The secret of becoming a writer

THE SECRET OF BECOMING A WRITER

By now we all agree with Augusten Burroughs: “The secret to being a writer is that you have to write. It’s not enough to think about writing or to study literature or to plan a future life as an author. You really have to…get to work.”

OK. We’re writing as much as we can. We’re not worrying if it is good or not nor are we worrying much about form or format, punctuation, or grammar. What’s the next step? Can we hurry this along?

Actually we’re there. We’re writers.

Ahh, well, but we’re not published.

So now we want to be in the big leagues and get out of the sand lot.

Writing is more a journey than a destination. If we don’t enjoy writing, we’re not on the right road. If we do enjoy writing then we’re going in the right direction. In time we’ll see how far and fast our dedication, talent, and inspiration takes us. This is a great adventure; be sure to enjoy the trip.

Yes, there are things that can move us along faster. We learn the craft from our own experience, but there is much we can do that will help us. Conferences, courses, books, web sites, blogs, schools, writers groups, critique partners, and other writers form a well of resources. It is our experience that determines how big a bucket we take to the well and how much we take away.

Write, write, right now!

Experience

EXPERIENCE

“Quantity gives experience. From experience alone can quality come.” Ray Bradbury, ZEN IN THE ART OF WRITING.

Bradbury’s essays on creativity are a series of pep talks for writers. Few of us will have his talent, but we all can learn from his insightful advice.

He wrote at least a thousand words everyday from the age of twelve. Expect to do a lot of writing before you get published. I’ve heard several novelists say that it takes about three novels before one gets accepted. That’s a lot of work, a lot of words written and revised.

Back to work, writing. For now we’re focusing in on quantity. Writing a journal, stream of consciousness, family stories, short story attempts, descriptions, essays, or anything is good. Just write regularly and often. Make the habit; train the brain. Write, write, right now!

Still Writing

Still Writing

You have to hit a lot of balls to be a good golfer, tennis player, or baseball player. To be good, writers must write, write, write. This may sound obvious, just another “duh”, but it is the key to success.

Epictetus wrote almost nineteen hundred years ago, “If you wish to be a writer, write.”

ZEN IN THE ART OF WRITING

Zen in the Art of Writing--Essays on Creativity by Ray Bradbury @1989 is a wonderfully inspiring book that aspiring writers need to read, not just once, but often. His enthusiasm leaps off the page and catches you. His practical tips and advice help immediately. Get this book, read it. It’s great.

One of Bradbury’s tips: “You will have to write …. a lot of material before you are comfortable… You might as well start now and get the necessary work done.”

A Good Place to Start

A GOOD PLACE TO START

For those thinking about becoming writers, the book Maybe You Should Write a Book by Ralph Daigh is a good place to start. Daigh, a well known publisher, relates stories about and advice from outstanding authors including James A. Michener, Isaac Asimov, Saul Bellow, John D. MacDonald, and others.

From Louis L’Amour, Daigh quotes the wisdom: “If you are going to be a writer the first essential is just to write; write whenever, wherever, however, but write.”

Daigh’s own advice to those who want to write a book is: “Say it and do it! Tell yourself privately and confidently, ‘I’m going to write a book, NOW!’”

Daigh also gives the answer to the question of how to start a novel: “…start writing…”

This book was published in 1977 and may be difficult to find, but well worth the effort.

Jim 6-5-2009

Write! Write! Right Now!

Write! Write! Right Now!

I want to be an author, a writer of short stories and novels. This is my journey. Along the way I will seek out and pass along to you the best advice. I will also ask you what works for you so that that too can be passed along.

To be an author:

write
write regularly and often
don’t wait; start right now.

Writing regularly not only hones your craft and develops your voice but also tunes you into your creative self. It does not even matter much if what you write is good or not. Even the bad stuff is taking you along the road. You will improve.

For me setting a goal to write something, anything, even one sentence, most days every week helped to develop the habit without it feeling like an onerous burden. Once the habit was established, daily time goals or word count goals were set. I found it was easier to aim for a minimum of five or ten minutes per day than two or three hundred words.

I found the biggest hurdle was the first word. Put one down now, any one, and just start writing.
---Jim 6-04-2009