WORDS WITH MR.KAUMAN
As many of you already know, I am a published writer. I have self-published two books on Amazon, both of which are over four-hundred pages long. Now, that being said, I’m by no stretch of the imagination an expert on becoming a good writer. However, I do believe I have enough knowledge to give some advice for those who want to get into writing.
The first and most important step in my opinion is learning exactly what it is you wanna write about. Do you like reading action novels? Mystery? Whatever it is, it would be best to make sure it is something you’re both familiar with and passionate about. Sure, with some luck you could possibly make a successful series in a genre you hate. But eventually, whether it takes two books or ten, readers will realize the lack of heart in your writing.
See, it’s like becoming a chef when you have no passion for the type of food you cook: You can sprinkle as many seasonings and colorful flavors as you like, but the thing is, critiques have this funny power that allows them to tell when there’s no heart in something, when there’s no passion in the craft, and there’s not enough spices and flavoring in the world to hide that fact when it becomes apparent.
Another important thing one needs to do when getting into writing is to write down every book idea that comes to your mind. For me personally I prefer using my journal or laptop, but as long as it is something you can write clear and coherent words on, pretty much anything will do.
Write down your thoughts everyday, even if you feel you have nothing worthwhile to talk about. Only when you finally get your ideas sorted into one place will you be ready to start writing.
When you do start writing your manuscript, it is important to reread, edit, and reread what it is you write. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to look over the last paragraph you wrote every five seconds. In fact, it is recommended you write without stopping to proofread while you’re on a roll so you don’t disrupt your pace.
Overall, it is important you take a break every so often. Burnout is one of the biggest reasons aspiring writers never finish their first work. Fatigue can occur within anyone even if their job requires no physical effort whatsoever. One should never feel ashamed to take a break from something if it interferes with their mental health.
But also remember this: Everyone has their own way of getting on the path to writing. If you have time, research famous authors and what they like to do to make sure they don’t fall behind on their projects.
You may find multiple authors with ideas for staying on schedule that you’ll find helpful, and you may find a hundred more authors with advice you might find to be useless. It all depends on what type of person you are. Never get discouraged, always take valid criticism where it’s due, and make a routine that works for you. But most importantly, don’t give up.