Dreaming of Becoming a Writer?

I recently received an email from a young lady interested in becoming a writer.  She asked for my advice.  What did I tell her?

First, and foremost, you must read.

Read everything you can find in the genre in which you wish to write.  Don't just stick to the bestsellers list.  Read both well-known and not-so-well-known authors.  Read the classics.  Get a feeling for what makes a story work and what doesn't.  Study the pacing.  Study the sentence structure.  Study the characters.  How did the author make them come to life?

You should also read books on the craft of writing.  Here are a few of my favorites:

• Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
• Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
• Stein on Writing by Sol Stein
• The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
• On Writing by Stephen King

There are scores of other books on the craft you may find helpful.  Many are devoted to a particular genre.

Along with reading, you also must write.

Write every day.  Set aside a designated amount of time and don't come out of your office / bedroom / whatever until you've written something.  If you don't have any story ideas yet, keep a journal.  Writing in a journal is one way to get the creative juices flowing.  Often, everyday occurrences can develop into a story idea.

Don't give up.

For every one person who has confidence in you, there will be a thousand who say you can't.  Don't believe the naysayers.  Even the most successful authors received hundreds of rejection letters before they were published.  And now, with the Amazon Kindle, the Nook, and other ereaders, self-publishing has become a viable alternative to having your work published by a New York publisher.  Whichever route you choose, if you want it bad enough, you can make it happen.

Now, get to work!  :-)