Cintia
asked
Lillian Marek:
I'm an aspiring writer, but I'm dealing with two things: I get discouraged every single day because 96% of manuscripts are rejected, and I haven't had an idea for years, literally. There's too many people wanting to be writers, and knowing there's so much competition just kills me a little every day. When I get motivated, immediatly something appears about the industry that kills it. Any tips on how to deal with this?
Lillian Marek
I apologize for taking so long to answer, but I’ve been thinking about your question. Now for the first part, the only way anyone gets to be a writer is by writing. Being a writer may sound easy and glamorous to people who don’t write, but we all know the sheer slog of sitting there staring at the blank page when you can’t think what the next sentence should be. We do it because every now and then comes the euphoria of seeing exactly what should come next.
As for all those rejections—forget about them. Yes, there are people who accumulate enough rejection letters to paper the wall, and there are famous authors like Stephen King or Margaret Mitchell who keep going despite that.
Never worry about the market. If you try to write whatever is selling at the moment, it will be dead in the water by the time you finish your manuscript. Write the stories you want to tell. That’s the only way you will write anything good.
If you are having trouble getting ideas, write anyway simply as an exercise. Describe your living room from the point of view of your Aunt Matilda, who thinks you have lousy taste. Then describe it from the point of view of your father, who is glad to be home after a brutal day at work. Look online for writers� prompts.
Join a writers� group. If there aren’t any convenient for you to get to in person, join an online group. You will benefit from having your work critiqued and you will benefit from having other people’s work critiqued. Most of all, you will be energized by being in a group of people who write.
Good luck to you.
As for all those rejections—forget about them. Yes, there are people who accumulate enough rejection letters to paper the wall, and there are famous authors like Stephen King or Margaret Mitchell who keep going despite that.
Never worry about the market. If you try to write whatever is selling at the moment, it will be dead in the water by the time you finish your manuscript. Write the stories you want to tell. That’s the only way you will write anything good.
If you are having trouble getting ideas, write anyway simply as an exercise. Describe your living room from the point of view of your Aunt Matilda, who thinks you have lousy taste. Then describe it from the point of view of your father, who is glad to be home after a brutal day at work. Look online for writers� prompts.
Join a writers� group. If there aren’t any convenient for you to get to in person, join an online group. You will benefit from having your work critiqued and you will benefit from having other people’s work critiqued. Most of all, you will be energized by being in a group of people who write.
Good luck to you.
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A Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ user
asked
Lillian Marek:
your book Scandalous Adventure sounds very good what made you want to write these kind of stories?
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Dec 29, 2017 12:43PM · flag