Advice I got from a great writer.
I met a certain writer who has won awards and written popular books. I can't reveal who or where we met, partly because we met in unusual circumstances. But it doesn't matter really, I mean it's the advice I want to share, just see if it's of any value to you.
Anyhow, while we were both waiting in this office for an appointment, I asked if they could give me any advice. I said I was a beginner writer and not sure if this is right for me and it's sort of my last attempt at finding something to do something with my life.
They said I have to ask myself some questions like:
- Would I write if I was told that I will never make more than a couple of hundred dollars a month from my writing? Like ever? No fame, no fortune, nothing like that?
- Can I write even when I don't feel like it?
- Am I willing to take risks in to find out what I want to say and how to say it?
The list of questions was not complete, but we got interrupted, and they had to go in and when I later saw them by the elevators, I rushed there just saying if they can at least explain what they meant by the third one. The author said that writing is a process of discovery. Nobody can tell you how to do it. Writers must figure out what it is they really want to say, how to say it, and then develop a writing routine that works for them but all this comes from inner exploration. People can only tell you what worked for them. It's not like being an accountant or something where you can be told exactly what to do in a certain work situation. But that inner journey is risky and you don't know what you will find (or not find). Are you willing to do it, to take the risk?
I don't know what you think of this person's advice but I liked it quite a bit because it's something I've also heard from other writers (at least in part), but somehow coming from this person I great respected made it sound more reliable.
When I say I liked it, I don't mean it sits well with me. I mean I hate it because a deep part of me dreams of success, fame, and fortune. And I don't know if I can force myself to write when I don't feel like it. And last, I sort of what other people tell me how to write, not do the inner exploration stuff. Who knows, maybe I should just do technical writing or something not as creative. But the advice kind of makes me face the facts. It says this is how the game is played. If I want to play it, these are the things I need to figure out. If not, I better go do something else.