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July 14th, 2009
Teen Author Challenge, Week 1 – Be a writing pro!
Welcome to Week 1 of the Teen Author Challenge! We’re going to kick off this week by helping you make the mental shift from being a hobby writer (someone who writes solely for themselves) to being a professional writer (someone who writes as a career choice). In fact, our quote this week is perfect to kick off this discussion! Exclusive TAC Quote of the Week
Teen Author Challenge, Week 1 Rather than saying “Yeah, what P.C. said!” (which I easily could since her quote is so awesome), we’re going to talk this week about how to make the shift from hobby writer to professional writer in the place that matters most… your mind. Like P.C. mentioned, there is a romanticized idea that writers are these amazingly creative creatures who are slaves to the muse. Who can only write when inspired. Writing is a creative venture. And when inspiration strikes, magic happens! But if you want to be a professional writer–a career author–you need to move beyond the idea that you can only write when that moment of creative lightning strikes. Every writer has days when they’re in The Zone. The ideas come almost fully formed, the words flow onto the page, their fingers can barely type fast enough to keep up with the images and dialogue in their head. Those are the good days. The awesome, I-love-my-job-I’m-the-luckiest-writer-in-the-world days. But that’s not every day. Some days, the words don’t flow. The ideas don’t come. You may sit down at the keyboard wishing you had a root canal scheduled just so you don’t have to face your work-in-progress. The good news is, you don’t have to let those days stop your momentum! There are ways to work around it when your muse goes on vacation and your brain is somewhere in Siberia in deep hibernation. Professional writers have deadlines. We have contracts that state when a book is due and a professional obligation to meet those deadlines with a book that is the best we can make it. When you’re first starting out and haven’t sold a book yet, the only deadlines you’re facing are the ones you set yourself. You need to be self-motivated to finish the book on your own. In both cases, you need to condition yourself to be able to meet deadlines. We’ll talk more about how to overcome the obstacles that keep you from being productive later on in the challenge, but for today I want to start at the beginning. One of the best ways to learn to write to deadline is to find motivation inside yourself. That means understanding why you write in the first place. I’m not talking about “to be a bestselling author” or “to make enough money to feed myself and my Chihuahua”, but what compels you to write in the first place. Every writer has a unique reason for writing. It might be to make people laugh… to scare people… to make them think about things they wouldn’t normally have exposure to… to make people understand the power of love or redemption or any number of other things. Understanding why you write is a great way to stay motivated. Why? Because when you sit down to write and would rather be doing anything else because the story is simply not behaving, reminding yourself why you write helps you find your center. It inspires you to get back to the work because you have important work to do! Your unique voice and unique vision for your work is something only you can bring to life. It can also help you out of tough spots in your story. Very often, when a story has gone astray (despite the fact that I plot everything in advance), getting in touch with why I write… my Writing Creed… helps me look at the story more objectively. For instance, if you’re writing to entertain and give people an escape from the daily woes of the world, a book that starts to get too deep and dramatic may be exactly what’s making you feel squidgy about it. It’s not a story or plot problem, which is why it can be hard to pinpoint. It’s a problem that stems from veering off course from why you write. Stories can take on a life of their own (for better or worse!) and it’s the writer’s job to understand when that life needs to be coaxed and nurtured because it’s perfect for your vision OR reined in like a runaway horse because it’s taking you down a path that’s not right for you. So what is it that compels you to write? What is your Writing Creed? My Writing Creed is: “I write to make readers feel energized and recognize that they have the power to change their world if they set their mind to it.” Simple, but powerful. It doesn’t have anything to do with genre or voice or a particular high concept idea, so it doesn’t pigeonhole me in any way. It gives me all the freedom in the world and yet inspires me every day to get words on the page. At the end of the day, if my work resonates with readers that way, that’s how I define success. A Writing Creed doesn’t have to be noble or life-altering. It just has to inspire you to keep writing. Your Weekly Challenge Grab a notebook and jot down some ideas about why you write. What is it that inspires you to write? How do you hope to touch other people with your stories? This isn’t something you need to share in the comments because it’s often very personal. But please do share your thoughts about week 1 of the Teen Author Challenge overall. Are you ready to adopt a pro mindset (or reinforce yours if you have one already)?
Go forth and be creative!
