“If you wish to be a writer, write.” – Epictetus
I have been reading a lot of books, articles, and blogs on writing lately. I have also devoured hours and hours of podcast learning the craft. I figure if you are going to improve, find people that are better writers that have put in the years. Then listen to their advice and model what they are doing.
I have come to the conclusion that the best advice is usually the simplest piece of advice as well. I guess ol’ Occam was on to something.
What is the one piece of mind-blowing, life-changing advice that I have been able to distill all of this great wisdom down to…
Sit down and write.
Yep, that’s it. Pretty profound, right?
I know what you are probably thinking because I thought the same thing. That’s just too simple. It is simple, but also quite effective. If you are going to be a writer, then you must write. Whether you write on a word-processor, an old manual typewriter, a stone tablet and chisel, or a pencil and a piece of paper, you still have to put words down on that paper.
Find a place where you can write, shut out distractions. (I’m still working on this one as a husband and dad working a 50+ hour a week full-time job along with two unschooled kids, a cat, and a dog running through the house.) So, find a place to write, cut out the distractions, set a word quota for the day, and unless your house is burning down, don’t get up from that chair until that quota is reached.
Another thing that I was able to glean from these writers is that writers are readers, and they read wide and deep. And, they read a lot. (I try to read about 3 books a week myself, and I usually have an audiobook that I am listening too as well.)
Most of the great writers have said they usually devote 4-6 hours a day to reading and writing. I know that seems like an unrealistic amount of time, but if we were to cut out many of the unproductive things and daily distractions like the time spent on social networking sites or watching another cat video on YouTube, or the next must-see episode of the latest, hottest TV drama, I imagine we would be surprised just how much time we waste each day.
Don’t let those numbers discourage you though. The most important thing is to start where you are, set aside some time, whatever is available to you, set a realistic daily word quota in place, find a corner to get in and write.
One more piece of advice I was able to digest from them is to call yourself a writer. It will help you get in the right frame of mind. If you tell others that you a writer, most of the time they will ask you what you are writing. So, you write, if for no other reason, to be able to answer that question.
If you would like to tell the world that you are a writer, I would be happy for you to do it here in the comments below and let us know what you are writing.
Now, if you still want to be a writer, just sit down and write.