Saturday, October 23, 2010

Really Doing It

I have been back from vacation for 4 weeks now. Everyday I have made good on my commitment to treat my writing like I would a job. So, every morning at 10AM you will find me in front of my computer writing away. And doing it happily.

It's funny, for years I have heard that to be a successful writer I need to be writing everyday. I guess I never believed it. I thought that if I wrote on a regular basis that would be enough. I have found that writing everyday is a far cry from writing on a regular basis. I guess I would have to admit that they were right.

What I have noticed in this short time is amazing. My writing has dramatically improved. It has even affected the my recognition of problems within the piece.

I'm not completely sure why I never did it before. I used excuses like I'm too tired after coming home from work. Or, I need to wait until I get inspired. And there's even the excuse that I have to wait until I can figure out what happens next. Unbelievable. Now that I can see the difference in my writing for myself, I am determined to continue this practice.

Yesterday a friend sent me an email about a writing contest for YA writers. It's being sponsored by Guide to Literary Agents. In order to submit to the contest they ask that you mention the contest in your social media, so I'm doing it here and on my Facebook page. The prizes are: a critique by literary agent Tamar Rydzinski and a free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com. I'm game. How about you?

No comments: