| So what does it actually take to make it as a | | | | say that there is constructive criticism, which we |
| selling writer? And beyond that, what does it take | | | | should all be willing and eager to seek out. And |
| to ride out the tough spots in a highly competitive | | | | there is destructive criticism, which can completely |
| field? | | | | destroy a writer's vision and belief in herself. |
| These are questions I get asked on a regular | | | | 5. The will to make a place in your life for writing. |
| basis from readers, as well as people who are | | | | This sounds obvious enough. But there are all |
| just plain curious about someone who chooses to | | | | sorts of reasons not to write. The mortgage |
| sit alone for hours at a time, creating characters | | | | needs to be paid. The children need to eat. Pesky |
| and whole lives out of thin air. Admittedly, they're | | | | little everyday responsibilities like these. |
| good questions. Following are nine qualities I | | | | Seriously, I've gone through all sorts of changes in |
| believe are important in someone who wants to | | | | my life, but the one thing I've always done is find |
| write novels for a living and make it a lasting | | | | a time to write that works for me, regardless of |
| career. | | | | what else is going on. When I was in college, I |
| 1. An absolute, bordering on abnormal, love of | | | | wrote after classes for a certain amount of time |
| books. | | | | each day. When I got out of college and went to |
| We book fiends are easy to spot. We're the ones | | | | work for a law firm, I got up at four a.m. and |
| who make several trips a week to Barnes & | | | | wrote before going to the office. When I became |
| Noble --yes, we like the coffee, but we're really | | | | a mother, I started writing before my children got |
| there for the books. We peruse the new fiction | | | | up in the morning and also during their nap. The |
| titles with the same gleam in our eyes miners | | | | point is to give your writing a regular time slot. It's |
| must have had when sifting for gold. Panning our | | | | the every day exercising of your writing muscle |
| findings for new authors whose stories might, just | | | | that will develop your skills and define your voice. |
| might, live up to those we've labeled our favorites. | | | | 6. The determination to never let yourself believe |
| There's always the possibility we'll find a diamond | | | | you're there. |
| somewhere in there. And when we do, it | | | | Once you've sold that first novel, it's tempting to |
| reinforces our determination to find another. | | | | tell yourself you've arrived, that it will be clear |
| 2. An absolute love of writing. | | | | sailing from here on. Not quite how it worked for |
| That is, a true appreciation for the stringing | | | | me. There is always room to grow. I try with |
| together of individual words to paint a picture for | | | | every book to do something different than I've |
| a reader, a picture that conveys our vision of the | | | | done before. Force myself to stretch in some |
| world as it is or as we would like it to be. | | | | way. Try something I previously thought was |
| I wrote my first story at age nine on my mama's | | | | beyond my ability. It's amazing what we can |
| old manual typewriter. I still remember how it felt | | | | dredge up from inside ourselves if we make our |
| to finish it, the thrill of stacking up the pages that | | | | goal being the best we can be with every book. |
| were visible evidence of the mini-world I had | | | | 7. The commitment to figure out what your |
| created. | | | | process is. |
| From my earliest memories, I wanted to write | | | | After selling my first book, I went through a |
| stories that did for someone else what my | | | | period of not being able to sell a second. I sold |
| favorites did for me. Show me another world. | | | | my first novel as a complete manuscript. That |
| Bring to life people I'd be thrilled to know. | | | | book was a story of my heart, and I wrote it as |
| But how could someone like me be a writer? In | | | | I saw it. When my publisher asked to see |
| my mind, writers were on par with | | | | something else, I submitted a couple of proposals |
| neurosurgeons and physics professors, something | | | | that were rejected. And I figured out somewhere |
| way beyond reach for a small-town girl like me. | | | | along the way that I needed to get a good |
| It wasn't until I was a junior at Virginia Tech | | | | portion of the story down before I let someone |
| majoring in English that I admitted to myself this | | | | else see it. |
| was what I wanted to be. I wanted to be a | | | | I do sell on proposal now. But I write a chunk of |
