As you all know, I'm a writer. Like many of us, I inspire to
have that great American novel which everyone will want to read and instantly
become enthrall with my style of writing and the wonderful, strange characters
inside my imagination .
It will be so widely read, that I'll become a New York Times
Bestselling Author in a week's time and be dubbed the next Great American
Author of our times. Fans will tweet, blog and have fan pages on Facebook about
my book and me. Spin-off will spin quickly;
whack jobs will sue me, calming they had the idea first. And yes, Hollywood
will come knocking at my door to make a movie, leaving me out of the creative
talks.
I'll become famous, winning every writing award. My manager
will insist on body guards and assistants, so I'll have time to compose my
second great novel. The world will worship at my feet, while I will try to sound humbled for all the accolades
thrown at me.
Oh, I can see it all so clearly in my head.
This differently could be me, but first, I have to write the
story.
I read that some of the greatest authors, never got
discovered because they weren't persisted in their pursuit to write, through the dry season. Others, couldn't accept rejection and simply
stopped, while still others had authority issues, 'what does an editor know,'
never to get their stories to the next step.
While surfing through the web, looking for helpful tips on
how to get my book to the next level, I came across this list of 8 Disciplines,
for the modern day writer.
1 Love what you do.
If you don't love to write and create, get out now, before
you find yourself frustrated, you might not ever be able to write anything
worth read.
2 Be honest with you.
Okay, if you are not
a good writer, accept it, and work to get better. If the work you're doing, is
no good, accept that too and work at making it better.
3 Don't hold on to poor work.
I've had work that
was so bad that I vowed not to go back to it, however I did ,thinking it
wasn't all that bad. I was wrong!
4 Take no notice of anyone you don't respect.
There will be people telling you to stop, you can't do this
or that, but don't take heed to their babble. If you don't respect them, don't
respect what they are telling you.
5 Take no notice of anyone with a gender agenda.
For all of you who are women, like me, since we have to go
through a world run by men. A lot of them, still think, that women belong in
the kitchen. That we lack the imagination to write a story with the grit and
grim, murder and mayhem that can attract a world audience. We are proving those
men wrong every day.
6 Be ambitious for the work and not for the reward.
All right, above I did mention the awards and accolades, so
sue me. But seriously, if that is your ambition for writing a novel, than you
won't succeed, if passion doesn't rule.
7 Trust your creativity.
It's what will lead you, through the good times and bad.
Through the lonely days when, the only
voices you'll hear are those of your characters. Let them lead you.
8 Enjoy this work!
Self-explanatory
If you love to write, then remain honest with yourself in
every way, including bad work. Disregard those you don’t respect or have a
gender agenda which try to hold you back.
Let your ambition, not be for material goods, but that fire in your
belly. Then enjoy the gift of creativity, and you’ll have the discipline to
succeed.
So, why not you?
Copyright © 2013 Glynis Rankin
