronger, you'll also have a greater wealth of experience to draw from. The best thing about being a writer is that EVERYTHING becomes fodder for your work. So get out there and live a little!
2.) Take yourself seriously.
Even after I quit my job to write my first novel, I'd tell people that I was a marketing consultant when they asked what I did. I wasn't lying, I was consulting a bit, but what I really wanted was to be a writer (hence the fact that I quit my job to do it!).
The point is, I didn't take myself seriously enough as a writer to tell other people that's what I was.
If you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect others to believe in you?
3.) Start writing NOW.
Not after you get your MFA, not once work slows down, not in a year, or after the holidays, or in two weeks, or tomorrow. Now.
I heeded this advice from Debbie Millman (look up her commencement speech) and quit my job in marketing immediately. (Literally -- I submitted my resignation letter a mere five minutes after listening to it.)
It doesn't matter if it's a novel-length project, a short story, poem or journal. Just WRITE. Do it every day.
4.) Read, a lot. Every writer says this because it's true. Diversity is key. Get out of your comfort zone and try new genres and styles. Short stories and poetry are some of my favorite things to read because they teach me, very quickly, new techniques and approaches.
5.) Join a writing group. Again, the more diverse, the better. My writing group is full of incredible, intelligent human beings with a wealth of experience between them. We have an archaeologist, a hairdresser. People in their 20s all the way up to their 70s.
And they're all far better writers than I. They push me, support me, and keep me hungry.
6.) Get Scrivener (the computer program).
I was half-finished with my novel when I found it. It saddens me to think of the time I wasted not having it.
It is simply the best program to organize your thoughts and help you stay productive.
7.) Submit your work.
I wrote my first short story after I'd finished the novel. In retrospect, this was a mistake. I wish I had done more short story writing first. It's a great way to hone your craft and get (relatively) immediate feedback on your work. Don't stop submitting something, either. Just because a literary magazine has rejected a piece doesn't mean that, with a few tweaks, it can't find a home elsewhere.
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