How to Write - A Writer's Mentality
Writing is as unique to each person as your voice is. Sure, you can copy (or be copied by) someone, but there really is just one way to write that is really and truly you. This is what most people mean when they tell aspiring writers to find their own 'voice'. From my experience, the only way to find this voice of yours to start writing and keep going until you find it.'But how does one get started?' you may be asking. The more important thing is not 'how' to get started, but to 'just' start. It doesn't have to be right or perfect or a masterpiece. Just the fact that you are taking the time to put something on paper is a learning experience in and of itself. All established, famous authors started from ground one at some point.
In my opinion, How to Write is intricately interwoven with a Writer's Mentality. This is especially important for budding authors because we are insecure. We haven't been published yet, so we don't know if our stories contain any of those elements that Make a Story Great.
The key here is to keep writing (I don't know a single published author who quit halfway through), but also (this next part is essential) to always strive to improve your work. I'm sure everyone remembers a particularly good drawing or story they did in elementary school, but chances are that if you went back and looked at that picture, or read that story again, you wouldn't consider it to be as good as you thought it was when you originally created it. That's because we are all in a constant state of change. As we grow older we gain more experience and become a wiser person. (I hope so, anyway.) Therefore, we have more knowledge and experience with which to judge our previous efforts. Even if you're not aiming to become a published author, chances are you can write a better story or draw a better picture now than you did when in elementary school.
As long as we make a consistent effort to better the quality of our work, we will learn more about how to write better, how to plan our stories better, how to create and develop characters that our readers can really identify with.
Too often, new writers go back to read their stories, happy and elated that they've finally finished the manuscript, and ignore the fact that the dialogue is bloated, the characters' speech and actions unnatural; they listen to flattering friends and family members who tell them their story is marvelous. (What else would they tell you? If they're so good at judging an author's potential why aren't they working as an editor at a publishing firm?) Or perhaps they turn a blind eye to the painful truth if someone close is brave enough to tell them it needs more work.
I understand this mentality. We've spent days, weeks, months, maybe even years, working on this. Who wants to go back and erase that entire twelve page section that just doesn't fit? To take out that adorable character who doesn't really add anything to the story?
I came across one site that stated the 'Delete' key is a writer's best friend. Be viscious! Show no mercy when you go back and edit your manuscript. As long as you are truly honest with yourself, then you will know it must be done.
