I was once a nobody.
And whether I make it all the way to New York Time's Bestseller or not, I'm a lot better off than I was. I never really thought I'd get my book to print, but now it is. So I wanted to pay it forward and share my experience for some other writers out there that are feeling like nobody would ever read them.
YOU'VE GOT TO FIND YOUR REASON TO WRITE!
Everybody needs a reason to write. While I was in one of my college classes, a wonderful professor once had the class tell of their reasons to write. Once you find your reason, things will start to flow a bit more. It doesn't matter if you feel like you're not a good writer. If you enjoy writing, YOU SHOULD BE WRITING! It's as simple as that. So as you read my advice, please think about what gives you the reason to continue writing.
JUST WRITE
First things first, just write! It seems simple enough but you can't get something out there if it isn't physically written. I struggled for a long time to force myself to write because I wasn't "feeling inspired" or because life was beating me down pretty good and just the thought of writing felt exhausting, but honestly after I realized that I just need to write, things went a lot smoother. Now, I write everyday. It doesn't matter if it's just a few sentences or a few chapters, I make sure that I get something down on paper to keep my mind sharp.
LOVE IT
Next thing I'd say is write what YOU love. All through school I learned that it's important to know your audience, and while that is extremely important, I truly believe it's more important to write what you love, because the truth is, there are probably just as many people out there that like the odd, random, cool, surprising, funny stuff you like. That's what happened when I was writing It Starts With Me. I wrote something that I would enjoy reading and it turns out so many others enjoyed it as well!
READ? YES!
My other piece of advice would be to read, read, read, and, oh yeah, READ! Read the genres you want to write, do "research", get acquainted with the way other authors set the same types of things up. You write better the more you read. Sometimes while writing, if I found myself in a lull, I would read other people's work and it would inspire me to continue to write. It also would give me new ideas on how to get different information across. So, yes, whether you believe it or not, reading is a very important part of writing!
LISTEN TO MUSIC?
My last, more fun, piece of advice would be to explore music! Fall down a rabbit hole of Pandora stations, or youtube suggested videos, and just listen to music. Let your mind wander as the melodies dance in your head and you'll begin to realize just how much a song can inspire a scene! Even if it's just one paragraph, it then becomes a lot easier to connect to. I created a mood playlist while writing It Starts With Me, and you can check that out in another blog post, as well as listen to the playlist right here on the website!
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