The One Thing A Writer Must Accomplish – Daily Quote

/ JoHawkTheWriter

do-not-wait-the-time-will-never-be-just-right.-start-where-you-stand-and-work-with-whatever-tools-you-may-have-at-your-command-and-better-tools-will-be-found-as-you-go-along.-george-herbert

I have seen the endless prerequisites required to become a successful author. You must get an agent, submit your work, set up your platform, suck it up as they reject your work, start a newsletter, cultivate your voice, love reading, build your street team, read everything in your category, manage your brand, decide on your genre, learn your craft, daydream, and find your compelling reason for writing. What am I forgetting? Oh yeah, you also need to create something brilliant. The list is long, daunting and impossible to master in a short timeframe.  No wonder people quit.

I’ve made a radical decision. I plan to ignore the mandatory requirements and helpful advice, opting instead to compose stories. There is a saying that states, “when the student is ready the teacher will appear.” I trust the devices and skills will arrive at the point in my journey when I need them. I intend to keep an open mind, learn whatever I can today and continue to write with the tools at my disposal. I have decided the only prerequisite needed to become a published author, is to write.

What is your favorite writing tool?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

22 thoughts on “The One Thing A Writer Must Accomplish – Daily Quote”

  1. I have been down the route you mention, and come to the same conclusions, although I confess to keeping an eye on the business, just in case something really helpful comes along.
    Basically, my brain is my favourite writing tool, it still manages to impress me sometimes!

    Liked by 1 person

    • I don’t disagree, Stevie, but in order to improve you must first write something. Preferably massive amounts of writing. I ascribe to the “Quantity before quality” theory from the book Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland. Everything follows from there.

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      • The massive amounts of writing would need feedback though from somebody further along the learning curve. I would cringe with embarrassment if I now had to publish the first manuscript I ever wrote. I thought it was good at the time, but when I look back at it I can see mistakes I made because I didn’t know any better.

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      • Feedback, or critique can aid in identifying areas of improvement as long as it is constructive and delivered with care. It is a double edged sword that can hinder or help in equal measure. The act of “doing” will also yield improvements, albeit at a slower rate.

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  3. The internet’s full of people busy marketing an empty brand basket. Write. That’s what matters. Figure out what you’ve got, then worry about what to do with it. I have a hunch that too much thought about marketing can lock people into writing what they think people want (emphasis on “they think”) and keep them from going deep enough into the strangeness within, but that’s where the writing the doesn’t fit any expected category–the truly good stuff–comes from.

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  5. I’ve run out of reply boxes, so I’ll jump down here: A bit of an odd mix, really. What for lack of a better phrase is called literary fiction (that sounds snobbish, so I wince at calling it that), but I’m not a fan of experimental fiction and I do like an actual plot–something to carry me forward. If I’m coming down with a cold, I want sf or a mystery, or sometimes historical fiction, but I do try to hold out for something that’s well written, which isn’t always easy to find. No romance–can’t do romance.

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    • I admit romance is not on the top of my list. I love when I find something well written. It makes slogging through the good stories all the more meaningful. Thanks for sharing Ellen. I look forward to seeing more from you. ❤

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