“The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better.” - Stephen King
Writing is an activity of leisure and a form of self-expression, commonly practiced by users whom most can generally call as writers, since the start of ancient civilizations and the rise in literacy (for some of us, I believe: a doorway to vast creative or non-fictional exploration, or intense emotional turmoil, to churn the best works that we can give to our readers in the soonest time possible).
Technically, everyone is a writer and are capable of writing to the intended audience, be it for resumes, academic assignments, projects, love letters...or simply exercising and pursuing your own passion for writing, for teachers, readers, family members, intimately and romantically associated partner, colleagues and bosses.
Writing can also be done anywhere and anytime (to me, optimally at night, within a quiet, well-lit space). Through writing, writers can convey ideas, emotions, theories, concepts, stories, poems, and other forms of literature, be it fictional or factual, spanning over a myriad of genres, in their native or acquired languages, delivered into the hands and eyes of their readers, no matter the age, geographical location, culture and religion.
There are different ways to document what you have written, either through typewriting, through Microsoft Word, Google Docs, art and handwritten journals, either simply in the form of text or supplemented with hand-drawn or digital images, GIFs and videos, as most of us may be currently doing now, especially through platforms such as Wattpad and Blogger.
However, being a writer, let alone being able to become a successful one one day, is no easy feat. We do have our own personal list of enemies that we would not like to cross paths with, but still occasionally will throughout our writing journey:
Writer's Block
Lack of inspiration
Lack of determination
Momentary loss of passion
Overtaken by other priorities in life (family, relationships, work, studies, etc.)
These obstacles can cause us nights of minimal sleep, mental distress and in worse cases, deteriorating physical health and the desire to fulfill the notion of giving up what you have written entirely. This especially applies to writers who have their own unique sense of perfectionism, whereby they can be incredibly cautious of the type of characters, languages and general structures involved, and envisioned the kind of emotions or ideas that they wish to invoke within their readers. They will not give up until they achieve desirable results.
After all, it is our ultimate goal and primary purpose...we not only want our works to be appreciated and perhaps to eventually attain success (in terms of reputation, status and material wealth), but also remembered, and capable of leaving behind and igniting some form of emotion, concept or idea in the minds of our readers.
So, how do we minimize these risks of potentially derailing from our core vision as a writer (and health, as a living being) and maximize our chances of attaining our perception of success through our writing?
1. Set Your Foundation
Before we officially start getting creative and acting on our masterpieces, we need to ask ourselves these questions: Who is my intended audience? What might I be potentially write about? What kind of genres/languages/characters that may be involved? Where do I write/publish? How do I drive myself to write? What is my vision for my work/readers?
Without proper planning (a bit for the start, we can improvise along the way), there will not be a proper stage, with proper characters, to play out a proper story line of flow, for a proper audience, to invoke or inspire what was originally intended. The stage will not be set well for a proper play or scene to begin with. Thus, we need to spend some time, energy and effort to think through what is possible for us to arrange, to explore and to imagine.
You may choose to explore a few sources of inspiration, especially through personal experiences, life stories, films, shows, books, journals and newspapers, from true people or authors that you may or may not be fond or familiar with, to help kick start your creative juices and to keep them flowing. You might also wish to seek for advice or tips from well-known authors, especially through their newsletters, social media platforms and websites.
2. Write As You Wish
To avoid distracting yourself and potentially breaking your flow when you are immersed in the act of writing itself, turn off auto-correct or seek help from editors after you have completed your writing. It may seem more efficient to rectify errors in grammar, vocabulary and language structures as you write, but you can potentially drift further away from realizing the completion of your work each time you invest a portion of your time to break your flow in order to rectify these errors.
However, you may like to check to see if your content is relatable, or up to the expectations, of what your audience would like or want to read. It would be great if you write as you wish, but it might not help you attain your goal in the perspectives of your audience. So, write exactly as how you will want to read it after getting your hands on the work, as the reader.
3. Editing
After a rough completion of your work, you can now officially start to review and edit all the errors that you may have previously written. You may also choose to hire or to seek help from an editor to advise you on what needs to be corrected. However, do not overdo the editing process, for you might risk violating the essence and authenticity of your work, for what readers would love to know is not only the work, but the author behind what lies in front of them.
4. Publish & Share
To gain recognition for your work, publish them on blogs, websites and mobile applications available (eg: Medium), or to send these works to publishing organizations. To hasten the process, you may wish to utilize social media by setting up an individual account and making full use of the advertising functions available. Lastly, if you are rather ambitious, you can also submit your work for international and national writing competitions.
If you're lucky, you may not only gain fame, but material benefits.
To determine whether you have somewhat or partially achieved your goal, remember to monitor the views or comments for your work to gauge where you stand in the hearts of your readers. Being a writer is no easy feat, let alone to pull through.
Good luck, and all the best to you, fellow writers.
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