NEVER STOP LEARNING

NEVER STOP LEARNING

 

     A few days ago I realized that February of this year marked 2 years since I started seriously writing. And in two years I had wrote 3 novels, had 1 of them published, and was blessed to be signed by an agent who is doing her magic and gifting me with her knowledge as we edit my second novel. During this two year period the one thing I have never stopped doing is learning.

 

    Yes. Just because I am a published author does not mean that the learning stops. Some people (although I'm not sure who) may think that what they have in front of them is how the novel started off. It is surely not. Nobody writes a perfect first draft. Nobody. As you go through edits and you continue to read, you start to pick up on many things you shouldn't be doing at all and a lot of things that would really improve your manuscript.

 

   I thought I'd picked out all of my bad writing habits. Boy was I wrong. But you know what? I am so happy these things are being pointed out to me. With every novel you write, your writing improves and you learn new things. As my agent works with me I'm learning new things about my own writing habits and I'm making a careful list so I can look out for these things in the future.

 

   I have always considered myself a storyteller first and a writer second. So while I may be great at telling you a story, when it comes to the technical things I welcome any help that is offered to me. As a writer you must never stop learning. Someone has some technique or template or advice that is sure to make your writing life easier. So don't be afraid to try new things. Some may work for you. Some may not. But as long as you tried that's all that matters.

 

   Also don't be afraid to take advantage of the resources out there. You can find all kinds of books about writing written on different subjects. If there is an area you are struggling with or would like to know more about, then grab a book and get to reading. You will only learn something that is sure to help you along the way. Or how about picking up a book from your favorite author and studying it? Take a look at how the book is formatted. Take a gander at their word choice or where the action picks up. You can learn a lot to improve your own writing just from doing that.

 

   The point I'm trying to make is that just because you're a published author now doesn't mean you know everything or that the work stops. You still need to read and pick up what you can to improve your craft. So NEVER STOP LEARNING!