Writer's Remorse

It is probably the number one question asked by writers wanting to break into a freelance career writing articles for magazines or newspapers. It crops up time and time again in forums, writers' newsletters, and blogs and never ceases to amaze me because it is a question with no wrong answer and a million right ones:

What you know. What you don't know (learn to do some research and broaden your horizons.) Who you know. Life. Love. Everything. Anything.

The first step is just to write. Practice honing your skill. Learn about what types of writing you are comfortable with. Choose a random subject, open up your trusty Word program and just start hitting those keys. Someone once said that writing is like mining - you have to get through a lot of coal before finding a diamond.

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Try as you might, what one stumbling block keeps defeating you? Do you get distracted by external influences, for example the TV, or Facebook? Or perhaps your recurring obstacle to progress comes from within yourself, such as a lack of focus to see projects through to completion?  Regardless of the problem,  the solution is the same: once you have identified something which continues to stand in your way,  you have to find a way to work around it.   Many times this means making difficult choices and compromises in your life, and these can help you to decide how important your writing is to you.

For me, without question, my biggest stumbling block is my reluctance to make a decision.

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We live in a literate society. It's considered necessary that everyone knows how to read and write, so writing isn't so distinct an art as other purely optional activities like painting or playing a musical instrument. It's more than a bit nebulous where the line between literate and literati exists. So, how does one actually become an artist of the word? In my experience as a writer and teacher, it's a process that happens in three distinct steps.

1. Yes, I Can Write

From an early age, books seem to have a magical quality to them. Carefully crafted words materialize on the shelf with no evidence of the storyteller aside from the name on the cover. It's an equally magical thing for a young person to come to the realization that he or she has the potential to produce a book as well. This is the time of "Yes, it is possible" when an individual becomes an aspiring writer.

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As with any freelance career, earning a good living is up to you. No-one will tell you your salary and pay it automatically into your bank each month. No-one will sit you down at the end of the year, review your performance and decide whether or not to give you a raise or a bonus. You will be exclusively responsible for deciding what you want your hourly, or per word rate to be.  This can be a daunting prospect for new writers.

Speaking to your peers can lead to huge confusion, as the amount that each writer gets paid varies hugely depending on their quality, clients and industry.

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