Do I Need Writing Lessons?
Are writing lessons for everyone? No, but if you’re asking yourself if youshould take writing lessons, the answer is probably yes. Writing courses arehard work, and I won’t kid you about that, but they are so rewarding.
Even assuming you have a good background in English, good sentencestructure, and are talented beyond your wildest dreams, you still need theinside dope on how to sell what you write. Writing classes will teach you howto target a market, research it, write for a specific magazine, establish arapport with editors, and have the self-confidence to properly presentyourself.
Shortcuts are only for people with natural-born talent or geniuses. If youare neither of these, roll up your shirtsleeves and get ready to labor with therest of us. Think how precious education is, and be thankful that you can getit if you try hard enough. Anything worth having is worth sacrificing for.
You may be asking, “Where do I begin?” Take a moment to do a reality checkand decide what your lowest point in writing is. Do you need a punctuationreview course? Do you need a brush-up course on proper sentence structure? Doyou need to learn “Show, don’t tell”? Establish your lowest point of writingknowledge and start there. If you are rusty on the basics, a refresher coursewill quickly restore your balance and set the foundation for intermediate andadvanced classes.
Most writers amble along, taking the courses they like, and giving littleheed to the rest of the learning process. But if you want to enjoy your hobbyto the utmost, or turn it into a successful career, you must take it moreseriously than that. The serious writer must wind his way through the maze ofwriting rules and proper procedures to develop their writing skills. This canbe done easily if you have a caring mentor to lead you. He/she will help youavoid the landmines that caught them in their early years. They will critiqueyour work, and guide you to your next level of learning.
If you’re a serious writer and you want to sell, most people can beginselling articles in their first year. (Even if you want to write stories,writing articles is the place to begin. It will give you a great foundationthat will enable you to earn a few bucks while you learn the story writingprocess, which takes a bit longer.) Almost everyone can sell articles by theirsecond year. Learning to be a writer is a fairly speedy process, if you havethe courage to stick with it. Most people who have a desire to write can learnto write well.
Note: More than half the writers who attend school drop out because theydon’t set good study habits. Lay aside 60-90 minutes a week for homework, andyou’ll do fine. Some people do this by using 15 minutes of their lunch hourdaily, or staying up 15 minutes later at night. However you do it doesn’tmatter, but do it.
You are worth the investment. Step out and do something you really want. Youcan write. Almost anyone can, if they have some guidance. If you stick with it,you WILL learn.
If you would like an honest evaluation of your writing skills, send a 1,000word story OR a 200 word article to me at deborahowen@cwinst.com. I willanalyze the stories for imagery, characterization, dialog, structure, and plot.Articles will be judged on structure, strength, snappy verbs, groupingthoughts, verbiage, and presentation. I’ll be more than happy to help you.