Today I opened the book Hooked by Les Edgerton
I mention this because as a new writer I need to constantly work at learning more. I have never taken any college courses to teach me how to write a book. I decided one day I had to ignore what others told me and just do it. I am proud of my first book, "Steps to Courage". However, I am constantly reading things and seeing how I did things wrong. I have always felt the beginning of my book just wasn't right. By the time I published it I felt it was as good as "I" could make it. It has been through HONEST critiques and reviews of my book that I have slowly begun the process of learning to improve my writing. Several people have told me that I did more telling than showing. I also know I have a problem with being a passive writer. I keep trying to write like I was taught in school, and like I've been trained to teach kids to write. I want to change this. I must begin by reading and analyzing books like Hooked. I began by looking at a copy of my book and marking it up. My hope is that as I deconstruct my first book I will be able to avoid those mistakes in the future.
I would love to be able to give someone my book and say, "Mark it up. Be brutally honest and tell me what is wrong so I can fix it and not make the same mistakes in the future".
There are two main reasons I need to do this. If I ever decide to traditionally publish, it must be good enough to get the attention of a publisher and editor.
The second reason is if I decide to self-publish again, I need to make sure it is better than my first book.
I will say this much though, it sure has felt good to be back doing what I really enjoy, writing. Yes, the writing process includes reading and learning about writing and practicing what you have learned.
So what are you waiting for?
2 comments:
Do not feel alone. So much of what you described has rolled and rolled in my brain. I do think though, that there are storytellers, we may not have all the rules down, but we can spin a yarn that is interesting and entertaining. I know for me, the joy of writing is that, a joy. Learning and getting better technically is a process and I aspire to improve also, but I can't put the writing on hold. It now wants to gush out!
Karen Arnpriester
You are so right my friend. I realized this morning that when I have let my school get in the way of my writing, my teaching suffered. I felt incomplete. I felt like I was just dragging along in my classes. A week ago one of my students said I was different and they liked it. I asked them what they meant, knowing I would not like what I heard. They said that after I gave them the assignment and joined them I wasn't grumpy anymore. The assignment? Write a story that is at least 650 words. I gave them a starter and told them to be creative. They gave me a topic and a setting and I joined them. So far their favorite of mine is "Human Stew". I think I will post it here. It was a fun and simple story from my student's suggestions. You can be so gross with middle schoolers. I am taking time, and giving myself permission to write EACH and EVERY day, as I work on the techniques of writing.
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