mystery

Writer’s Tip

“I used to be a documentary filmmaker, and a film director once told me: ‘You can’t make a good film unless your hands tremble behind the camera.’ Let us write stories that move us to the core, because when our pen is trembling, the reader can feel it, too.” ~ Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

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“Run your own race. Don’t worry about how fast someone else writes, how much another author makes, how many followers another author has. Write what makes you excited, and the enthusiasm will come through on the page.” ~ Christina Lauren

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“Don’t give up, and don’t lose your stubborn belief that you have a story worth telling. I’ve had so many people tell me over so many years that I didn’t have the qualities needed to be a writer. All of my writer friends and I have one thing in common: We didn’t listen to the naysayers. We kept writing. And eventually we have all been published.” ~ Devi S. Laskar

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“Getting into the habit of sitting down and writing every day is essential.

A writer is someone who writes, and the only path to improving your craft and finding both satisfaction and success in your writing is to keep doing it.

Try to write at the same time each day, and don’t worry too much about whether what your writing is good or not — just keep writing.”

~ Joel Friedlander

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“Schedule time to write, show up for that meeting with yourself, and put words onto the page. It doesn’t matter if those words aren’t very good — they probably won’t be, but that’s OK because you can make them better when you edit them later. But you can’t edit a blank page, so get your butt into the chair and write!”

~ Joanna Penn

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“Take your time. There’s no rush to get published. The more time you spend writing, reading, and learning to be a better writer, the better things will go for you. Don’t try to hurry it along.”

~ Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent

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What are You Reading?

Establish a reading habit that matches roughly what you hope to write and publish. Make it as important as anything else you schedule in your day, and never allow busyness to crowd out the time you devote to consuming other good works.

It’s fine not to finish books or to abandon authors you don’t like, but never stop consuming the genre you want become known in. It raises your writerly IQ and ultimately lays the foundation for better literary citizenship and networking with other authors, editors, and agents. A non-reader is soon outed and left behind in this business.

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I would want my younger self to realize that as wonderful as publication is, it isn’t the point of the writing process. It’s just a stop along the road. Writing is more about the journey than the destination. As award-winning author Anne Lamott points out, “Being published isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Writing is.” So don’t let your non-published status get you down. Just enjoy where you are right now.” ~ K. M. Weiland

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“Getting published is really exciting, but it’s not the point of writing. The actual writing is what it’s all about — the daily joy in sitting down to a blank page and crafting something beautiful or funny or heartwrenching or even just blah (depending on the day).While getting a book (and articles, and stories) published is a great ego boost, the real meaning in writing comes from the words flowing out of your fingertips — and the sense of achievement in a finished project.” ~ Bridget McNulty

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“I’d tell myself that what grabs readers isn’t beautiful writing, a rip-roaring plot, or surface drama; what grabs readers is what gives those things their meaning and power: the story itself.” ~ Lisa  Cron

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