How to Unlock Your Writing Genius

Doors are hard to unlock unless you have the right key.

This is the front door to my office.
(Man, it needs some painting).
I need to use the right key to unlock this door;
not any key will do.

The same is true of your writing genius. Dreaming about being a writer never got anyone anywhere - just ask my brother who has been dreaming about becoming a writer for more years than I can remember. He has great ideas too. Ideas that would sell. But what does he do?

Dream. 

Dreaming is good if you take the time to do something about it. 

Make the time.

"Time waits for no man", the old saying goes, and it doesn't wait for women either. If you want to unlock your writing genius, if you want to learn how to become a writer, even the best writer you can be, then you must make the time. When I first thought about writing as a career I didn't have a lot of money to spend on classes. I couldn't afford to go back to school.

What did I do?

I checked out books at the library. I wrote. I attended a writer's

group.

These are some of my books, and some of the books of other writers I have published
through Idea Creations Press.
None of them would have happened
had I not stayed on the wobbly bike.

Learning how to become a writer is a little like dusting off your bike, getting on the seat, and taking yourself for a ride. You might have peddled a few times before, but not lately, and as your bike wobbles, as you try to gain your balance, you realize you've still got it. You can still ride.

My personal belief? We can all write, but not all of us apply ourselves. The juice is in us, but we don't apply what's already there. 

Write more than you watch television or play games on your phone or...

Writing not only takes time it takes a lot of focused time. You've more than likely heard of morning pages, or writing a page a day - or about 500 words, but what of writing 500 words a day on a particular project? Rather than writing 500 random words that come to you, and then wondering what else you can possibly share later, you're just so exhausted getting it all out, why not use those creative juices right off the bat?

Say you're interested in writing a book about your childhood. Start your day by remembering an event that happened to you. You don't need to start at the beginning, just start with one remembrance. The next day, follow it up with another remembrance, and so on. Once you get enough written, you can then consider how you'd like to organize your book.

My first book was a mixture of true experience
and fiction as Samantha deals with her
parents' divorce.

What if you're interested in writing a novel? One of my favorite techniques is finding a picture, either from a magazine, a painting, or a book that reflects my vision. I look at that thing and start to write whatever comes to me. Will it be the beginning? Probably not. But it will be something. And the next day I can look at it again and see what else comes to mind. I may find my beginning on day three or day ten, but if I use my creative juices the day will come and I will know when my book has begun. And who knows? Those other things I have written may just be chapter three or ten!

Throw negative critiques out. 

Story bashing never helps. "Story helps" do. You will know right away what type you're receiving as you're learning how to become a writer by how you feel. Defensive? Bash. Time for a crying jag? Bash. "I really like this part right here." Help. "That's exactly how I felt as a kid." Help. "What were you trying to say here? I really want to get it." Help.

Negative critiques of your writing, especially in the beginning may create within you a desire to STOP. You will hear them, and when you do, let them go. Pick up your pen. Go to your computer and write. 

I usually write on my computer unless I'm away from home. 

But stay focused. Don't rant. Keep going.

Share your work.

Yep. I know, after hearing that you'll receive negative critiques as you learn how to become a writer, you may not want to share your work with anyone. Do. And continue to share even after the negative critiques, especially when you receive the negative critiques. As a writer, I am still learning, and I have been a published book writer since 2002! I was learning before that as well because I started as a newspaper reporter. 

My first draft on a paper for college
received a C-.
My final, an A as I remember.

I am still learning, and expect to be learning until my dying day. I still share my work. Not everyone likes it. And that's okay. I keep writing, and so should you!

Writing Your Passion

This particular topic seems to come up A LOT in the writing world, and today I want to tackle it head-on.

Having been writing for many years - and still managing to squeak by when it comes to sales, you might think I would be all for writing what sells in favor of writing your passion. 

Romance/Erotica bring in the most bucks according to bookstr.com, followed by Crime/Mystery. 

This was an interesting find, though the genre in first-place really didn't surprise me. Unfortunately, I don't write romance or erotica and have no desire to do so. But I do write mysteries and find that these are usually the books people will pick up first when I'm doing a book signing. (Though until now I didn't know they were second on the list).

