Become a Better Writer

 

Our poster quote for today could easily be applied to writers who submit and submit but don't seem to have much success. Or not as much as they once hoped. 

Writing, no matter whether it is fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, essays or factual articles, is a tough road to travel. For one thing, there is tremendous competition. It three writers submit a story to a magazine, the odds are fairly good, but if three hundred submit to that publication, the odds aren't so hot. 

Writers not only have to be good in this craft, they have to be better than most of the others. That means hard work. It means keeping up with what is going on in the writing world. It means continuing to read about writing. It means editing and revising over and over. It means coming up with an angle on a story that no one else has done before. 

When we do have some success, it means that we can only bask in the afterglow for a short time. Then, it's time to get back to becoming a better writer. That should be one of our most consistent goals--to become a better writer. 

I loved the unit on graphs during my junior high math class. If we created a graph now on the ups and downs in a writers life, it would be a sight to see. Peaks and valleys. Sharp turns that go on and on. 

Yes, a writer's life can be hard but also rewarding. There is no doubt that to be a writer on a continuous basis, you must be passionate about the craft. You must enjoy the act of writing. You must have goals set and work towards them. 

If somebody hugs you and gifts you with chocolate and six million dollars, all the better. Just don't forget that you're a writer and must keep on writing.