Dear Writer: Advice For Beginner Authors
Before you write a book, read this letter from the founder of Writers Write. We hope it inspires you.
Dear Writer
Every person I have ever met wants to write a book, or at least, have someone write their story for them.
Most of us think writing a book is easy. We have ideas, and when we get the time, we believe we will simply put them into words. It is only when we have to sit down and do it that we realise how difficult it really is.
Writing is not a natural ability. It is a skill, and like all skills, it has to be learnt. If we want to become doctors, we go to medical school. If we want to become writers, we go to writing school. It is also a discipline and the writers who succeed are the same as professional athletes who practise and apply what they have learnt over many years.
We have to discard the essay style writing of our schooldays and put the rules of fiction into practice. We all think we can do it, and we can if we apply these rules.
Writing a novel isn’t easy. It’s lonely. It involves long hours of hard work with no immediate reward. It requires tenacity, self-discipline, and application. But when we finish a book, we achieve something that few people ever manage to do.
Elementary mistakes lead directly to the slush pile. Incredible talent has to be tethered and honed before a publisher or a discerning reader will look at it. Remember they don’t need us. We need them.
When we make the choice to attend a course, it also means that we have started taking writing seriously. This is a good thing. It is only once we have a plan and begin to plot our course as a writer that we are able to make it happen.
After completing Writers Write, I believe that all of us can be more confident about submitting manuscripts to an agent or a publisher, or self-publishing a book.
I hope you find the many creative writing posts on Writers Write to be a useful tool on your road to becoming a writer.
Happy writing,
Amanda
TOP TIP: If you want to learn how to write a book, sign up for our online course or join our Writers Write course in Johannesburg.
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