Because I knew I’d be waiting to be called in for a much-needed doctor’s appointment this morning, I brought my Kindle with me, so I could read something today — in an attempt to obtain a “perfect month” award in Kindle’s Spring Reading Challenge — a very elusive award for me. I ended up waiting SO LONG to be called in that I managed to FINISH reading a book!
That book was “Stages of a Fiction Writer: Know Where You Stand on the Path to Writing” by Dean Wesley Smith, and I discovered some things that I’m hoping will help me remain firmly seated on the “writing wagon” from which I’ve fallen too many times to count. I am going to transcribe them into this vanity post, so they’ll be easily accessible whenever I hit a bump on my writing path and/or feel as though I’m about to fall off the (writing) wagon.
Without further ado, here goes…
Heinlein’s Rules
- You must write.
- You must finish what you write.
- You must not rewrite unless to editorial request. (Editors are people who buy things, not someone you hire, folks.)
- You must put your work on the market.
- You must keep it one the market.
The Secret to Working Through Stage Three
Just tell the next story.
Do your best on every story you write, keep learning, keep practicing, and then just tell the next story.
Get that story you just finished out to sell to readers in one way or another.
And then just keep learning and tell the next story.
Make writing fun.
Make learning fun.
Make telling stories fun.