|
The most important advice in the world: BICHOK, which stands for Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard.
Writing Advice From Nora Roberts
1.Write the best book you possibly can, and don't worry about the future. Don't look at five or ten years down the road when it comes to plotting and planning. You can't do anything about those books. What you can do is make sure the book you're working on right now is the best thing you've ever written.
2.Build a foundation to create a career as an author. One hit wonders won't be around in five years, but if you give your readers a consistent series of great stories, they'll come back again and again. You're creating a catalog you can be proud of, not trying for instant stardom. It's a gradual process, but so is building a wall or creating anything of value.
3.This is a job. Treat it like one. If you were a doctor or a plumber, you wouldn't be struggling to justify your work time with other obligations. Learn to juggle family, friends, and social time so that your writing career is as important as any other job would be.
4.You can't find the time to write -- you make time. Be disciplined and make writing a priority in your life. If you love writing, (and why be an author if you don't?) you'll make time to do what you love. A year from now you won't remember what television shows you were watching, but you'll be proud of your finished works.
5.Never wait around for inspiration. It's your job to sit down in the chair and figure out what to write. There is no muse. There is no writer's block. There's only writing.
6.Write what you read for pleasure, don't worry about the market. Concentrate on writing the best book you'd ever love to read. If you love your subject matter, you'll put more heart and feeling into what you write. Have fun with it! You've got the greatest job in the world; gloat about that for a little bit, then get back to work.
7.The most important advice in the world: BICHOK, which stands for Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard. In other words, sit yourself down and write. Write like it's your job, not like it's a hobby. If you've only been able to carve out an hour a day to write, write steadily through that entire hour. Don't take days off, don't avoid writing because you don't feel like it today. Get in front of the computer and create words every single day of your life.
|
Working as a writer all my life for pay, I have written many nonfiction works that were never read or used in any manner because the people that paid me to write them, rejected them out of hand. In fact, some of the best writing ideas during my career ended up that way.
To me, the key is, like Nora suggests, to write and get the written word in front of other people… Not just those that will give you happiness, but those that will honestly give you good feedback so that you can write even better the next time you write.
I do agree with the feeling of having written something that is original, entertaining and enjoyable to no one else, but me, the author. That is one of the greatest rewards of writing.
Ron
Love ya!
Jane