Something else writers should stop doing

The other day I came across author Chuck Wendig's great article "25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing (Right Fucking Now)," which offers a lot of advice that resonates with me, most especially #3 (Stop Writing in Someone Else's Voice) and #14 (Stop Playing it Safe). But there's one bit of advice on which I want to offer an alternative perspective.

In his first rule, "Stop Running Away," Wendig urges himself and other writers to follow through on their commitments to themselves, even if they don't feel inspired to do so. "You want one thing but then constantly work to achieve its opposite. You say you want to write a novel but then go and write a bunch of short stories. You say you’re going to write This script but then try to write That script instead. Pick a thing and work toward that thing."

At first blush, this seems like very sound advice. Of course we want to set goals and carry them out. But in my experience, trying to dominate my Muse results in a lot of internal conflict, which in turn leads to less writing. I expend energy trying to force myself to do what seems logical, what I think I *should* do, or what seems like a good idea at the time, and at the expense of doing what I'm inspired to do or what comes more naturally. And then I have less energy to write, and the writing I do produce is both less satisfying and less effective.

On never being good enough

Today I came across this blog post by writer and teacher Lisa Morrow, who asks, "What are the best ways to improve as a writer?" I agree with her that it's not enough to write a lot; one also must solicit and respond to feedback. However, I find the question itself problematic because when I have asked it in the past, underneath lay a crippling belief: I am not good enough.

This self-doubt has affected me life-wide--for example, there was a period of time during which I used the excuse that I was not yet the person I wanted to be as a reason for avoiding romantic relationships--but lately I've been examining how it has affected my writing and my friends' writing.

One of my friends has wanted to write for as long as she can remember, but she never felt like she knew enough about the craft of writing. She spent years reading about others' processes and the "rules" for good writing rather than actually practicing writing.

How to be a published writer: Step 6b

Step 6b: Self-publishing.

The invention of the printing press with movable type changed the world because it made books affordable for a greater percentage of the population. We live in another amazing, world-changing time: the means of production are now available to the masses. Gone are the days when the power to publish was in the hands of the elite few who acted as gatekeepers of culture, who decided whose voices would be heard and left the rest to languish in silent oblivion. Now, anyone who has access to a computer and the Internet can make their work available to the whole world.

There are far too many options for self-publishing to provide an exhaustive list here. So instead I'll provide brief descriptions of a few options that I've either toyed with or plan to toy with. (Watch for more in-depth descriptions of some of these in future posts.)