Once again Chuck Wendig comes through. This is his response (edited by me for pertinent parts) to an email someone sent him about how to make writing a career. Please insert your own passion here for writing. Hi, [REDACTED]! Don’t be scared. I mean, you can be a little scared, but that should also come with a little exhilaration. This is actually a pretty good economy for people who want to do their own thing. So: after college, get a job. A day job. In publishing or out of it. Take the time when you’re not doing that to write a novel. And if that one sucks, fix it. And if it sucks so bad you can’t fix it, then write a different novel. Do this again and again until you maybe sorta semi-kinda know what you’re doing. Write every opportunity you can. But live every opportunity you can, too. We fill our creative coffers by experiencing the world around us. And we spend what’s in those coffers on the page. Tell the stories you want to tell. Bleed on the page. Don’t chase trends — let trends chase you. Be excited. Love writing. No reason to do this thing if you don’t love it. Don’t just love the result. Love the process. Even when you hate the process. Learn why satisfaction is more important than happiness. Why long-term bliss means more than short-term dopamine release. Tell stories about characters, not about plots. Tell stories about you that nobody knows are really about you. Write what you know except when that stops you from writing what you want to write — then use it as an excuse to know more and write more. Worry more about writing good stories than getting published. Don’t feel like you have to write just one thing. Write the things that make you twitch and smile and scream and clamp your teeth. Write those things to which your heart and soul respond. Write to your loves. Write to your fears. Say things with your work. Make the words about something. About more than just what’s on the page. When you have a novel you love and trust: seek an agent. Or self-publish. Choose a path and then choose the other path later down the line to mix it up. Seek diversity. Aim for potential and possibility. Hell with the doubters. Down with the haters. If this is something you really want to do, do it. Embrace the fear. And write. Good luck.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 19:00:36 +0000
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