I’m kind of surprised to read that a lot of people want to write books, and just don’t. There’s apparently a very real fear of “What if I’m not good?”
Okay, let’s deal with that. How were you the first time you rode a bike? Were you like Lance Armstrong, going at a high rate of speed up and down hills? Or was it a wobbly fear filled jaunt?
The first time you tried Martial Arts, or even Tae Kwan Do (Yes, I wrote it that way on purpose!)? Were you Chuck Norris, or were you a clumsy embarrassed person?
Same with swimming. Dog paddle, or did Mark Spitz climb out of the pool, vowing he’d been bested?
The point is, the first violin lesson doesn’t make you Niccolo Paganini. Everyone starts somewhere. My first movie script was terrible! The novels I started and never finished are… probably best left that way!
You have to sit down at your computer, open Scrivener or YWriter, and write… “It was a dark and stormy night.”
THEN WHAT?
Write! You’re not Schwartzeneggar the first time you lift weights! And you’re not Hemingway (who I’m actually not that fond of) the first time you write either!
WRITE.
Buy Scrivener. If you’re living hand to mouth like most writers are, then get Ywriter until you can afford it.
One word at a time. One scene at a time.
Will you be terrible? Of course! NOBODY is amazing the first time out!
Will you get better? Of course you will! The more you write, the better you get! Schwartzeneggar got stronger as he lifted weights! Chuck Norris got better every time he practiced!
Will it be good enough for other people to want to read? Nobody knows the answer to that question. I don’t know if MY fiction is good enough. I’ll know when a publisher reads my stuff and says, “Sign here.”
WRITE.
If you’ve got a story to tell, tell it. It doesn’t matter if it’s good enough – the idea is, you want to write. You’ve got a story. Tell it.
Then write another one.
Then another.
The only difference between successful writers and unsuccessful ones is often just this – the successful ones tried to hone their craft.
Get Better.
I’m told that there’s a very successful author who subscribed to Writer’s digest, studied and highlighted a lot, and then began to review his writing, applying it. He ended up getting signed, then putting out one book after another, getting on the bestsellers’ list every time.
Some guy named John Grisham.
WRITE.
Will the first novel be good?
Heavens, no!
Will it get better? After a couple of re-writes, YES!
Will you get published? Maybe. Maybe not. A lot of good books never get published, and a lot of bad ones do. I’ve ranted lately about needed changes in both the movie industry and the publishing industry.
Write short stories. Write novels. Work on your craft.
And stop denying yourself this.
