As we round the corner and face another year as writers, I decided to share with you specific ways you can hone your writing skills this year. This list is by no means exhaustive, but if you incorporate some of these ten tasks into your writing life, improvement awaits you (how’s that for passive voice?!):
- Find a writing mentor. I fledged my way through eight years of writing before I met my mentor (who is also one of my closest friends). Although I definitely see those eight years as greatly important in terms of learning to labor in obscurity, I see the last four years as more fruitful because of my friend Sandi. She helped me craft my first sellable query letter. She rejoiced with me when I actually sold an article. She attended Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference with me. We even shared the same agent.
- Start blogging. If you would like to make yourself write (and volume of writing is very helpful in developing your voice), start a blog. Go to www.blogger.com. Follow their instructions and begin posting. I am not techno-savvy, but I was able to do this with little pain. Here are some of my favorites: www.fallible.com (A well written blog by a terrific thinker and writer), http://www.manhattanpastor.blogspot.com/ (our dear friend JR who is planting a church in Manhattan), http://kellistandishwrites.blogspot.com/ (a friend who writes the most refreshing non-fiction out there), http://lisasamson.typepad.com/ (an amazing writer with lovely posts), http://mywritersgroup.typepad.com/ (my revolutionary friend Mick who works for Focus on the Family) http://terrywhalin.blogspot.com/ (A very, very good resource for writers) http://www.themastersartist.blogspot.com/ (I post here on Tuesdays). There are more amazing blogs on the right of this page. Do yourself a favor and check them out.
- Join a writer’s group. If you haven’t been critiqued yet, it is important that you accustom yourself to this. While I lived in Dallas, I was a part of the Dallas Guild (http://www.dallaschristianwritersguild.com/) and the Rockwall Christian Writer’s Group. From the Rockwall group, three of us split off to form Life Sentence, a more intensive critique group. We still meet! On Wednesday evenings, Leslie and D’Ann call me on speaker-phone and we go through our edits, sharing our files online while we talk. I would not be the writer I am today without Leslie and D’Ann. Currently, I’m a part of the Riviera Writer’s Group. I have really enjoyed the fun of reading UK authors and getting to know other writers. I had been feeling quite alone here in Southern France as an author, so this group has helped me tremendously.
- Go to a writer’s conference. I personally recommend www.mounthermon.org/writers (Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference). This year I’ll be teaching a major morning track with Chip MacGregor a publisher. Mount Hermon is where I got my start. There are MANY other amazing conferences. Here’s a listing: http://www.christianwritersinfo.net/conferences.htm
- Set a weekly word count goal. For my novel (currently under construction), I’ve set an 8000 word a week goal. I used to think that was impossible, but once I set the goal, I met it. If you are serious about writing and improving your craft, set goals.
- Pay it forward. Do some writing for free, whether it be a long-thought out letter to a struggling friend or a non-profit publication needing your words.
- Do something you’ve never done before. Terrified of poetry? Pick up a book of sonnets and try to construct one. (Here’s my attempt: http://www.relevantprose.com/sonnet.pdf) Non-fiction proposals freak you out? Write one. Here’s an example: http://www.relevantprose.com/propo.htm, Never written a short story? Just do it!
- Teach writing. I find I learn the most when I teach something. I have had the opportunity to teach at the writer’s groups I’ve attended. I’ve also taught column writing to fifth graders in nearby school districts. Explore the possibility of sharing what you’ve learned with others.
- If you’ve had a novel in your head for days (months, years, decades), why not make 2005 the year you write it? November is National Novel Writer’s Month. My friend D’Ann wrote a novel in a month that way, later honing it. It garnered the attention of a really great agent! Here’s a link: http://www.nanowrimo.org/. If you aren’t sure how to start, check out Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake method: http://www.rsingermanson.com/html/the_snowflake.html
- Write every day. Be relentless. Writing is like a muscle. If you don’t use it every day, it will atrophy.May 2005 be an incredible year of writing craft for you!
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