A new year is ahead of us.
I just received my 2020 edition of Pushcart. It reminded me that Writer’s Market has just released their 2020 books on everything from Fiction to Magazine Writing to Poetry. I buy them just often enough to remind myself I am not doing the vast quantity of writing I thought I would.
There are many things a writer needs to consider as part of the process and Marketing is probably the Publishing World’s best kept secret. No, wait, Contracts are very mysterious. Query Letters, Synopsis’s and Manuscript Submission Formats also bear some consideration.
There are two, very easy things a writer can do and should be doing.
We should all be reading deeply and writing steadily. Pick up a book in a genre you seldom read. Enjoy what you are reading. If it is exceptional, try to figure out why. Read like a reader. Later on, during sleepless nights, go ahead and read like a writer.
When you are writing, write with wild abandon. Write as though your life depends upon it. Experiment with your writing. Try poetry. Write an article for a Trade Magazine. Jot down that memory that doesn’t need to be shared.
Add some fun things to next year’s writing goals. Bring Joy to your keyboard. Be adventurous. Take a chance. If it doesn’t work out, you have at least discovered a new way to write badly.
Not everything we write is meant to be read. Practice is the best teacher.
Join us on Sunday December 22nd. The Chat Room will be closed between the 23rd and January 4th 2020