photo courtesy kwon-ji-young-2525592_340-free-pixabay
1.
STOP THINKING AND WRITE A tale has been conceived inside of you and
now it yearns to break into our world. A writer simply can’t not write. I can’t not write. Yes, you read that
correctly. This is how we know not everyone is a writer—the ones who wish they could write and never do, the
ones who would like to write and
never do—these aren’t writers. Writers write. If we don’t, we grow ill, either
in spirit or body or both. Sound melodramatic? That’s an artist for you. Get in
touch with the artist inside YOU and let him or her out to play. You put pen to
paper (or typed a sentence), now STOP THINKING ABOUT STUFF THAT WILL SLOW YOU
DOWN and just write. All the stuff you learned at the writer’s conference is
for your edification, but when getting your story down initially, don’t stress
over all the rules of engagement. The time to worry over that stuff is when you
reached the end of your writing project.
2.
STOP PROOFING Correcting mistakes as you go along is
normal, but trying to EDIT before your book is written can distract you,
discourage you, and cause you to quit. If you want to write a story about the “brwn
doge with tha whyte tail,” WRITE IT DOWN, all the way to the end, when the
doggie finally figures out how to catch that waggly tail, and THEN go back and
edit, make corrections to grammar, punctuation, syntax, etc.
3.
SHARE ONLY WITH POSITIVE FOLKS Here’s something that kills a lot of books
still in the writer’s womb: negative feedback. Look back at number one and add
this—if you have the desire to write, then you’re a writer. Don’t doubt it, it’s
a fact of nature. If you’re surrounded by negative people when you write, and
they are your superiors (parents, etc.), you either must write on the sly or nurse
your creative spirit another way until you can break free of their constricting
presence. Otherwise, if in a neutral or positive environment, in the beginning
stages of your project, share only with people who will build you up. It’s okay
if they want to help and offer constructive criticism, but BE ON GUARD—the second
they say something that makes you want to quit, go back and read #1 and stop
sharing your work with that person. There is a time for negative feedback
(constructive criticism) and for new writers, NEVER is that time before the
project has been written down.
So go and do. From one writer to
another, I command thee.
Ellen C. Maze Sallas, The Author’s
Mentor
