Getting Serious About Writing

An article by Tevyn No Comments

This year’s goal to write has been progressing as expected--slowly.  As a fulltime employee, mother of two young ones, once a quarter student, wife, and home owner, writing hasn’t been near the top of my to do list.  I have been writing as often as I can and soon I hope that NaNoWriMo will show me that I can make more time for writing.  I don’t have unreal expectations like I’m going to be the next J. K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, or Patrick Rothfuss.  I don’t have a literature degree and I don’t intend to get one at this time.  I just want to get the stories in my head written down and anything beyond that is just a bonus.  I’ve shared stories with a few of my friends and family and they all agree that they have potential.  Err, that I have potential.  I want to put their support at my back in order to push me forward.

I’m not following a well-developed and documented set of steps to reach my goal.  It is my own creations.  I’m committed to many responsibilities that are outside of the world of writing that I can’t drop.  I need to be realistic with what I can do.  I’m not a miracle worker and I’m in no rush to meet a deadline.  The goal is very general--to write.  I am not pushing myself to publish a book, short story, or flash fiction, just to write.

Step Number 1: I started committing to my writing quest publically by creating a blog full of stories.  This blog helps me reach fans, get feedback, grow connections, and build confidence in my skills.  What I love most about blogging is that I’ve got a way to get the small scenes out of my head and into a shareable location.

Step Number 2: I began paying attention to my favorite writer’s blogs and researching on how to write fiction.  A great resource that I’ve found has been from Joel Friedlander at The Book Designer. 

Lately, I’ve been internet following (not stalking) a pair of writers that have similar tastes and I believe they can offer me guidance in these early days of writing.  They also live nearby, which I thought, was an added awesomeness.  Philippa Balantine and Tee Morris are the creative force behind a truly enriched world of what I’d like to call writer awareness.  I’m not sure if they realize the mentoring power they have provided new writers with.  Their internet presence is an example to me of how to be a successful tech-savvy writer.

I haven’t read all of their books, all their posts, or listened to all of their podcast variations.  I have read the epic tale of Books and Braun’s first adventures in the Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by both authors.  I’ve read Geist (A Book of the Order) and Spectyr (A Book of the Order) by Philippa (looking forward to the next two).  I am a fan and subscriber of The Shared Desk podcast, a hodgepodge of writer genius in an entertainingly crazed bundle of music to my ears.  I’ve been following them on Twitter (@PhilippaJane and @TeeMonster) and Facebook to pick up on their latest writer delights (congratulations on NY Comic Con). 

Step Number 3: Learn about what it takes to finish a book.  Pip and Tee’s The Shared Desk #002 podcast included an interview with literary agent Laurie McLean (@AgentSavant).  She spoke in details about the steps of getting published from an agent, a publisher, and a do it yourself perspective.   Laurie was so open, kind, and honest that you had to like her.  I’ve always thought of publishing as a darkly guarded secret, similar to what’s behind the wizards’ curtain.  I decided to send her a few questions regarding new writers and genres.  As my readers know my dreams drive my stories and those dreams range all over the different fictional categories.  I wanted to know, as I start out in my campaign to write, if this type of range from an adult mystery to science fiction could be problematic.  I received the below response the same day I wrote her (impressed, I am).

Me: Is crossing genres for a writer a bad idea?
Laurie McLean: YES. Until you’re better established. And it takes at least 5 books or more to grow a significant fan base.
Me: Is it very bad specially if writing erotica and young adult?  
Laurie McLean: YOU’D NEED A PEN NAME TO DIFFERENTIATE THESE TWO GENRES.
Me: Would publisher/agents refuse to publish if it’s not in the same category (even if it’s just as good or better)?  
Laurie McLean: YOU’RE GETTING WAY AHEAD OF YOURSELF. YOU NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON IMPROVING YOUR WRITING CRAFT BEFORE YOU WORRY ABOUT THESE SIDELINE ISSUES.  JUST WRITE EVERY DAY. THE REST WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF.
Me: As an aspiring writer, should I be sticking with one category?
Laurie McLean: YES

Step Number 4: What I took from her email is that I need to get serious about writing and stick with a targeted category.  I am attached to my many stories, but mostly to the science fiction and fantasy tales.  For the next several nights (perhaps weeks) I’ll be working to narrow my creative wing span into a targeted dive.  I am also changing up this blog and will no longer include my technical thoughts.  It’s now 100% writer related.  Although, I feel sad because my posts on Sharepoint is 90% of my hits right now.

Step Number 5: Write every day, as Laurie stated in her email.  With all my responsibilities you may think that this is the hardest step for me to do, but I say to you “writing is in everything.”  I have alarms set on my phone at 0900 AM and 2030 PM (after kids go to bed) encouraging me to write every day.  I am writing every day, but it isn’t always creative writing.  For example, I consider this blog post as writing, because I have to organize the content to make sense to my readers, check sentence structure, spelling, and grammar.  At work I’m writing ‘How To’ documents that I also consider a way to fulfill my daily goal.

Step Number 6: Push myself to pull out 80% of the stories in my head.  The NaNoWriMo challenge is going to help me a lot with achieving this goal.  As for the rest of my stories I’ve been using this blog as a way to get them out.

This is a very small advancement towards being a writer.  If all goes as planned then next year will be a tougher commitment (maybe as far as book submission).  I’m actually looking forward to that.

Special thanks to…

…my family, Tim Good, Scott Hawks, Philippa Balantine, Tee Morris, and Laurie McLean!  Look for me in about 5 years from now and then remember this day and how you’ve helped me grow.