Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Writing and Writers

Read a quote by Dwight V Swain in Techniques Of The Selling Writer that says everything you wanted to know about being a writer. Thought I'd use this as a jump off point. "The greatest talent in writing is nerve. You bet your ego that your unconscious has something in it besides dinner."

What a great thought and so very true. Just to sit down and decide you're going to be a writer and tell stories you hope will interest people who would like to read them takes nerve. And often brings an ego beating. Reader A loves your story and you feel on air. Along comes Reader B and they think ho hum. Not good and not bad. Then Reader C arrives with a total pan that makes you wonder if you have the nerve to try again. Here along with nerve comes persistence. Your nerve comes to the rescue and you write another story, holding that ego out there for people to praise and to knock. Your ego must roll with the punches as you gear your nerve for a third, fourth and fifth try to capture the readers.

So becoming a writer takes nerve and a healthy ego. But one has to make sure their nerve and ego are pushing you to write when you have nothing to say. It's all right to write things only a select few want to read. It's also all right to write things the masses follow. Keeping your ego under control will all your nerve to rise again and again.

There are many paths on the way to becoming a writer and we'll explore them in future bits here.