As you will see from the chart provided by bookstr, Christian fiction is third on the list of best selling genres (also something I write), followed by Science Fiction/Fantasy - a genre I am tackling for the first time this year. Horror takes last, or fifth place. This actually surprised me a little, though you will more than likely not be seeing a horror novel from my hands.

At any rate, what does this mean for you and your writing?

What if you write westerns, children's books, or the well-needed cookbook?

Don't give up on your dreams, I say.

We need you,

If the only reason you're writing a book in the first place is to receive the big bucks, you might want to re-think your dream. The big bucks come to some writers, but, quite frankly, much more are making a part-time living if they're even doing that.

Does that mean that their book - sucks?

It could, but more than likely, the book they are putting out there is well-worth someone's time. It may even be a life-changer. There is an awful lot more to do with book sales than just writing in the 'right' genre anyway, among them having the money to market. Sure, you can market with little to no money (my marketing book proves that) but there is that huge valley between a few good sales and the top seller on Amazon, and it may take you years to finally say you've reached the pinnacle of monetary success.

Until then, and even after you've reached what you call 'success' remember to continue to write what you love. Writing your passion, instead of the next book craze, is more than just nice sounding. I think you'll be happier with yourself. 

Consider these thoughts in writing for television or movies, and see how closely they relate to book writing in general when it comes to passion.

Check 'Em Out...Those Library Books You've Meant to Read

With the new year comes new resolutions to do better in writing. I hope you've set a few goals.

One of the most important ones (especially if you're a beginner writer) is the accumulation of knowledge that will help you in the books you write. Yes, you'll also need to write to get better, but books help you to see what you can do now to improve.

Some of my favorites...

The Power of Little Words by John L. Beckley
Elements of the Writing Craft by Robert Olmstead
Writing With Style by John R. Trimble
The Writer's Handbook by John B. Karls and Ronald Szymanski
Writing from the Heart by Nancy Lonim Aronie
 

 
Writing Screenplays that Sell by Michael Hauge (No, I don't write screenplays but this is an excellent resource if you want to improve your characters, plot and scenes).
What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter

And it's always a good idea to purchase a thesaurus and dictionary.

What writing books have you read that you would recommend?

How I Write My Books

Often the question is asked, "So how do you write a book? There are so many chapters and so much writing to do, how do you ever get it finished?"

Other questions are usually, "How do you get your ideas," or "How do you keep the story going until the very end?"

Questions like these are valid, but often, they get in the way of sitting down and writing your own book.

When I write a book I do a little research. I don't spend days and days on it, because I've learned that I quickly burn out. After a bit of research I get going on my book. Sure, research will then occur during the process of writing, and I make time for it when the occasion comes up, but I don't make my book about the research, I make the focus about the story.

I usually make a goal of a chapter a week. That way, I have a direction to travel. And I try not to think too far ahead, I just take each chapter as it comes.

Ideas come to me in the least likely of places, and sometimes, even from those in my family who have a great idea for my next book. A River of Stones came after I'd been writing the fictional story of a girl named Samantha whose parents were divorcing. Like my personal story, Samantha was confused. She wanted to know if she'd caused the divorce; she wanted to know why her parents didn't love each other any more.

One day, I was watching the Oprah Winfrey show, and someone was talking about a book called, Stones in the River, or something like that. And the idea came for the title.

For Conquering Your Goliaths: A Parable of the Five Stones, my husband read an email and told me about it. "You know, a story about the five stones that David gathered to defeat Goliath would make a great book."

 

The rest is history.

One way to keep your story going to the very end is to plan out the chapters ahead of time, but since I'm not one to follow what I've written down, I prefer the seat of your pants method. I have an idea of the beginning, an idea of the ending, and some idea of what's going to happen in the middle, but I try to be open to the characters and listen to what they want. And I need to tell you I've never been disappointed.

In the long run, a book must have a good plot and plenty of tension; that's the page turner stuff. And then the character's have to be great, not flat-cardboard varieties, but full blooded real individuals.

How I write books may be different from the way you write books, but the important thing is that we write them, and keep writing them until the end of time.