Hey y'all! So...yeah, I know I've been a little lax when it comes to posting but I've made it my mini-life mission to get back on schedule. And I'm gonna do it, so get used to me. lol
I have been working on my latest novel, though, and whenever I mention that to someone who maybe doesn't know I do that or hasn't heard about my books or something, they either marvel over how I can sit and write a whole book (some have actually thought I wrote one in a single day) or that they've been wanting to write one themselves and just haven't gotten around to it yet:
"I've been kicking this story around in my head for years but just don't know how to get started writing it."
"With everything I've been through, my life would make a bestselling book. But I have no idea how to do it."
"You oughta write a book about me, or base one of your characters on me. I'd do it myself but, I don't know how to write a book."
I have the same response for all of 'em: JUST WRITE IT.
Seriously. And this isn't me being sarcastic (although some have thought I was). A lot of people think that writing a book is some big, astronomical undertaking that you have to have some kind of special innate talent and skill set to accomplish. That only certain people can write while everyone else is regaled to the land of 'I wish I could.'
They are so, so wrong.
Now, I'm not saying that it's just the easiest thing in the world to write a book. I'm not saying that it doesn't take any skill or creative ability to do this. Writing a book takes time and a lot of patience, which is something that a lot of people don't have, or just choose not to use on this. Please don't think I'm diminishing what I do because I'm definitely not. But you also don't have to be John Grisham or Terry McMillan to produce a good book, if that's what you really want to do. It might not come as easily to you as it might to others, but you can definitely do it.
JUST WRITE IT.
For real. Get your pen and your paper, (or your tablet or your laptop, if that's too old-school for you), and just start writing. Get your ideas and stuff down on paper. Organize how you want those ideas to flow in the book. Then just start writing the book itself. You might think I'm making it sound too simplistic, but I'm not...it really can be just as simple as that. Because one thing that people don't realize is that just because you write it down the first time doesn't mean that's how it has to stay; you can always edit it and fix it later. And trust me, you will. Just get what's in your mind out. And go ahead and get it in your head now that the first draft of just about anything is crap. Re-writing and editing are par for the course and to be expected. But you have to have something to re-write and edit so....
JUST WRITE IT.
Once you get going, it gets easier. I often tell people the best way to get better at writing is to just write. Just like with anything else; the more you do it, the better you get at it. (Reading is also a great teacher, FYI). Whatever your goal is with what you're trying to write; if it's just a personal goal of yours that you have no intentions of showing anyone else, or if you're actually trying to get it published and make money off of it, it doesn't matter...you're never going to get anywhere if you don't start somewhere.
Do you think Kristi Yamaguchi never fell on the ice when she first started ice skating? Do you think Steph Curry came out of the womb shooting 3's? Do you think Bobby Flay didn't burn dishes or slice his fingers or mess up recipes when he began cooking? Think Tyra Banks never messed up on the catwalk?
Of course she did. But now she's one of the world's most successful supermodels and has parlayed that into all kinds of opportunities. Bobby Flay cooked for the president and has multiple successful restaurants and, like, a thousand cooking shows on Food Network and the Cooking Channel. Steph Curry is shooting jumpers from halfcourt like they're layups, and making a bunch of 'em...not to mention being a league MVP and world champion. And how many championships and medals has Kristi Yamaguchi won? A bunch.
Because they all stuck with it.
I look back at things I wrote years ago and see how far I've come as a writer. And with the books that I have out now, I couldn't even tell you how many edits and re-writes and tweaks had to be done before I was finally and fully satisfied enough to put it out there. And as the author, you're still probably going to be extra-nitpicky and think that there's always something you could have done better or changed or whatever. Our books become our babies. But hey, it's all good...this is a journey and you get better with every step you take. Just remember what you did and try to improve upon it in your next book, if you choose to do another one. It's not going to be perfect right out of the gate, so don't even put that kind of pressure on yourself.
JUST WRITE IT.
I can't say it enough.
Sure, you can always get a ghostwriter and just tell someone else what to write instead of doing it yourself. You could always just ignore that ever-present itch you have to get your story out of your head and onto the paper, telling yourself that you don't have time to write any book or you wouldn't be any good at it anyway or nobody would want to read anything you wrote, or whatever other excuse you use to talk yourself out of it. Or you could...say it with me...
JUST WRITE IT.
I tell you, there is nothing like the feeling of finishing. Knowing you completed something you set your mind to doing. Even more so when it's something you really didn't believe you could do, or that other people doubted you could do. You'd be surprised; you're better than you think you are at this.
So unless the whole 'I really want to write a book one day' is just something that you say when you hear someone is an author or when someone raves about a book they've read, stop wasting time and get to it. Don't make it harder than it is. Just do it. I promise you'll be glad you did.
Until next week, y'all!
#loveandbooks
