Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Writer
All you need to know about becoming a writer!
Qualifications/ Experience needed:
Good basic writing skills with reasonably good punctuation and grammar (The proofreader who will check your bestseller for errors likes to start with a fairly 'clean' manuscript). Also you need to have an extreme urge to write and a bunch of ideas that you just have to put on paper. Good word-processing skills can take a lot of the physical labour out of writing and leave you free to get on with the genius stuff. Yes, I know Charles Dickens wrote all those novels with a dip pen and a bottle of ink and his various child wives had to massage his arm for writer's cramp when it all got too much for him. Fortunately we don't have to do writer's cramp any more.
Your Typical Day:
When actually working, 4 hours a day is quite enough for most writers. You should be able to write at least 1000 words during this period if you have adequate word processing skills. The thing is to stick at it and write every day. It's amazing how many writers get 'blocked' when they're really just dossing off.
Eventually, when you've clocked up tens of thousands of words and you're on the downhill sprint, getting close to the end of your masterpiece, you may be inclined to work 12 hours a day and write 5000 words. Well, why not? If you've made it that far you can do exactly as you like.
What do you love about your job?
Seeing my book in print. Holding it in my hand. Thinking, What a work of genius! The reviewers may disagree but I get that first buzz before they have a chance to comment.
What do you hate about your job?
Nothing really. Being 'blocked' can be a nuisance but it's not the trauma that some writers like to pretend it is. Or maybe I just have a natural flair for dossing off.
How does a young person get started in a career like yours?
You start writing NOW. Like TODAY. Do some daily writing in any shape or form: diary, letters or whatever appeals to you. The important thing is to practise writing, develop your own style and writing skills, your own VOICE and your own POINT OF VIEW. Also you READ READ READ. Don't confine yourself to GOOD writing. Be omnivorous. Read everything that comes your way.
Qualities you need for this job?
Perfectionism. You don't just write. You re-write and then you re-write again and then again and again. Thomas Carlyle (Victorian writer) said 'Genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains'. So true. Your first draft of a piece of writing is just raw material. When it is complete you go right back to the start and cut, edit, polish, hone, etc, etc. You will be so impressed with the way your work improves under this process. Utter perfection!
Advice for wannabes:
Start writing at once. Don't wait till tomorrow. For the practical details of getting published, consult a writers' reference book such as 'Writers and Artists Year Book'. If they don't have it in your local library, ask them to get it for you. There are good writing resources online, including lists of publishers and agents. There are also online writers' groups which you can join free of charge.
