The Writing Process: General Advice to Writers

I've been writing since I was ten and am now thirty-two. That's a lot of years to write and keep writing! One of the biggest helps to me along the way is a wonderful English teacher in high school who not only took my fantasy novel-in-progress home with him to critique during his summer vacation, he drove it to my house so we could talk in person about it. I was sixteen years old. Between his encouragement and him going above and beyond the call of duty to help me to grow as a writer, he inspired me to stick with it and gave me the push I needed to continue writing and believe that someday I could succeed in the world of writing.

My advice to those who want to write professionally is this: write, and keep writing! Never give up. If you are truly passionate about your craft, you will seek to keep writing and improve your skill as you do so. Join critique circles. Don't be afraid to take red ink and look at it as a good thing. I actually look forward to the editing process with my editors; it gives me the chance to polish up a work and figure out how to get better! I've learned an awful lot from my rounds of editing, and if you can take constructive criticism from a good editor who knows how to keep your voice and help you to improve, you're golden.

That's what it's all about--constantly striving to grow and evolve as a writer. Always doing better, never giving up. You will get rejections, you will find people for whom your writing and chosen genre(s) isn't their cup of tea. As a writer, you won't be able to please everyone but if you find an outlet for your work and find ways to make your writing more successful in reaching others, you'll do yourself a world of good.


Love & Magic,
Adrianne
www.adriannebrennan.com



Please Note: I am blogging on behalf of the Boston Rape Crisis Center, and if you wish to sponsor me in any dollar amount--none is too small, every bit counts!--please go here: http://tinyurl.com/AdrianneBlogsforBARCC then email me your receipt at adrianne@adriannebrennan.com so I can keep a running total. If you don't know what to put down for the donation, just put "Adrianne Brennan - Blogathon".