Here we are again; two weeks have passed since I last wrote to you. Apologies for the delay; I usually organise a writing tip to be sent in my absence if I am going away, but last week I just didn’t get round to it. Sorry. (I had a few days away with my husband in the beautiful Ashdown Forest . . . it was a lovely break.)
Anyway, this week I have a longer writing tip for you, which I hope you will find useful. 🙂
I have been thinking recently about things we just can’t do without in our writing – here are, in my opinion, four essentials we all need to remind ourselves of, time and time again (we know them, but do we do them?):
1. We need to READ. All the time. Fiction, autobiographies, classics, contemporary best-sellers, Christian books, secular books, books for our target market. You just can’t be a good writer unless you are a good reader. Period.
2. We need to WRITE. All the time. Write descriptions, write feelings, write about something quirky, write about the mundane, write from your imagination and write about school and church. Write reports to a word count, short stories, letters, poems, articles. Write a journal, write for your church magazine, write your novel. If we want to play a musical instrument well, we need to practice. If we want to write well, we need to practice. Talent helps, but we need to work on our talents.
3. We need to KEEP LEARNING. All the time. You are doing exactly the right thing by being here! If you would like to join the next Write for a Reason writing course, or the monthly membership programme, we’d love to have you. However much you already know, there’s always more to learn, and being with a group of like-minded people is encouraging. Writers who have been through the course are usually amazed at how much they learn!
4. Never quit. Every heard the story of the man who worked in a mine looking for gold, but gave up, just one or two inches/centimetres from the treasure? A few more swings of the pick axe and he would have struck gold. All he needed to do was keep going. It’s so easy to get disillusioned, but if you have been given something to do (writing or anything else, come to that!) do not give up. Nobody else can write your story.
Which one of these do you most need to get to grips with? Let us know on our facebook page!
Until next time,
Janet