A good book on writing is Stephen King’s On Writing<\/em><\/a>. Both things can get you thinking and can be an encouragement. Since writing is such a solitary task with very limited positive feedback, you get encouragement wherever you can snatch it.<\/p>\n Another thing you can do to get yourself writing is to start a blog and tell yourself that you need to write, say, 250 words in it every day, no matter what. Don’t worry about whether it’s any good. Don’t worry about whether anyone will want to read it or care. I tell myself that \u201cYou’re doing this for you, for yourself, for your needs, to create the discipline of writing.\u201d And think on this: if you write those 250 words every day, then in a year you will have written the number of words in an average book.<\/p>\n Writing a book is like eating a cow. You do it one hamburger at a time. So focus on today’s words and only on today\u2019s words. Don\u2019t think about tomorrow\u2019s.<\/p>\n And experiment! Try writing in different places. Try writing on your computer; try writing on a legal pad with a pen, or with a pencil, or with a quill. Neal Stephenson, the science fiction writer responsible for Anathem<\/em><\/a>, Snow Crash<\/em><\/a>, and the three book Baroque Cycle<\/em> which starts with Quicksilver<\/em><\/a> (among others) writes his books with a fountain pen! It\u2019s what works for him. It wouldn\u2019t work for me. But that\u2019s okay. If you want to write, see what works for you. <\/p>\n Whatever you do, try to create a habit. Set a daily goal of what is a reasonable amount of writing for you: whether it\u2019s a single sentence or a certain number of words or a certain number of pages, or even just a certain number of minutes in front of your computer writing instead of playing Farmville.<\/p>\n Try writing at different times of the day. Try a variety of locations: try it alone in a library, alone at home, or at a coffee shop or in a park or on your porch or patio.<\/p>\n Try outlining what you want to write, and try doing it just as you go, by the seat of your pants. There’s no wrong or right way to write. Keep telling yourself \u201cWhatever works for me.\u201d And \u201cWhatever gets words on paper or hard drive.\u201d<\/p>\n If you want to get published, the key thing is perseverance. Those writers who get published are the ones who didn’t give up, who don\u2019t come up with excuses, who don\u2019t blame \u201cthe system\u201d or editors. The writers who get published are professional, accept rejection, and keep on going anyhow. A thick skin and the ability to ignore those around you who tell you to quit is also important.<\/p>\n Although I am a professional writer (I\u2019ve actually made money at this. I know, surprising), people will on occasion ask me about the profession and how to do it. Today someone asked me how I decide what to write about, … Continue reading ![](\"https:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/plugins\/send-to-kindle\/media\/white-15.png\")
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