Writers Must Grow in Their Craft

It doesn't matter what you have or have not accomplished on your writing journey. If you've been highly successful, there is still room to grow, and the same goes for the newbie writer who hits the wall with frustration. Room to grow. 

If I ever feel like I can learn no more about this craft of writing, I hope someone will sit me down and give me a good lecture. I don't ever want to stop improving my writing, and neither should you. 

We don't want to become complacent. We need those aims and objectives kept before us. When we accomplish one, add another. We need motivation. We need inspiration. Take a dose of each and you will grow as a writer.

One of Stephen King's quotes is repeated so often that it must be a very strong piece of advice. He said: “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

He's telling you to leave room to grow as a writer. 

Writers sometimes feel like they're stuck in a rut. They seem to be writing the same old way, the same old topics, the same old methods. If you want to sit there and wallow in self-pity, you're not leaving yourself room to grow. It's time to open yourself to new vistas, to try new types of writing, to step outside the box. 

Aim for growth with every writing project you begin. Will it work? Sometimes, it will, and other times, you'll feel like you're being sucked down into the mud of sameness. The idea is to work at the growth, not give up. And yes, I'll repeat myself--it's up to you! 

Ten Years From Now

One of the younger members of my critique group posed some questions for our members. She's a young mother who teaches full-time and writes in whatever spare time she can eke out. She said she's been thinking about where she will be ten years from now career-wise and with her writing. She'd like to pursue something teaching-related and devote more time to serious writing by that time. But she has some concerns about being able to churn out writing at a faster pace than she does now, about what kind of career opportunities there will be for her.

A few of the other members sent their thoughts on the subject, me among those who did. My first thought when she asked about where she'd be in ten years was that, for me, I'd like to be A. Alive and B. Writing. And I sure hope the writing is more than a grocery list at that time. As long as I have a mind, I know I'll continue to write.

At my stage of life, looking ten years down the road isn't all that appealing, but it is certainly a good question for writers to pose. Have you thought about where you'd like to be in your writing life ten years from now? If you have one publishing credit now, are you satisfied with that, or do you want more? If your writing is anywhere from passable to great, do you want to grow and make it even  better? That would be super-great at the far end of the scale!

In ten years, do you want to be more knowledgeable about the craft of writing? Do you want to share your thoughts in print with more people then than you do now? Would you be happy staying right where you are now in your writing life?

We'll all have different answers to these questions. I hope that your answers will reflect growth in your writing in all aspects. I hope that you'll strive to write better than you do today, that you'll have more published pieces than right now, that your strength as a writer will increase.

Step back and take an honest look at your writing life today, then make a short list of your goals you'd like to reach by 2021. You may not attain all of them, but even reaching a few will show growth. Some of you will go in leaps and bounds, while others will move along more slowly.

Writers have unique qualities and no two will follow exactly the same path. So, ponder a bit on the question of where you'll be in ten years as a writer.