Successful Writing

7 Steps to Becoming a Great Writer

1. READ
To write you must read. Anything and everything. You must pay attention to how others put words on paper. By reading, you discover what editors are looking for and what has been successful.

2. OBSERVE
Watch people. Look at their mannerisms and characteristics, eavesdrop on their conversations. See your surroundings. Feel the wind in your face. Hear the sounds of nature or the sounds of the city. Allow yourself to feel the warmth of the sun or the iciness of a winter rain. Describe it.

3. PEN (OR PENCIL) AND PAPER
More important than American Express(r). Never leave home without them. Laptops and electronics are wonderful, but a good pen and small pad of paper never let you down due to the need of batteries.

4. WATCH TV & MOVIES
Watch how dialogue and action move the plot along from scene to scene. See what works and what does not.

5. DAYDREAM
Don't say you don't have time. We all do. How many trips to the bathroom do you make everyday? It's surprising how fast those minutes add up.

6. SCENARIOLIZE
This is a simple one. In every situation, ask yourself, What If?
Give yourself the answers.

7. WRITE
Until you put words on paper, any words, you are not a writer. Once you write that first complete sentence, you are. Find the time, make the time if you have to. Give up something. If you only write a journal, you are a writer. If you only succeed at writing one short story, you are a writer. It doesn't matter if it is ever published, if you wrote it, you are a writer. It is not the substance that makes you a writer. It is the effort. Just write.

by
Kat Yares

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