Saturday, 11 June 2016

I Want To Be A Writer...

...but where do I start?

Awesome! Welcome to a beautiful world filled with magic and mischief!

To get started, you'll need a pen, paper (or a computer), inspiration, and patience.

Don't think about what you want to write. Just start.



But I don't like what I'm writing.

Welcome to the dark side. It's not pretty, is it? This is where the self doubt creeps in. It's where your biggest fears lurk. Terror and horror will eat away at you.

Do you want to know a secret?

You've got to work through it. Keep writing, even if you hate what you're seeing. It takes time, and patience, to become good at your craft. Even if you only write a few words a day, you're still getting closer to your goal whether that's a finished poem or a published novel.

I've run out of inspiration.

It happens. Move on to something else for a while (I've spent the past year trying to find funding for a non-fiction project because my inspiration for writing fiction has dried up.). Most writers have a pile of WIPs (Works in Progress) lying around. There's no shame in putting something to one side and coming back to it at a later date.

My life's become too busy to write!

Again, this is a fact of life. Work, family matters, friends, social lives. It all happens. Sometimes we need these distractions to help us focus and regroup our thoughts. I know I do from time to time. It helps to bring things into perspective and realise which projects are the ones I need to be working on. At the end of the day, if you're suddenly not enjoying writing a piece, put it to one side and come back to it at a later date. It took me six years to finish one novel because I couldn't get my mind around it. But, when I did, it took me less than a year to finish both the novel and screenplay.

If you need recommendations on how to manage your time, or just pointers on how to organise your mind, I highly recommend John Parkin's “Fuck It: Do What You Love”.




Being a writer should be fun. Writing is the soul's way of letting loose and having fun. Don't let the mountain of completing a piece get to you. Instead, see every obstacle as a step closer to your goal. Most of all, make sure to enjoy the process.

~~~

Rae has published several novels, including the award winning Veetu Industries series. Her crowdfunder is still running and can be found at:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/raegee/living-las-vegas

No comments:

Post a Comment