I Heart Writing: Why You Need To Commit

In 2014 I really started writing. I’d been merely toying with it until then. I finally took the plunge and started a website. This meant commitment and that’s when I really started to pursue my writing relentlessly.

If you’re going to become an author don’t just aspire to it. It’s not enough to play around with the notion or fiddle with writing and some vague intention of completing a book.

Now I’m not saying jump into it with both feet and your eyes closed. No, take your time and know what you’re getting into. Learn what it means to commit. What will it take to write? What will you need? How will you get there?

However, without the willingness to commit you won’t get far. Here are some starting points:

1. Research – find out what you will need to seriously write. You’ll need a web presence, social media accounts, email, an author photo and writing software. What will that cost? How will you do it?

2. Plan – it may be foreign to you but you won’t successfully commit to your writing without some sort of a plan. Learn from other authors. There are lots of resources on the internet. But without a plan you won’t get far with being a committed writer. It’s like getting married so take it seriously. It’s a lot of work so a plan comes in handy when you get lost in all the details and helps you stay on course with your over-arching goals.

3. Write – regardless of what you need to write start writing regularly. As I shared yesterday you need to exercise your creativity to get anywhere with writing. Otherwise you’re likely to sit at the screen and wonder why you have writer’s block. Answer: you don’t. Start writing a journal and generating ideas. If you want to write a blog or anything else you’ll need a writing foundation.

4. Study – learn what you don’t know about being a writer. Think you’ve already got what it takes for being great? Mostly no you don’t. There are all sorts of elements of style and technique to employ that you don’t understand by osmosis unless you’ve got an English degree. Start finding good blogs that discuss these topics. Look for books on writing. Attend a conference and learn what editors find to be good writing and why.

There are many more tips I could write but this should get you started. If you heart writing, then make a commitment and ask it to be your vocational valentine – then stick with it.

How can you be more committed to writing? How do you overcome your jitters about writing? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today! Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.

Photos courtesy Morguefile.com – free photo section