The pen is a mighty force -ye weak of heart, need not brandish!
One of my favorite sayings is "Fake it 'til you make it." That does NOT mean lie about who you are, or misrepresent your accomplishments, or falsely embellish your resume. What it does mean, however, is to do whatever you do with confidence. Want to run your first marathon? Then start training, eating, and thinking like a marathon runner. Want to become the CEO of a company someday? Then dress and conduct yourself with the professionalism of a CEO, even if you're currently in cubicle circle. Or, hey, want to be a professional, published author? Then, today is the day to start living, breathing, and achieving that dream, friends. Here is some food for thought:
1. Don't wait for permission.
This was one of the most valuable lessons I was ever taught, especially when it comes to the arts and pursuing your creative dreams. If you hold the mindset, "Oh, if only I could win this writing contest, THEN I can be a writer." "Oh, if only that creative writing professor who hates eeeeeeeverything I write finally gives me a grade above a C, THEN I can be a writer." Here's the deal, peeps: NO ONE needs to give you permission to pursue your dreams EXCEPT YOU. Some of the most successful writers of all time sure didn't putz around, hanging their dreams on someone else's opinion of their work. They put themselves out there and just went for it.
2. Don't take "No" personally.
This one is very closely related to #1. Without a doubt, you are going to hear, "No no no," waaaaaaaaaay more than, "Yes yes yes." Even well-established authors have their projects or pitches turned down. If hearing "no" over and over again is going to tank your writing mojo to a place where you can't boot-strap yourself back up again, then this is going to be a profession wrought with unhealthy emotion for you. There are even cases where your agent or your editor may love your idea, but when it finally gets to market, the public isn't so receptive. Like anything creativity based, there are going to be those who are die-hard fans for your work, and those who wouldn't read your book if it was the only form of entertainment to wash up on shore on a desert island. They key is (and it can be a very hard key to grasp for any well-adjusted, grounded, self-confident writer) is to not take it personally. Just as you don't care for particular books or authors, they exact same subjectivity will be applied to you. View this as simply part of the job description and nothing more. Move on, don't let the negativity get to your psyche, and keep doin' what you do with confidence!
3. Embrace your unique writing voice...
We all have favorite authors that we admire, and some of us may even try to emulate their style. But don't sell yourself short by trying to conform to a mold. Explore your own unique writing voice through trying different genres, story lines, even something like screenplay- or playwriting. The more you write, the more familiar you'll become (and the more you'll appreciate) your own unique voice, and the more likely you'll be able to stand out from the crowd. No one has your ideas and sounds like you. This is an extremely valuable asset, not a setback.
4. ...and be aware how your to-date life experiences influence that voice.
Also understand that your amount of life experiences greatly influences your innate writing voice. Say you're a relatively young writer, perhaps in your late-teens / early twenties who is navigating all of the first-time experiences that college brings. Your innate writing voice as a college student is going to sound much different than if you were a forty-year-old mother of two who's weathered a nasty divorce. Does that mean you can't effectively write a believable character who is a forty-year-old mother of two who's weathered a nasty divorce? Not at all! (Perhaps you were one of those two children and watched your mother go through something similar.) Just be conscious that different ages and life stages bring different vernacular, challenges, and mindsets. Surround yourself with people of diverse age ranges, if at all possible, and get to know what makes each age distinct. Your characters (and your readers!) will thank you for it. To give an example (from a book that shall remain unnamed), I found it incredibly distracting that a twenty-something chic city girl used the term "nanny goat" in conversation, while a seventy-plus man said, "super cool." Doesn't necessarily add up, does it? :/
5. Start with your strengths.
Not the best at writing setting descriptions without some action first? Or perhaps you struggle with dialogue, but could describe the atmosphere of a medieval castle with History Channel-like accuracy. An instant confidence booster is to start your writing process right off the bat with your strongest writing skill. For example, I LOVE to write dialogue (hey, it's the theatre training in me), so I will almost always start a chapter with the dialogue I envision happening in this particular part of the story. (I even write it in playwriting format.) I have my key characters in mind, I know what they're going to say, I know how the action is going to progress verbally -check, check check! Once I have all of that down, then I'll go back to the top of the chapter and start knitting things together with necessary descriptions, locale changes, etc. Remember, you're not going to lose invisible "writing points" on your process -it can be as straightforward or as roundabout as you feel so inclined. Just do yourself a huge favor and focus on what you're best at first and get your writing session started in a happy, stress-free place.
6. Stay current with the writing world.
"Knowledge is Power!" says School House Rock, but knowledge is confidence, too! Keeping apace with what's going on in the writing world is good not only for your own personal benefit, but also really smart business sense. No matter where you are in your writing career and no matter what your genre(s) of choice, there are some really great general, as well as niche, resources for every kind of writer. Writer's Digest, in particular, has a plethora of writing resources available electronically online and in hard copy. (I myself subscribe to Writer's Digest Magazine.) Attending conferences is also a great way to learn new skills, meet new people, and even network with agents. I'll be discussing more about what's on my own writing resource shelf in an upcoming post, so please check back to see what books I've found particularly helpful in my writing journey.
It's Make It Happen Monday, friends, so let's get out there and get some great new stories written! Happy Writing!
~Riley
