Photo by Pereanu Sebastian on Unsplash
New writers often want to know a wide range of things to help them improve their writing and navigate the publishing industry. Here are some common questions and concerns that new writers may have, and I get asked from time to time.
How do I get started with writing?
Dead Center.
That’s not the name of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
That’s where you can sometimes find yourself if you start thinking that you would enjoy writing. You really may think the idea would be great, and you would be good at writing. You even may think you would eventually make a living at it.
You may think, at worst, you would enjoy the creativity of writing.
But you may be on Dead Center, balanced, not in motion one way or the other, and not even knowing the best way to get moving. That is a fair question, because you don’t know what you don’t know until you find out.
It’s not intuitive necessarily, but I have found that the only way to start and to learn is to start and learn. Once you start, you will learn unless you quit.
I have never found anything that a person could read or watch/listen to that would teach how to be a writer. There are many resources that are GREAT for you to see, but until you start on your own, it won’t make enough sense to you.
Begin by setting aside a time each day or week to write.
So now I have said you have to start writing to start writing. It’s like learning to ride a bike. You have to get a few bumps in the beginning.
And I have found that if I try to write at different times, whenever I can, the act is too tentative to make sure you do it every day. It’s easy to skip from time to time, and that doesn’t build habits. Habits have to build. They don’t just appear.
Choose a topic or genre that interests you.
If it doesn’t interest you, it wont hold your interest, and it sure won’t be interesting to readers. The trick is, you will intentionally and unintentionally emulate writers you enjoy personally. So don’t get off on the wrong foot, reading and studying topics that make you yawn.
Experiment with different writing prompts or exercises.
Some new writers get writing inspiration from pictures on a site like Unsplash.com. They see a picture and imagine the story behind the picture.
There are several writer websites that will trade you your email to join their newsletter, in return for lists of writing prompts. All free.
And I am sure there are some sites that will coach and help you, or just supply ideas but usually not for free.
Of course, writing prompts are for fiction writers. Non-fiction writers are usually working within the limits of their subject selected, and the tendency is to steer clear of imagination prompts and toward experience and/or research.
Conclusion
It’s also helpful to read widely, in the genre you want to write in and to join writing groups or workshops to get feedback and support. I have not found traditional writing groups as helpful today as they once were, because too many writers now have little time or desire to help their newer associates.
Don’t forget, you can get A Year of Martin free HERE or I HEART MARTIN, Stories 301-500 for $7.
Second photo by: Photo by ConvertKit on Unsplash
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