Workshop
Recently, I was given the opportunity to host a beginning writer’s workshop at a local library. In the process of preparing for the workshop, I came up with this outline, and thought it might make an interesting blog post (okay, fine. I was feeling lazy and thought, “I can slap on an introduction and turn this into a blog post”).
So without further ado, the outline in question!
Who should write? YOU!
I doubt you’re reading this against your will (and if you are, seek help). You’re reading this because you’re interested in writing, putting pen on paper and feeling your pulse quicken as words flow onto that paper (or a screen). If that describes you, you should read on. Because you should write.
What should you write? Whatever you want!
There have been people who started writing with a novel. Others start with short stories or poetry. There’s no single path to being a successful writer.
While at some point you will find yourself focusing on a particular style and genre, when you start out, you should strive for variety. Want to write a love story? Give it a shot. Feel like some grisly splatterpunk? Go for it. In the mood for highbrow literary fiction? See what you can do.
You may think you know what kind of writing you want to do, but in the process of trying different things, you may discover you’re dead wrong. Horror was not what I expected to be writing, and yet here I am running a horror press. Write a lot of different stuff, and see what feels right.
When/Where should you write? Whenever you can!
It’s important to develop a writing habit, a place and time that encourages you to create. It needs to be a place that’s convenient for you—your favorite mountain stream may inspire you, but unless you live next door, odds are making it your “writing spot” will result in little writing getting done.
That’s not saying you can’t write there. Learning to write anywhere and everywhere is a useful skill, and writing in places that make your soul happy makes for great prose. But writing is also first and foremost a job, something that should be scheduled and sat down to do consistently.
Why should you write? Because it’s something you need to do.
Not everyone is a writer. There are plenty of people who go through life without a story or truth bursting to escape from inside them. But for those who need to write, it’s as necessary as breathing. We have to get words on paper, have to develop our ideas, and create something new.
If you’re reading this, chances are good this is something you need to do—again, unless you’re being forced to read this article, you clicked on it for a reason.
So get a notebook, open a Google doc, get your word processor ready, whatever you need to do to get some words on paper!