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| by Sandro Botticelli |
…just do it. Anyone can put pencil to paper or finger to keyboard, but it helps to have a few personal qualities before you start.
- LOVE – of words, and of reading. Playing with language and seeing how others create characters, mood and atmosphere will help you develop your own style. It isn’t the number of words you write each day, or the length of them but the feeling you put into your work. If your writing comes from the heart, the chances are you’ll speak directly to the hearts and minds of your readers.
- COMMITMENT – anyone can call themselves a writer, but only when you actually complete the story that’s been begging to be told will you feel you’ve earned the title. Always start with a fixed end in mind, whether it’s entering a short story competition, or writing a book. Don’t let anything distract you from your goal. Write every day, and get a first draft down as fast as you can. Then go back over it again and again, improving your work every time.
- PATIENCE – once your work is as good as you can make it, put it away and start on something new. After a month, go back to your first piece and re-read it aloud to yourself. If you’re aiming for publication, when the re-writes are finished, give your manuscript to a trusted friend who reads the type of work you’ve written. Accept their constructive criticism as part of the learning progress – it all helps to please your eventual audience.
The Easter holidays are a traditional time to make a fresh start – what are you going to be working on this week?
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