Photo by Renaud Camus
When I first started to write a novel I had no idea of the skills and mechanics involved in creating a good book. I was blissfully ignorant about the amount of thought and effort that really went into creating a great story. Fortunately for me, I had a belief. I believed in myself and I said “I can do that.”
Whether we are writing for the masses or our own private pleasure, I think we must all believe in ourselves. I would like to reinforce that by saying “If you are doing it, it’s because you can.” The skills and techniques of writing can be learned, but the hardest part of writing for many of us, is actually sharing our work. Our writing is not just empty words on a piece of paper, it is a glimpse into our soul. We need to let go of the fear of showing people who we are and what we believe in. If we can master that, then we can truly create an amazing story.
Allan Walsh - Author 
If we knew, really knew the true depth and number of processes that go into writing a novel, let alone a good novel, how many of us would have embarked on the insane quest in the first place 😛 Yeah, I’ve gotten through about six attempts at novels now, none of which are out there, and each one has gotten progressively so much better, both from learning as I went and getting feedback from other writers. Essential! Happy writing 🙂
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I totally agree Sarah, I have edited my novel over and over – in fact I’m still editing. And without the desire to learn and the feedback from other writers, I don’t think I’d know where to start. Hopefully one day you will get those novels out there 🙂
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Very soon!!!!! Hoping to start sending those letters out mid June after I get stuff back from my development editor. 🙂
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I will keep an eye out for your name on the bookshelves, good luck!
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Haha thanks. We’ll see what happens!
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Totally agree — I said as much to a friend of mine. She said it’s like raising kids. You wouldn’t start it if you knew how much work it was, every day is different, but you find a way, and it’s more than worth it in the end.
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Great analogy!!
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Hi, I really like this: ‘Whether we are writing for the masses or our own private pleasure, I think we must all believe in ourselves. I would like to reinforce that by saying “If you are doing it, it’s because you can.” The skills and techniques of writing can be learned, but the hardest part of writing for many of us, is actually sharing our work. Our writing is not just empty words on a piece of paper, it is a glimpse into our soul. We need to let go of the fear of showing people who we are and what we believe in. If we can master that, then we can truly create an amazing story.’
I was wondering if I could include it in a book I’m working on where real people who write share about writing. It’s to inspire people to write. Your name, age and location would be included and all credit given to you for your words.
All good if you’re not interested. Just thought I’d check.
JD
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Hi JD, I would be happy for you to share this. One of my intentions is to inspire people to write and help them along the journey if I can, so please feel free to add this to your book. For the record, I am located in Brisbane, Australia.
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Thank-you so much! Wow, you’re the first person from Australia out of the 50 people who are part of the book so far. I’m also in Queensland, but further up in Bowen.
Could I also get your age for the book too? All good if you’d prefer not to share.
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Put me down as ‘Forty-Something’, that should do the trick.
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I think the love of writing is what helps us carry on. After that, it’s knowing yourself and what you care about. I tried to start novels for years, then realized I was imitating everything else that was out there, and I didn’t care about those. I made the story much smaller, much shorter, and more gritty, and it came together. Which isn’t to say there weren’t other problems along the way, but once I knew where my heart was, I had the confidence to go forward.
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I agree, it is hard not to start imitating others work when everyone says you should do it this way. That is just following the herd. If you can do something differently and it works, then why not. I think at least we should try it and see, it an always be changed if it has to. Something I struggle with frequently is reviewing comments from my writers’ group when they critique my work. I have to step back and think, is this a valid comment or just reader preference? At the end of the day, you need to know yourself, you can still listen to advice and take feedback on board, but you are the one that must decide how you write.
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