\tFrom that exposure to the genre, I went on to consume everything that he had ever written, and I sought out books by other authors ranging from Donald A. Wolheim and A.E. Van Vogt, to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clark. There are dozens, if not hundreds of science fiction authors that I have read and enjoyed. And I continue reading in that genre. One other important aspect of reading the sort of material you want to write is that you\u2019ll learn what\u2019s been done before, and what\u2019s been done to death\u2014and what are clich\u00e9d and hackneyed or just downright stupid ideas that you need to avoid.<\/p>\n
\tAnother tool that the good writer needs is a wastebasket. Jerry Pournelle, who with his writing partner Larry Niven, has produced some of the classics of science fiction, explained that the individual who wishes to be an author must be prepared to write and throw away about a million words before getting anything published. His statement is not hyperbole. Writers write\u2014a lot. And writers have to practice. Think about all the years that stand between a young child when she first picks up her violin and when she finally sits down on stage with the philharmonic. Becoming a writer is no different.<\/p>\n
\tA million words sounds like a lot. It is. But you don\u2019t write those words all in one sitting. I can write the first draft of a novel in about three months. How do I do that? The same way you\u2019ve eaten a cow or two in your life: one hamburger at a time. I work five days a week, and each day I write ten pages. So, that works out to fifty pages a week, two hundred pages a month, and six hundred pages by the end of three months: a grand total of about 150,000 words. In order to get your first million words under your belt, you\u2019ll have to do that about seven times.<\/p>\n
\tThankfully, I started young and cranked out my first million words by the time I graduated college. But you can see that at ten pages a day it wouldn\u2019t really take you all that long to have a million words to fill your trash can with.<\/p>\n
\tPournelle\u2019s figure is not a hard and fast law, of course. His point\u2014and mine in quoting him\u2014is to warn the prospective writer that a lot of what you write at first is not going to be very good\u2014and that\u2019s okay. Just be prepared. Actually, a lot of the stuff you write, even after thirty years of doing it, will probably not be so hot, either. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, once commented that ninety percent of everything is junk.<\/p>\n
\tAnother valuable and necessary tool is a first reader: someone to read your stuff before you try to send it to an editor. This needs to be someone who will give you genuine feedback, not someone who will pat you on the head and tell you that you\u2019re a genius. Who you want is someone who is a close enough friend that his or her honesty will not make you think that they hate you when they point out the flaws in your masterpiece. It needs to be a friend from whom you\u2019re willing to accept complete honesty. And it needs to be a friend who likes the same kind of stories you want to write. If you\u2019re fortunate, you\u2019ll have at least one person in your life who can fulfill this role for you.<\/p>\n
\tWriter\u2019s groups can be very valuable tools. Most communities will have such a gathering that assembles at least once a month. A writer\u2019s group will usually give you an opportunity to share what you\u2019ve written, and will be happy to give you feedback and encouragement. <\/p>\n
As with most things in life, landing a contract with a publisher is partially a consequence of who you know. Therefore, if you can at all afford it, attending a writer\u2019s conference is a good idea: you\u2019ll have the opportunity to meet editors, agents and published authors\u2014people who you can talk to face to face and pitch your ideas to. The vast majority of authors get published through such personal contacts, not from just sending material cold to a publishing house picked out of Writer\u2019s Market<\/a><\/em>. Still, it is a good idea to have a copy of the current Writer\u2019s Market<\/em> in your house. Most public libraries will have one, too. It\u2019s updated annually, so always use the current edition. Editors and the interests at publishing houses change frequently.<\/p>\n \tFinally, the two most valuable and necessary tools that a writer needs are a thick skin, for all the rejection from publishers that you\u2019ll inevitably collect, and for all the indifference or discouragement that well-meaning family members and friends will dump on you. And with that thick skin, you also need the perseverance\u2014or outright stubbornness\u2014to keep going when anyone else would have given up years ago. <\/p>\n Writing is lonely, hard work. But it is also wonderful\u2014so wonderful, that if you are a writer, you\u2019ll find you really can\u2019t do anything else.<\/p>\n There are a number of tools that can help writers as they perform their task of putting words on paper. The first tool to find is simply lots of stuff to read. If you want to find out how to … Continue reading ![](\"https:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/plugins\/send-to-kindle\/media\/white-15.png\")
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