How to Be a Writer
Some become writers by chance, other's by efforts and some are born writers! For me, it was a case of trial and error! I worked at so many places - right from five star hotels to advertising agencies to non-governmental organizations! I gained experience at all these places, observed people, learned to read them, came across some funny, some pathetic and some unusual people and I never knew when I began penning them as characters in my stories and became a writer! However, as each one of us is different, so are our experiences! So, if you want to become a writer, here are some steps and writing tips, which will help you reach your goal.
Steps to Becoming a Writer
Read, Read and Read
Inculcate the habit of reading everything and anything under the sun. So, read a few classics, read mills and boons, read Agatha Christie, read Ayn Rand, read children's comics, read political and health magazines. Do you know what you will accomplish by doing this? Firstly, your vocabulary and grammar will improve, which is a must for all writers. Secondly, you will have a knowledge of all kinds of fields. Thirdly, you will come across so many varied writing styles, which in a way will help you to form your own!
Practice Free Writing
Free writing is one of the best fiction writing exercises. One of the easiest ways to practice free writing is by making use of writing prompts. Simply take any four words from the dictionary. Then begin writing a piece which should have all these words in it. It does not matter whether you come up with a story build around these words or not, as long as you continue writing for ten to fifteen minutes without a break.
Write a Journal
Whether you want to be a writer for a TV show or a magazine or a newspaper, maintaining a journal on a daily basis, writing about your feelings, thoughts and observations, will help in organizing your thoughts in a better way. Another benefit of writing a journal is that you can track your improvement in writing by looking back and comparing your present write-ups with the past ones.
Take a Writing Course
If you want to be a writer for a magazine or a website or a TV show, there are specialized courses which give you tips on how to go about writing for each of these genres. Professional training always helps, so another tip is to take up a course in writing to add to your skills.
Look for Inspiration
You cannot think of creative writing if you spend your days inside your house, watching TV or surfing the Internet. You need to have a good imagination to be a good writer. So, look for inspiration. Go on a holiday, stay in the company of nature, meet new people, talk to them, know them, observe them. If you get inspired by watching other art forms such as dancing or painting, visit a theater or an art gallery and get inspired, it will certainly help you in becoming a writer!
Look for Critics
It is not just important that you write well, equally important is to have people around who will give you the right kind of feedback. A good way to reach people is by becoming a blog writer. Write blogs on subjects that interest you and then have all your close friends and family members read and comment on them. This will help you a lot in improving your writing style.
Once you feel that your writing has improved considerably and you have decided on the kind of writing field that you want to enter - you want to be a content writer or a freelance writer or a newspaper journalist or a novel writer, start working towards it. Get in touch with editors and publishers. If you have a manuscript ready, take an appointment and show it or submit it to them. When it comes to becoming a professional writer, along with writing skills, your PR skills play an equally important role!
