How to Get a Beginning As a Story Writer
Anyone can write a story, but it takes hard work, perseverance and passion to carve a living out of it. The world of publishing may seem impenetrable, but there are more avenues than ever before to get your writing out into the world and into the hands of readers. With a regular writing schedule and continual sharpening of your skills, you can distinguish yourself from the sea of would-be writers and increase the likelihood of success.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
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Form a Habit
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Create a space for writing and write there every day. By developing a practice of writing, in the same place at the same time, you will begin to build your defenses against writer's block and distractions.
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Schedule your writing time like any other appointment. Start with just 30 minutes daily. Once you can comfortably write for 30 minutes, move up to an hour.
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Write whatever you are thinking about, even if you don't think you have anything to say. Slowly your voice and vision will begin to emerge: Ideas will form and, once formed, become characters, then plots.
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Give yourself permission to write terribly. Editing comes later. For now, what is most important is getting your ideas on paper.
Get Feedback
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Take a class. Community colleges, universities and writing organizations offer classes in a variety of genres, where you can get feedback on your work from fellow students as well as an instructor. Many courses can be taken online, or during evenings or weekends.
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Join the online community. Forums, message boards and groups on professional sites like LinkedIn offer an opportunity to network with other writers. You can read about their day-to-day struggles and successes and find out about competitions, readings or other chances to get your work in the hands of editors and the public.
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Find a writers group to provide encouragement, critique and, most importantly, deadlines. You will give and receive feedback, getting honest opinions about how your work comes across. Unlike a class, a writers group has no instructor or assignments: Each writer brings whatever he is working on.
Get Published
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Enter competitions. Many trade and literary magazines have annual or quarterly competitions. The winners are usually published in either the print or web version of the publication. The entries are usually anonymous, so anyone can win.
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Donate your writing. Write reviews of local businesses on websites like Yelp or post book reviews on Goodreads. Offer to create blog posts for a local business. This may seem like "free" work, but it is a way to make connections and get noticed. It also begins to build your writing portfolio.
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Find a paying audience. Every year, "Writer's Market" publishes guidelines for thousands of publications, from periodicals to book publishers (see Resources). Trade publications such as "Poets and Writers" magazine list regular calls for submissions.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep a journal. Writing about the life of a writer can be as rewarding as writing fiction.
Read as much as you can. Read authors who inspire you and authors who challenge you. Don't just read about writing, read about current events and emerging science. The best writers are good readers; you never know where your next inspiration will come from.
Be careful about posting work online. Most publishers consider any work that is accessible online as "previously published," even work posted to a personal blog.
Rejection is inevitable. Don't take it personally. Just keep writing and keep submitting your work.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Books image by JenJen from Fotolia.com
