It\u2019s been a busy week of speaking engagements for me\u2014one radio interview, one TV interview, and three talks, at the Yale Medical Library, my church women\u2019s group, and my son\u2019s kindergarten. My kids have the privilege of attending a school where the arts, particularly creative writing, are a big focus. This year, each kindergarten student is writing his or her own book, which will be bound and presented at an author signing event at our local Barnes and Noble. (I\u2019d like to point out that I tried, via several months of e-mails bolstered by the networking of a friend who works at B&N, to have my own book signing there. No dice. But my six-year-old is having a book signing there. I\u2019m just sayin\u2019.)<\/p>\n
So when I came in to speak with the kindergarten classes as a real live author, I decided to talk about what is required to become a professional writer.<\/p>\n
You need to be a good writer.<\/strong> This is not only about learning and following the rules of good writing, of grammar, punctuation, or story structure. It\u2019s about using words to create pictures in your readers\u2019 heads and create memorable characters using tools such as vivid description and authentic dialogue. It\u2019s about discovering and then fine-tuning your unique author\u2019s voice. To explain \u201cvoice\u201d to the young ones, I used Dr. Seuss as an example. Lots of writers use rhymes and nonsense words. But his prose is immediately recognizable to anyone, including kindergarteners, because no one else\u2019s writing sounds quite like his does.<\/p>\n You need to write.<\/strong> Lots of people can write fairly well. Lots of people like to write. Lots of people say, \u201cI\u2019d love to write a book some day.\u201d But you can only become a writer if you actually write, almost every day. Writing regularly helps you discover your voice and then figure out how to let it shine. Writing regularly shows you your strengths and weaknesses. As with musical instruments or sports, practicing the skill of writing will make you a better writer. I encouraged the kids to write whenever they can\u2014poems, stories, lists, letters, journal entries. Most of it will not be great, some of it will be terrible, and much of it you will never share with anyone. But you can\u2019t be a writer unless you write.<\/p>\n You need to read.<\/strong> I gave the kids the image of a swimming pool full of words, and told them they should surround themselves with words the way you surround yourself with water when you jump into a pool. Surround yourself with other people\u2019s writing, by reading. You will learn new vocabulary. You\u2019ll begin to notice how different authors have different voices. You will learn new writing techniques. I suggested they try writing a story in the style of a favorite author, like Dr. Seuss. Play around with words and styles.<\/p>\n Be persistent.<\/strong> My book took nearly eight years, from the time I started writing it until I had a published copy in my hand. Along the way, I had a lot of people reject my book and tell me it wasn\u2019t good enough (they were right, by the way). I had to keep reworking it, and even when I found a publisher who was interested, then I had to rework it some more to meet their criteria. There is really no such thing as overnight success. Every successful author has some experience of rejection, frustration, or failure behind him or her. Keep writing.<\/p>\n