I am an aspiring author giving advice… And the truth be told, I’ve gotten so many rejection letters that I’ve quit saving them. Hell, I even got one from a friend who publishes anthologies. -At least that one wasn’t a form letter. But the advice I’m giving is still valid.
The rules are simple: Butt goes on chair. Words go on paper. The chair is optional.
Your first draft will suck, so what. Write it, then fix it, so you can really fix the next time, or maybe the time after that, etc.
Remember, you’ll never be Hemingway, Tolkien, Steinbeck or King. Those jobs are taken. But they are great teachers.
Make notes. I don’t care if you’re a planner or a pantser. Write down your ideas, or you will, like as not, forget them.
And make detailed notes about your characters. After all, you don’t want your sidekick suddenly morphing into the anti-hero. Or the hero changing his/her height, weight, hair, bank balance, or language.
Take classes -a lot of them are free, or join a forum, where your fellow would be writers will cheerfully rip your best work to shreds. But then they’ll tell you why. That random publisher may not even bother to read it.
On that subject, somebody in that publisher’s office has the job of rejecting your manuscript, and your job is to convince them not to.
On the subject of forums; avoid those happy, happy, joy, joy places where everybody is kind, sweet, and supportive. They may be good for your ego, but you’ll never learn anything.
And be prepared for assholes. They just can’t help themselves. They rarely teach you anything, but they do help your ego develop callouses.
Writing flash fiction will help you learn how to eliminate unnecessary words and get to the point.
Writing short stories will help you find your voice without a fifty thousand word investment.
If you can, take the 50,000 word / 30 day NaNoWriMo challenge. It’s a bitch, but you learn a lot and have a chance to meet some interesting people.
The list of possible advice is endless and, at the end of the day, repetitive. But here’s the last bit for this post… READ! Read everything and reread the stuff you like. And WRITE! Often. If you don’t have a lot of time, write short stories, flash fiction, kids books, or blog posts. But write.
Writing is tough, with lots of competition.
Remember, all these people faced the same competition and eventually got published anyway. So, write.
As a side, and final note, there are lots of free images our there for things like blog posts. These photos are from Free Images dot com, one of my favorite sources for free, royalty free, images.
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