An Open Letter To A 'Wannabe' Part One

OK , so many people know that I love helping new writers – I love answering question, watching them learn their craft, seeing lightbulbs go on in their heads and shining through their eyes when they get something and see why it has to be there or how to implement it in their own work. I run courses, give talks, critique manuscripts, I have written a couple of how to books. Some – like minds and would-be authors - love this . Others, for reasons I really just don’t get criticise me for training up the opposition – for telling innocents and stupids that writing is easy, that they’ll make good money – that yea, they’ll be published and it will all be wonderful.

I’m helping to flood the market with 2nd class, 3rd class books, I’m leading those innocents astray by not giving them the hard facts of the writing life. Oh yes, and I’m only doing this cynically because I have those how to books to sell.

Well let’s get one thing straight from the start – if I was expecting to make enough money to retire on with the 12 Point Guide then I’d really need to be certified. Yes, it’s sold well – for a ‘How To’ guide – but I won’t be troubling the tax man with the income. If it was all I had from my writing I’d be in real trouble! It wouldn’t even pay my gas and electricity bill.

This morning I got up to find an email in my inbox - from L a college student in America. L is graduating with a Psychology degree in a month or so. She had just picked up a copy of Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride at the store as a reward for studying for a ‘killer chem exam’. And she’d thought about writing – and she asked for advice.

I get lots of letters like this – and I don’t have time to answer them all in detail. Usually I have some basic notes that I send and a list of books to look at. But I thought I’d answer L’s questions here so that other ‘wannabe’ writers can have the answers too. And no – I’m not going to say that everything in the garden is beautiful and you’re on your way to fame and fortune, because you’re probably not.

The answer to L is going to be quite long - so I'm goingto spread it over several days or you'll be reading for hours.
So – L’s questions –

I've been reading romance, all sorts, since I was too young to be reading those kind of books. I feel like I could write one if I put my mind to it.

Well that’s a good start. A reader has a genuine love of and understanding for the genre. Readers know the differences between the lines, the type of stories each one deals with, the types of heroes and heroines, the range of conflicts. I always advise new writers to read read read – and then read some more. In your case, this bit’s been dealt with.

But – can you write one? Well let’s get one thing straight – I don’t know if you have any talent. I don’t know if you can write lively, easy to read narrative, create characters who live and breathe in the readers’ minds, add in vivid dialogue, a love people can believe in, create a conflict, maintain the pace, work it through and bring it all to a conclusion all in 50,000 words. I haven't seen a nything you've tried so I don’t know if you can write.

And if you don’t have talent then I can’t help. I can’t teach that. I can’t put in what isn’t there. I’ve had some very rough manuscripts to critique – some will never, ever make it. Some were rough through inexperience and lack of focus – they had a raw writing talent underneath. I could help them and as a result some of them have succeeded.

Because they could write.

So
What does it take?

Talent, dedication, hard work, commitment, the ability to learn, to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again when you get a rejection. The ability to work with editors, to do revisions, to stick at it when things are going wrong and the Crows of Doubt are circling, cawing for your blood. And the ability to accept criticism from an objective (editorial) reader. Oh and an understanding of people helps – and experience of life – and courage . . .

And talent



More tomorrow