So, lately I’ve been going between reading, writing for my dissertation, wishing I were doing more travel writing, wondering if I should be writing my life stories, and giving up on all of it by taking a long nap after playing some games on my iPad! π
I’d like to say I’m joking about the above sentence, but it’s no joke.
Usually when I am on holiday, I do try to re-acquaint myself with the writer in me. I often dream of being able to make my living writing by telling the stories of my life and travels in this world. This vacation started off no differently. I even began by reading a book about writing, then I started following some ‘writers’ and aspiring writers on Twitter, thinking I might find some motivation and inspiration that way.
Then, something happened…. I got frustrated. From what I can tell and the advice being given on how to become a published author quickly is mostly by writing ‘self-help’ books. There’s little said about the art of writing fiction. It’s all advice about getting your name out there, offering free copies of your work so people will know you and then you’ll have followers and that will bring you the fame of being a writer. However, there’s almost no talk of how to write artfully so that your stories touch your readers.
I don’t want to write just to make money or to be the next James Patterson or Mary Higgins Clark. I’d love their ability to write so prolifically or perhaps even their name, but the truth is that they’ve written so many formulaic books that the art of writing and weaving a story in their novels has long been lost.
However…, despite my sentiments about ‘self-help’ writing, there’s a catch….
Next post!
-T π
