So, do you have what it takes to be a writer? Have you always felt there was a story buried deep inside that needs to be told? Or...have you been writing and are ready to become more serious about your craft?
I'll let you in on a secret. There is no secret when it comes to becoming a writer. It's mostly hard work and a maintaining a stubborn determination to stay the course on your dream while nearly everyone around you dismisses the idea as fantasy. Do not believe it will be easy.
The basic truth is there is no money in fiction. I saw a stat (the exact number isn't important) that the average self-published author makes 500 dollars a year. Obviously, this isn't enough to live on or to even add to earnings in a significant way.
Why is this important? Why do I think this is one of the most telling parts of being a writer?
If your writing makes no money, most ALL of your friends and family that begin by being 'supportive' will turn on your little 'hobby' and push for you to give up the pipe-dream. You'll hear many of the following phrases:
Get a real job,
You have to go back to school,
Nobody reads anymore anyway,
You have to grow up...
The list goes on. As the years pass by, people won't think it's cool or cute you are a writer. Support will almost inevitably wane and the only person that can compel you to continue: You.
And so we arrive at the toughest part of being a writer: having a backbone enough to stand the test of time. Writing is a lifetime journey and one made more difficult by having NO idea what's in the future. You must continue in the face of adversity, poverty, discouragement, and self-doubt.
Write even when you don't feel it.
Write when you doubt you have any talent at all.
Don't give up, no matter how hopeless or how much you 'hate that story'.
But, there is a silver lining.
Once you accept being a writer and make the decision not to ever give up--- nobody can take that away from you. Clutch it against your chest for warmth in the storm, for most certainly life will bring much trial to you as it does to us all.
So, do you still want to be a writer? Really want it more than anything?
If so, take a step forward...put your foot on the yellow brick road and begin your journey.
Make fiction my friends.
from Vegas,
Stephen John Moran