...for writers
Here is my advice for not-yet-published writers. None of this is original to me, I'm sure (except maybe the thing about the garden clogs, which you'll see down below), but it doesn't hurt to hear good advice more than once.
The main advice: Three things in no particular order.
- 1) I'm in a critique group, which is a great help. We're a group of five writers (some published, most not) who share and critique each other's work via email. I really rely on them - on their insights and suggestions - to tighten whatever piece I'm working on. It's a very supportive, safe environment to send your first drafts to. They are supportive and kind, but also honest. We tell one another when something doesn't work, and why. The "why" is key. I'd recommend a critique group to beginning as well as experienced writers. If you want guidelines and suggestions on how to start an email critique group, contact me and I'll get some to you.
- 2) Something else that might be useful is that if you can't think of where to begin writing or if you can't think of what to do next, just start writing wherever you can. I write many scenes out of sequence. If you can't think of a good beginning, just start writing in the middle somewhere. I often write the most intense scenes first - out of sequence- just because they are what is most vivid in my mind and I don't want to lose them. Then I fill in other scenes as I go. They all seem to fit together eventually.
- 3) My biggest trick, which I pass on to you now, is not to think about the whole book. Do not think of your book in its entirety, especially early on. That's just too overwhelming. Keep it vague. I try to just think about the scene or chapter I'm working on at the moment. If I allow myself to think about all the scenes I have yet to write - about the actual job of moving my characters from Point A to Point W (through Points B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, W, R, S, T, U, and V), I freak. It even looks overwhelming in parentheses! So I don't think about that. I repress and compartmentalize. It's very helpful.
Other advice: Thirty-three things in no particular order (although I'm particularly fond of nos. 9 and 32).
- 1. Don't give up! Know that you are in this for the long haul.
- 2. Read a lot. Read the types of books you want to write. Read books for yourself. Read for learning, read for entertainment, read for enjoyment, read for escape. Read the cereal box when you eat breakfast. Read the newspaper, read magazines. Read mindlessly and mindfully. Enjoy, absorb, imitate, emulate, aspire, achieve.
- 3. Brush your teeth. Floss when you think of it.
- 4. Read books on writing. (There are a lot. Some that are on my shelf: Take Joy by Jane Yolen, On Writing by Stephen King, Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott, Sometimes the Magic Works by Terry Brooks, Gates of Excellence by Katherine Paterson, How To Write A Children's Book and Get It Published by Barbara Seuling.)
- 5. Don't give up writing. Keep at it.
- 6. Buy and study Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market.
- 7. Eat lots of apples in the months of September and October. Blueberries and cantaloupe in July and August. Grow your own potatoes.
- 8. Don't give up learning and improving. Keep at it.
- 9. Adopt a motto. (Onward through the fog! Carpe diem!)
- 10. Go to writer's conferences. Pay attention. Ask questions. Take notes.
- 11. Plant sunflowers.
- 12. Visit author web sites.
- 13. Join The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
- 14. Buy yourself a nice pair of socks.
- 15. Read, read, read.
- 16. Keep writing.
- 17. When you get a rejection, put the manuscript in a new envelope and send it out again. If it's folded or messy, print out a new copy first.
- 18. Don't bother dusting.
- 19. Rewrite, revise, re-do.
- 20. When you finish one story, start another. Don't stand by the mailbox. Keep writing.
- 21. Take long, hot showers.
- 22. Join a critique group.
- 23. Try to keep up with the laundry.
- 24. Don't give up. Keep sending out manuscripts.
- 25. After you finish a story, put it in a drawer for one month (minimum), then read through it again. You'll see it with fresh eyes.
- 26. Fantasize about giving your Newbery acceptance speech, if that is what it takes to keep you going. (Just don't give the speech out loud unless you're alone.)
- 27. Wear garden clogs whenever possible.
- 28. Seek out honest, supportive critique. It's not fair to ask friends and family to do this. They love you. Find an objective, receptive, supportive reader who is not related to you.
- 29. Don't give up. Keep writing.
- 30. Don't forget to feed the dog. And the cats.
- 31. Don't compare yourself to anyone else. Let yourself be who you are and write at the pace you write. Write what you want to write, not what you think the market wants.
- 32. Choose to be fabulous.
- 33. Don't give up! Don't give up! DON'T GIVE UP.