So, Content!

How does one start getting into the writing business? By writing, of course! And I'm finding out that writing is a difficult thing to accomplish more often then, say, every month or so. The best way to make yourself write, it seems, is reading, which is something that any writer is going to have to do constantly. There really is no excuse to write if you're not reading something. It doesn't even matter if you're reading something completely unrelated (I'm reading Killing Pablo and Dictionary of Bullshit right now, and they're both non-fiction!), as reading excellent writing will only stand to improve your own craft. I've even heard some people say that they stop reading when they're writing because either: 1. they just don't like anything but their own writings anymore (which is either an outright lie or just completely pretentious) or 2. they don't want to "poison" their work with someone else's muddled thoughts (as if their writings are not inspired by anything else already). These excuses are utterly ridiculous; one must read.

I'm also finding that materials about the act of writing are also very good motivators. A book I recommend (although, at times, it seems highly outdated) is Writing And Selling Science Fiction. It was published in 1976, so much of the practical information about selling information is a bit dated, but the concepts of the craft all seem to be sound and I've had a noticeable improvement in my work since I began reading it. Another book that I've been told to find is Steering the Craft by Portland SF author Ursula K. Le Guin, a massively prolific writer who has been hailed as "the greatest writer of our century." I believe I would be prone to apply anything she says.

Just to help those too lazy (or broke) to purchase these books, I'll list and summarize the top five tips for new writers from Writing and Selling Science Fiction, all of which I've already found helpful in my own writing. These are all listed in the introduction as written by C. L. Grant:

#1: READ (He says it a few more times): Yes, this is repetitive, but it is honestly the best thing a writer can do besides, of course, bringing pen to paper (or, in my case, fingers to keyboard).

#2: Set a schedule: Writing only when one feels like is not a sustainable method when money will eventually be on the line. Set a schedule and don't do anything but write from beginning to end. Any interruption will cause incalculable loss of quality to the piece and stack another barricade on the path to it's completion.

#3: Write, even when you have nothing to say: Any writing is better than nothing. No matter how terrible the product, every moment spent writing will improve your talent. Every successful writer has commented about writing ten or more pieces of rubbish for every decent story.

#4: Observe: Stories are supposed to be portholes into real, living worlds and that cannot happen if the writer doesn't even truly understand his or her own realm. Every person that you come in contact with can shape your characters, every overheard conversation could spark that winning idea. Take every advantage you have and gather all the raw information you can from those around you.

#5: You must want it: If one does not gain pleasure from writing, they will never make it. There has to be a drive, a motivation, to see that story through all of the writer's blocks, bad dialogue, and general frustration.

So, with that, I leave you. Find those books, devour them as I am, and maybe (just maybe) one of us will make it. I can only hope that it will be more than that.

-Kendle "I Wish I Could Indent" Kelley

Post Script: I apologize for the quality of this post; I've not slept all night and that seems to be affecting me. Luckily, I didn't play video games and started writing instead. :)