I'm writing this blog entry to participate in the Peevish Penman "My Best Advice to New Writers Blogfest."
You ca
n find all the blog entries giving out great advice here.
Being a new writer myself, my advice is going to be pretty basic.
1. Commit Yourself
If you want to make a living as a writer, if you want to be published, you need to put in the time. It doesn't happen magically, despite us wishing it would. Treat it like any other job where you need to put in the hours and learn and improve as you go. As a Professional Fitness Competitor, I had no choice but to train and diet six days a week. There was NO OPTION. Now I treat my writing (ediitng, researching, outlining) the same way. There's no option, no excuse, you just have to do it.
2. Support Group
Gather supportive people around you, whether you join a writing group, create one yourself, or keep close any of those people who will cheer you along. I've found my support people by attending Conventions, which I also highly recommend. I've also met them on writing message boards (Absolute Write Water Cooler is my choice), Twitter and through blogging. Writing is NOT easy, and editing is worse. (hee hee) When times are tough, those in your support group can give you the applause, shoulder to cry on or kick in the butt that you need.
3. Submit!
In order to submit something, it has to be your very best work. That means, first, you need to finish it. Yes, finish it! Finish that short story or novel and then revise it until it's your absolute best work at that time. Then, send it in. Don't be afraid of rejection letters, they are just stepping stones (or ladder rungs, whichever you prefer) on your road to publication. Celebrate each rejection because it means you finished something, polished it the best you could and sent it out into the world! That's worth throwing a rejection letter party.
I encourage you to check out all the posts for Blogfest and get writing! :)
You ca
n find all the blog entries giving out great advice here. Being a new writer myself, my advice is going to be pretty basic.
1. Commit Yourself
If you want to make a living as a writer, if you want to be published, you need to put in the time. It doesn't happen magically, despite us wishing it would. Treat it like any other job where you need to put in the hours and learn and improve as you go. As a Professional Fitness Competitor, I had no choice but to train and diet six days a week. There was NO OPTION. Now I treat my writing (ediitng, researching, outlining) the same way. There's no option, no excuse, you just have to do it.
2. Support Group
Gather supportive people around you, whether you join a writing group, create one yourself, or keep close any of those people who will cheer you along. I've found my support people by attending Conventions, which I also highly recommend. I've also met them on writing message boards (Absolute Write Water Cooler is my choice), Twitter and through blogging. Writing is NOT easy, and editing is worse. (hee hee) When times are tough, those in your support group can give you the applause, shoulder to cry on or kick in the butt that you need.
3. Submit!
In order to submit something, it has to be your very best work. That means, first, you need to finish it. Yes, finish it! Finish that short story or novel and then revise it until it's your absolute best work at that time. Then, send it in. Don't be afraid of rejection letters, they are just stepping stones (or ladder rungs, whichever you prefer) on your road to publication. Celebrate each rejection because it means you finished something, polished it the best you could and sent it out into the world! That's worth throwing a rejection letter party.
I encourage you to check out all the posts for Blogfest and get writing! :)
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