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Is there anyone who can’t name a list of things they wished they’d known earlier? No matter who you are, there is bound to be something here. I thought I would look at this question from a writer’s viewpoint (otherwise this post will be far too long!). Were there things about the writing life I wish I’d known earlier? Oh yes.
Time – I wish I’d known it is normal for it to take a considerable amount of time for someone to get their writing up to the point where it is likely to be published (or at least is in with a good chance of that). It would’ve been good to know earlier on this is true for all.
Rejections – I wish I’d known this is all part and parcel of the writing life, almost everyone gets them, and they can be useful. Yes, really. If you’re fortunate enough to get feedback on a rejected piece, that can obviously help a lot. If not, getting the rejection back will make you look at the piece again, your having had a break from it while you were waiting to hear back. Yes, I’ve then spotted something I think contributed to the rejection so I can learn from this for the next piece I write and so on.
Also when looking at a piece again and improving it, there’s nothing to stop you submitting it elsewhere. I’ve done this a number of times and had work go on to be published.
Opportunities – There are various opportunities for writers out there, though sometimes it doesn’t look like it. When I responded to CafeLit’s challenge to write a 100 words story, I just thought at the time it would be good to give it a go but I didn’t expect anything to develop further from it. Two flash collections later, with a third on the way, I’m glad I took up this opportunity which didn’t look like one!
This isn’t the first instance either. It was Richard Hardie who told me about Chandler’s Ford Today many moons ago and I thought I would send a piece in to Janet. She liked it and I’m so pleased I went with this opportunity though at the time there was no way I could envisage how this would develop either. What mattered here for both of these things was my being open enough to explore the ideas. This has come up again with my work for Writers’ Narrative too.
Networking – I wish I’d known networking was nothing to be feared but a fabulous chance to make writer friends, discover new opportunities and so on. Okay, I did find this out, but it took me longer than I’d have liked. I’ve also discovered competitions, marketing news, phenomenally useful organisations to be part of (The Society of Authors, the Association of Christian Writers, from whom so much else has come my way, The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society to name three).
Editing – Again, I wish I’d known earlier than I did how vital it is for all writers, regardless of what is written. It’s not a question of your writing being rubbish. The first draft really is to get the basic idea down. What happens after that refines and polishes what you’ve got and often you will think of something to strengthen your work as you go through it again.
Again, I wish I’d known earlier editing was not to be dreaded but to be seen as a separate creative task in its own right and it can and does make all the difference to publication acceptances. It has with me. And it has led on to my running workshops on the topic so it can’t be all bad now, can it?
Scammers – They exist in all walks of life so it shouldn’t have come as an unpleasant surprise to discover they are in the publishing world too. I should have expected it (I do now!).
I remain grateful to The Society of Authors for confirming the contract I’d received for my novel was a vanity one and showing why it was. I got my manuscript back, the book remains unpublished (though it was long listed in a Debut Novel competition), and I’ve been a stalwart member of The Society of Authors ever since. I am just glad to have someone on my side whom I can turn to for advice when I need it and consider my membership to be worth every penny for that aspect alone.
Writing Routine – I know this isn’t for everyone but it is a lifeline for me and I wish I’d established the one I have now sooner than I did. I find it helps me get more done when considered over a week, rather than individual days. It also means I don’t miss deadlines. I can also plan out better what to do on busier days when I don’t have so much writing time. That in turn frees up longer writing sessions later in the week for longer pieces of work. I feel as if I am making the best of the time I have, which is a good position to be in, but I wish I’d found this out far sooner than I did.
Outlining – I outline my stories, even my flash ones, but the outline sometimes is only a line or two. I usually focus on outlining my character, what they’re like, what their attributes are, and the kind of trouble they could end up in and, having that in place, find getting the first draft down is done quicker than before I did any outlining at all.
I see my outline as a road map. I don’t plot out everything. I can veer off it too but it is so helpful to know in what direction the story is going. I’ve found it prevents rambling too. It makes me ask myself if something is relevant to my story or not and thus helps speed up my editing processes too, given I’ve already cut anything which could be seen as waffle. I do have to focus on what matters and the outline helps me clarify what does matter.
Characters – I wish I’d known earlier the importance of knowing your character well enough. For me, the plot derives from them. The plot is driven by them. When I first started writing seriously, I would create a situation and then work out who could deliver on it and that can work. Knowing the character first though, which is what I do now, tends to give me far more situations I could put them in and I’ve found my ideas are stronger as a result of that. Certainly I have a choice of situations to put my characters in and I go with the one which has the most impact on me because I figure it will have the same impact on readers.
Persistence but Being Willing to Learn and Adapt – You do need to be persistent in the writing life. Success rarely comes immediately but with persistence, there must be a willingness to (a) learn from your own mistakes and (b) from the industry you want to be part of.
This is why I subscribe to writing magazines. It keeps me up to date with what is out there, has introduced me to new markets, and we can all learn to improve our craft from articles in these things. The learning is ongoing too but this is great for your brain (writers are always having a mental workout as we create new work) and you should learn from what worked for you before, as well as what you can do to improve this still further.
Conclusion
I love the writing life. I’ve learned so much from it to date and love the thought I will continue to learn. Yes, the rejections and the not hearing back from competitions still sting but I know every writer goes through it. You can’t beat the buzz you feel when you do have work accepted so there is an up side!
But in realising what I wish I’d known earlier, I do know I could’ve saved myself so much time (and maybe a few rejections!).
My biggest regret with writing remains I wish I’d started sooner, mainly because I had no idea how long it would take to make any kind of progress but the important thing is I am writing, continuing to write, and still continuing to enjoy the buzz of it. Long may that continue!
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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