| writer. I wanted to write books. Farfetched as it | | | | the book before I write the synopsis. This is how |
| sounded. I think for a long time I didn't tell anyone. | | | | I learn what is going to happen in the story. This |
| It just seemed too preposterous, as if they | | | | is my process. I know this about myself now, and |
| would laugh at the idea, and with good reason. I | | | | while it is tempting to show my editor something |
| started my first manuscript while I was in college, | | | | at a much earlier stage, I try very hard to refrain |
| longhand in a dark blue spiral ring notebook. It was | | | | from doing so. |
| set on an island somewhere, and I'm sure I would | | | | Figure out what your process is and don't veer |
| now find it all but unreadable, even though at the | | | | from it. |
| time, it was invaluable to me, proof that I could | | | | 8. The ability to protect your gift. |
| put a story on paper. | | | | Publishing is a tough business. An incredible number |
| 3. The desire to be the best writer you can be. | | | | of people want to be writers. The competition to |
| If you're just starting out, give yourself | | | | sell is intense. |
| permission to learn how to write without the | | | | When I had difficulty selling my second and third |
| pressure of thinking about getting published. When | | | | books, I began to wonder if I had what it took. I |
| I wrote that first manuscript in college, my goal | | | | realize now how fragile my confidence was then |
| was to get published. I not only wanted to be a | | | | and that I took those rejections as validation that |
| writer. I wanted to be a published writer. From | | | | I didn't really have what it took to be a writer. By |
| where I stand now, I wish I had approached the | | | | the time I finally sold that second book, I was |
| whole process from the angle of doing whatever | | | | experiencing all the symptoms of burnout. It was |
| I could to learn how to tell the best story I | | | | an extremely dark time in my life, and I walked |
| possibly could. I felt I had to prove myself, and it | | | | away from writing under the assumption that it |
| seemed to me then that publication was the | | | | would never again be a part of me. |
| ultimate proof that I could write. | | | | I didn't write for two years. The desire to do so |
| If I could start over again, I would take a step | | | | began to trickle back eventually, until I finally got |
| back from the pressure I put on myself to sell | | | | up the courage to pull out my laptop and begin a |
| and concentrate solely on learning how to tell my | | | | story. I wrote the complete book the same way |
| story in a way that would make it hard for a | | | | I had written my first published novel. Told the |
| reader to put it down. | | | | story as I saw it without letting anyone else inside |
| 4. A need to surround yourself with | | | | my vision. I sold that book, John Riley's Girl, and it |
| positivewriters and lovers of books. | | | | won the 2005 Rita Award for best long |
| If you get involved in a critique group, make sure | | | | contemporary. This award was more meaningful |
| it is one where the objective is to encourage and | | | | to me than I can say. I wrote this book because |
| improve. Not tear down and belittle. There are | | | | I love to write. After a two-year period of |
| people out there who are not careful with their | | | | burnout, I was given another chance. I no longer |
| words, who in a two minute diatribe can rip apart | | | | see the well of creativity inside me as an infinite |
| months and months of work and completely | | | | thing that I can draw and draw from, but, instead, |
| deflate a writer of all confidence. | | | | as something that can and will dry up and go |
| Can you tell I'm speaking from experience? | | | | away if I am not careful to protect it. |
| It is so very important to make sure you are on | | | | 9. The ability to step back and refill the well. |
| the same page with your critique partners. Maybe | | | | Find things that replenish your spirit. Take a |
| even come up with a list of guidelines for the | | | | vacation and do not allow yourself to write, but |
| group. Discuss the things you are looking for in a | | | | simply to absorb the world around you. |
| critique. | | | | Read, read, read. Read great books. Don't read |
| If you're in a writing class, make sure it is one | | | | mediocre books unless you want to be a |
| where the above objectives are primary. | | | | mediocre writer. Strive for excellence and seek |
| This is not to say that you only want to show | | | | out excellence. And hopefully, your love affair with |
| your work to people who will tell you you're the | | | | writing books will be a long and lasting one. |
| best thing since Fitzgerald and Faulkner. It is to | | | | |