Your First Steps To Becoming A Writer
Your First Steps To Becoming A Writer By Sophfronia Scott
What's the first step to becoming a writer? You'd think itwould be "write", but it's not. In speaking to other writersand from what I know of my own journey to becoming a writer,I've come to realize that the biggest obstacle for new writersis that they don't think of themselves as writers. They havetrouble developing the belief that they are writers and yetit's something you have to do. When you haven't developed thatbelief, that conviction, it becomes a source of sabotage--youdon't value your work enough to give it the time and the spaceit needs. How do you come to think of yourself as a writer,especially when you're not earning a paycheck as a writer? Hereare a few tips:
What Happens When You Write?
If you want to be a writer, I'm assuming you feel you havesomething to say and a strong desire to say it. You may notknow how you're going to say it or in what form (poetry, novel,essay, etc.) but you know something is there. Okay, you pick upyour pencil or pen or you sit down to your computer ortypewriter. Write something. Whatever you write, just make sureyour heart is in it. It doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn'thave to be neat. It does have to be expressive.
Next, as painful as it may be, you have to show this writing tosomeone. It can be a friend, it can be a family member. Then,pay attention to what happens. Did the person reading your workcry, laugh or get angry? If so, you did that! It means you canhave an effect with your writing. It's worth something. Youhave to keep going!
A teenager recently wrote to me concerned because she's writingfiction and she's worried her mother will read it and get upsetbecause she thinks it's stuff the teenager really did. On theone hand, that is a bummer to have to explain yourself to yourmother, but on the other hand--wow, that means the young lady'swork is believeable and effective. That kind of feedback is hardto ignore. It's powerful motivation to keep you going--if youtake the time to notice and honor that it's happening. I oncehad a writer say to me, "I don't know if my stuff is any good.I just know that when people read it, they cry." I told her youcan't get a message any clearer than that kind of response. Nowshe just has to listen to it.
Cultivate Silence
If you're having trouble thinking about what it is you have tosay, it may help you to spend some time each day in silence.Some writers pray. Some meditate. The idea is to get used toclearing your brain space and tuning in to your inner voice.You'll also be more aware of those little scraps of possibilityfloating around in your head that can later grow into big ideas.
What Do You Want to Write? Experiment!
It's okay if you don't know what you want to write about. Itmay take a long time journaling for you to see what keepscoming up for you. And it may take longer to find the form thatfits you best. I went from poetry to essays to long-form letterwriting before I settled on fiction. It took me years to dothat. It doesn't mean I won't do anything else in those genres,but what I'm doing right now just fits. I encourage you toexperiment until you find the form that suits your writingbest.
Continually Remind Yourself You Are a Writer
As you develop your belief that you're a writer, it's helpfulto set up reminders that will jog you back to that brain spacethat you need to be in to write. When you sit down to writeit's easy to get distracted and starting thinking about doinglaundry or what's for dinner. You'll want to have somethingeither on your desk or on the wall in front of you that remindsyou to get back to work and that you are a writer.
It might be your list of values that remind you that writing isa part of who you are. It may be simple words such as CREATE orINSPIRE. Isabel Allende, who writes beautiful, historicalnovels will sit in her office with photos around her, oldphotos of people who essentially represent her characters soshe’s surrounded by them. That puts her back into the brainspace of her book because she is sitting in their world; thesepeople are all around her.
What world do you need to be in? The journey you take to getthere will be one of many you'll take as a writer. I hope theseideas will help you take those first steps. What you write--andwhere you go from here--is entirely up to you. Bon Voyage.
