Goodreads asked Mary Smathers:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Mary Smathers I have been an aspiring writer my whole life. So for me to actually move to a new phase where I have produced a book and actually call myself a writer is super new and just huge. It is very exciting and there were many times I didn’t think I would get here. A common trap for aspiring writers is to just think about it, dream about it, read about it, and never write. I was like that for years and years.

Number one, if you want to be a writer, is to write. And all the writers on writing books I have read pretty much say that too. They also have lots of other good tips and tricks. But you have to actually put your butt in the chair and write. Number one.

Another huge trap for many is getting caught up in the self-doubt and fear of failure that can consume many of us. “I can’t write. I’m not good enough, smart or creative or clever enough.” Self talk like that is definitely an enemy, a trap for any aspiring writer. I found the book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert and her related podcast Magic Lessons very helpful on this topic of fears and self-doubts.

One of my all time favorite books by a writer about writing is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Brilliant. I highly recommend it for any aspiring writer. Anne has a whole chapter on what she calls “shitty first drafts.” Everyone writes them, including her and all other professional writers. You have to accept that you are going to write some crap but then keep on writing. And use those drafts to edit and sort out your ideas and think through what you really want to say. But “shitty first drafts” was a huge relief for me. Read the book. She is hilarious and has lots of other very specific good advice for writers.

flag