Advice for a new book author?
Dave, I've written a lot of articles for magazines, but never anything as substantial as the half of a book I'm co-authoring with a colleague. I know my question is pretty broad, but I'm hoping for stuff of the "I wish I had known / done this when I first started out" variety. So, Dave, what's your best advice to me?
Okay. Here's my key piece of advice for all new writers:
GET OVER THE WRITERS BLOCK MYTH
Really.
It's a job, you're a professional writer, and your task is to type, to put words down, to produce. Writer's block is for fiction writers and hobbyists who enjoy the anguish and angst of "the creative process". One of the very best things I ever learned about writing was from NJIT professor Peter Elbow's books, that WRITERS WRITE.
Don't pussyfoot around. Don't worry about word count. Don't waste time fiddling with formats or how MS Word does something or other. Just teach yourself - fast - to get your ideas on paper or on screen.
That's why a blog is such a great tool for writers, by the way: because it...
Okay. Here's my key piece of advice for all new writers:
GET OVER THE WRITERS BLOCK MYTH
Really.
It's a job, you're a professional writer, and your task is to type, to put words down, to produce. Writer's block is for fiction writers and hobbyists who enjoy the anguish and angst of "the creative process". One of the very best things I ever learned about writing was from NJIT professor Peter Elbow's books, that WRITERS WRITE.
Don't pussyfoot around. Don't worry about word count. Don't waste time fiddling with formats or how MS Word does something or other. Just teach yourself - fast - to get your ideas on paper or on screen.
That's why a blog is such a great tool for writers, by the way: because it...
posted by Dave Taylor at
10:06 PM
