It seems that most people I meet at writers’ group meetings and those I hear from through my blog, my website and SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network), have more reasons why they do not write than hours they put in actually writing. While many of them definitely have legitimate excuses for not writing, even though they say they truly want to, some just can’t seem to pull their lives together enough to write on a regular basis.
When you have to work full-time, devote you days to caretaking a loved one or have preschoolers in the home, you don’t have much time to spend capturing your thoughts on paper, writing your memoir or a how-to book or penning a novel. (However, I certainly know people who do this.) In fact, I work with a few clients who are living full lives AND writing a book.
There are hopeful authors who don’t have regimented and complex lives, yet who still can’t make themselves sit down and write the book that’s in their hearts. Is this you?
Whether you are wildly busy and over-committed; disorganized and lack a schedule; desirous of writing, but can’t seem to get started, there is hope. But you have to really want it and you have to be motivated.
Dedicated, committed writers all have one thing in common. They are all motivated to write. There is something that motivates, drives them, spurs them on. These people write and they actually produce written material even though it is difficult or even inconvenient.
What is the impetus or incentive that prompts some to write? That varies. For some it is the story. They have lived with a story inside long enough and they are ready to get it out. It’s almost a compulsion. Others become addicted to the process of writing. They can’t not write. Not all of these people are self-directed, though. For some of them, just the act of writing is enough. They desire only to create lovely prose or stories without any need to share them. They write in the closet. But others, of course, write primarily to be read. This is their motivation—to be published.
In this economic climate, more and more wannabe writers are becoming writers for the purpose of supplementing their income. The world will be graced with some wonderful, new writings because of it and, at the same time, tainted by many less than literary or even cohesive works.
I’ve learned that just because we want to write, doesn’t mean we have something to say or that we can say it in any sort of meaningful or eloquent way.
If you are new to writing, be sure to seek the right kind of guidance in your pursuit. Sign up for a well-recommended writing course. Join a writers’ critique group and listen carefully to what your peers say. Before deciding to go down the publishing road, study the publishing industry. And hire an editor.
In times like these, editorial assistants, book shepherds, publishing consultants, writing teachers and others are hanging out their shingles, perhaps, for the first time. When you decide it’s time to consult an expert, do your homework.
Check this person’s background.
• Study their websites/brochures to find out what they claim and what they offer.
• Read the testimonials on their website/in their brochures.
• Ask for references and then follow-up with them.
• Offer to pay an editor for a sample edit. (Some editors offer this for free.)
For additional help in the form of books, online courses and articles for hopeful and struggling authors and freelance writers, spend some time at http://www.matilijapress.com