© 2006 Sophfronia Scott
About the Author: Author and Writing Coach Sophfronia Scott is"The Book Sistah" TM. Get her FREE REPORT, "The 5 Big MistakesMost Writers Make When Trying to Get Published" and her FREEonline writing and publishing tips athttp://www.TheBookSistah.com
Source:http://www.webmasterinfoandcontent.com
What's the first step to becoming a writer? You'd think itwould be "write", but it's not. In speaking to other writersand from what I know of my own journey to becoming a writer,I've come to realize that the biggest obstacle for new writersis that they don't think of themselves as writers. They havetrouble developing the belief that they are writers and yetit's something you have to do. When you haven't developed thatbelief, that conviction, it becomes a source of sabotage--youdon't value your work enough to give it the time and the spaceit needs. How do you come to think of yourself as a writer,especially when you're not earning a paycheck as a writer? Hereare a few tips:
What Happens When You Write?
If you want to be a writer, I'm assuming you feel you havesomething to say and a strong desire to say it. You may notknow how you're going to say it or in what form (poetry, novel,essay, etc.) but you know something is there. Okay, you pick upyour pencil or pen or you sit down to your computer ortypewriter. Write something. Whatever you write, just make sureyour heart is in it. It doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn'thave to be neat. It does have to be expressive.
Next, as painful as it may be, you have to show this writing tosomeone. It can be a friend, it can be a family member. Then,pay attention to what happens. Did the person reading your workcry, laugh or get angry? If so, you did that! It means you canhave an effect with your writing. It's worth something. Youhave to keep going!
A teenager recently wrote to me concerned because she's writingfiction and she's worried her mother will read it and get upsetbecause she thinks it's stuff the teenager really did. On theone hand, that is a bummer to have to explain yourself to yourmother, but on the other hand--wow, that means the young lady'swork is believeable and effective. That kind of feedback is hardto ignore. It's powerful motivation to keep you going--if youtake the time to notice and honor that it's happening. I oncehad a writer say to me, "I don't know if my stuff is any good.I just know that when people read it, they cry." I told her youcan't get a message any clearer than that kind of response. Nowshe just has to listen to it.
Cultivate Silence
If you're having trouble thinking about what it is you have tosay, it may help you to spend some time each day in silence.Some writers pray. Some meditate. The idea is to get used toclearing your brain space and tuning in to your inner voice.You'll also be more aware of those little scraps of possibilityfloating around in your head that can later grow into big ideas.
What Do You Want to Write? Experiment!
It's okay if you don't know what you want to write about. Itmay take a long time journaling for you to see what keepscoming up for you. And it may take longer to find the form thatfits you best. I went from poetry to essays to long-form letterwriting before I settled on fiction. It took me years to dothat. It doesn't mean I won't do anything else in those genres,but what I'm doing right now just fits. I encourage you toexperiment until you find the form that suits your writingbest.
Continually Remind Yourself You Are a Writer
As you develop your belief that you're a writer, it's helpfulto set up reminders that will jog you back to that brain spacethat you need to be in to write. When you sit down to writeit's easy to get distracted and starting thinking about doinglaundry or what's for dinner. You'll want to have somethingeither on your desk or on the wall in front of you that remindsyou to get back to work and that you are a writer.
It might be your list of values that remind you that writing isa part of who you are. It may be simple words such as CREATE orINSPIRE. Isabel Allende, who writes beautiful, historicalnovels will sit in her office with photos around her, oldphotos of people who essentially represent her characters soshe’s surrounded by them. That puts her back into the brainspace of her book because she is sitting in their world; thesepeople are all around her.
What world do you need to be in? The journey you take to getthere will be one of many you'll take as a writer. I hope theseideas will help you take those first steps. What you write--andwhere you go from here--is entirely up to you. Bon Voyage.
© 2006 Sophfronia Scott
About the Author: Author and Writing Coach Sophfronia Scott is"The Book Sistah" TM. Get her FREE REPORT, "The 5 Big MistakesMost Writers Make When Trying to Get Published" and her FREEonline writing and publishing tips athttp://www.TheBookSistah.com
Source:http://www.webmasterinfoandcontent.com
posted by wiac1 at Saturday, January 07, 2006
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