Advice Can Be Confusing

Wrters hang on the words of other writers who have been successful. After all, if these people claim major publishing feats in a literary world where such success is not easy, then they must be all-knowing. Right?

Not necessarily. I know a writer who reads every book regarding writing that is written by a known name in the literary world. This person will hand me the key to success, she believes. And when it doesn't happen, she moves on to the next book, because surely this person will be the one to open the doors she needs to walk through to achieve celebrity status.

I'm not saying to disregard advice books from writers. Quite the contrary. They do have a lot of good information. They open the eyes of a newbie writer. But they alone are not going to be the one way to sure publication. Sometimes one tells you to do one thing, while the next one says just the opposite. Write what you know. And then You can write about things you've never experienced. Confusing? Yes.

Don't stop reading the books. Learn from them, but don't take every word as gospel truth. Use your head, listen to your heart and do it in the way which is best for you. No two writers approach writing in exactly the same way. One gets up at 5 every morning to write. Another waits until the entire family is asleep and then writes on into the wee hours of the morning. If mid-afternoon works best for you, then do it.

Even good advice can be confusing.