Writers have always suffered from one of two things when considering public criticism: Praise, or Doubt. On one hand, writers can do something worthwhile, if they are good at it, and change people’s lives given the right medium and opportunity. And people will commend them for their accomplishments. However, unless accomplishments can be noted, people tend to doubt a person’s decision to write, their ability to write, and sometime their life choices and priorities. And this comes in for a very good reason; writing is about 50% skill and 50% luck. Here are a few things the dreaming writer should know before they decide to take that metaphorical pencil in hand and begin writing.
1. You will give up.
That’s the one thing I know from experience and the first thing any beginning writer should hear. You will have spent months, maybe even the better part of a year creating your characters, their backstory’s, and lives that will not even be included in your book; maybe even an entire world (if you find yourself barking up the fantasy or science fiction tree.) Then it will hit you. You will either be completely overwhelmed by the idea of "actually writing" about the very things that you have created, or you will begin pounding down upon that keyboard and hit a brick wall. However, if you push through it, your inner writer, that creative devil leading you towards the edge of the world, it will do something off-the-wall and kick start those juices. Mine killed a few people, haha.
2. Your deadline is your best friend.
This is the “I work well under pressure” catchphrase that you have heard so many people quote. You will realize that all of those weeks where you did not meet your word count due to deliberate procrastination (me in a nutshell) have now been packed into a 2-day window and you are now forced to pump out inspiration and creativity at an unprecedented rate. Although, you will come to see that your writing has never been better. Maybe it’s adrenaline, who knows? However, something about a recipe of insomnia, coffee, and a good instrumental soundtrack creates the perfect blend for your muse to really work her magic.
3. You will not write every day.
This is also true. Yes, you want to be a writer. Yes, you want to create amazing stories and tell them through the lives of the characters you have created. But, you will find that 70% of the time you will be researching, plotting, and creating. And at least 20% of that 70% will be spent on random Wikipedia articles and Facebook. The other 20% that’s where you write.
4. You will gain a lot of knowledge about a lot of things that will never come up in everyday conversation.
Let me tell you how it will eventually turn out for you. You will get an idea about a character in your story who has two different colored eyes. You will then research said disease and learn everything about it. This will cause you to click links about other relatable diseases and learn everything about them. Before long you will be headed towards a downward spiral of unending research so far from your original idea that you have nearly forgotten why you even started searching. It’s the reality. As writers, we have to know everything about our subject before we swallow that lump and actually “write something”. However, this will in turn birth a genius within you on that subject and I promise you, it will resurface some time later in the form of a new story idea. Although, you will probably lose that first one.
5. You will never be satisfied.
One common stigma about writing anything is that you are the worst critic your manuscript will ever meet. Many writers say to write something, put it away, then revisit it in a month or two with a set of new eyes. But, if you do this, you will always be rewriting. Whether that is a problem or not, it is a reality. I will tell you that my book is still unpublished, however, I’ve rewritten it about four times and even written prefatory novels to fully expound upon the backstory of my original story. So, the phrase “you will never be satisfied” might translate just as well into the phrase “you will never be finished”.
In all regards, this does not mean you should stave off your aspirations and dreams of being a writer, but revel in the idea of it. Writers are the best type of people to be associated with, and you will love what your mind forms itself into as you progress with your plot twists, complicated thought processes, and in-depth character creation. I can tell you from personal experience. Writing isn’t about escaping from the real-world or social engagements, it’s about rekindling the spirit within all of those people who want to see something come to life. It is about wanting to see people’s eyes light up with amazement when they read your words and visualize what you’ve creating. Writing is about turning the impossible into a possible, one page at a time.
