So, you want to _______? 3 pieces of advice

In this world of writing there are all kinds of advice from people that you meet, people that you know, and even people you love. There are perfect (not so perfect) strangers willing to tell you the most horrendous information about their private lives because they are sure it will make a very good book.

            So, first piece of advice: listen, be polite, nod occasionally, and let the advice marinate on the surface a while—some more time than others.

            Writing is a solitary world peopled with storms, trials, love, adventures, and much that happens to people, places, and things that are only in our minds. These are set free from the confines of our subconscious to our consciousness by mindless activity.

            So, second piece of advice: don’t ignore the vacuuming, the dishes, and folding the laundry or whatever numb activity you’re avoiding while you write. Those chores have a place in your life and they cut the chains of captivity on your creative muse.

            There are many forms of writing. Those who write the stuff of the back of the cereal boxes would have a tough time writing a novel. There are also many paths to completion of a written piece—almost as many as there are writers. Writing is a form of artistic expression. One person’s brown is another person’s burnt sienna.

            So, the third piece of advice: Don’t look down on any writer’s work as you have not tried their path. Forget what you learned in college as the proper way to write as those teachers may or may not have studied the many ways that writers engage in the process of writing. (Likely not!) The process is NOT the end work. Speak to as many different writers as possible to begin to understand the different ways that writing manifests itself in different people. It will help keep you sane as your own talent develops.

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