Entry Filed under: Paying It Forward, Teen Author Challenge |
 I’m the author of YA fiction that I wish was based on my real life. My upcoming
   
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Freelancer here, and yes I do want my writing dreams to become a reality. I’m just going to college to get a lot of training. =)
Hi Abby! Training of any kind is great because it gives you more fodder. Good luck with school and your writing!
This is definitely something I’ll be working on in the upcoming week. Something very important to think about!
Hi Melanie! So glad you found it useful. I hope your pondering this week is productive.
Great challenge for the week! I think I’ll take on this week’s challenge if I have time!
Great, Diana! I hope you find the time because this is such a good way to help with motivation down the road. Motivation is queen!
This post is really inspiring. I’m going to grab my notebook and write everything down now
Yay, Thao! Grab that notebook and let the ideas flow. I hope you come up with something that’s hugely inspiring for you.
This is truly so inspiring. I am definitely going to do it, maybe I won’t get to it on paper, but I’ll for sure be thinking about it.
Thanks so much Kay. You are truly inspiring and doing exactly what your writing creed it.
Thanks!
Awww… thank you so much, Kelsey! You’re so sweet.
I’m glad you’ll be thinking about it this week. Once it gels in your mind, getting it down on paper is easy. You can even post it near wherever you write to remind you!
This is such a great way to get people to write, Kay. I love it! Right, where did I put my notebook…
Thanks, Sophie!! So glad you’re having fun with the challenge. Good luck finding your notebook!
Thanks for the advice… I’ve been writing story’s to make my family smile and laugh. I just recently found your blog and I must say it’s great! I love the advice you give to inspiring authors, like myself. Keep up the good work!
I wish everyone a great week…
Caitlin
Hi Caitlin! Thanks so much for the sweet note.
I love that you know why you’ve been writing thus far. Sounds like you’re already well on your way for this week’s challenge!
I really like this first post of the Teen Author Challenge! Your advice reminds me of this book I’m rading called “The Success Principles For Teens: How To Get From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be” by Jack Canfield and Kent Healey. I would reccomend checking it out if you haven’t already!
I do, Iryna! I have The Success Principles in book form and on CD plus the teen version in book form as research for a trilogy I’m working on. Love them all. Kudos to you for embracing it! You’re way ahead of the game.
Thanks for the advice! I’m definately going to go grab my notebook and figure out my own writing creed-
Thanks so much for hosting the Teen Author Challenge
Hi Erica! I’m so glad you’re diving right into the challenge. Go you!!!
I hadn’t realized that the blog launched already. It looks like you already have a lot started on it.
The Teen Author Challenge is a great way to pay it forward. I am excited about all that I will learn from here. Thank you!
So good to see you here, Mrs. V! I’m looking forward to featuring you on the blog.
Enjoy the challenge and the rest of the feature!
Thanks so much for the post! I’m already loving this challenge and cannot wait to see what the weeks will bring in advice =D
Thanks, Amber! I’m so glad to have you aboard. Write on!
The first quote, the one by P.C. Cast really got me thinking. Thanks so much for posting that the very first week. it really makes me think about moving ahead with my writing. (:
I completed a book-length manuscript when my daughter was first born. I was very dedicated to writing every day – I’d usually sit down at the word processor for at least two hours after I’d put her to bed – and by her first birthday, I’d finished it. Of course, it really wasn’t very good, but I was (and am) very proud of having actually written a book-length story from beginning to end.
My daughter is now sixteen years old. Of course, I still do write, but everyday life has a way of interfering with one’s ability to sit down and find the zone to really let it out. Somewhere on your blog, I read that dedicating fifteen minutes a day might be enough. I never really thought about it like that, but it just might work.
My writing creed is a work in progress, but it seems that I do have a theme that plays in my head when I write.
If you have to hide who you really are, you’re only living half a life, and I want my readers to embrace living a whole life.
Seems like my comments go really long. I’ll work on that.
This is definitely putting new thoughts in my head and that excites me so much. I think this process will really help to open up my mind and my heart to get down to the root of this. Yes, I’m passionate, but the why is such an important factor I hadn’t thought about before.
I am 15 yrs old and I have been writing for quite a while now. When I first started, I was awful, so I’m glad to see that I have at least improved a little bit! But my problem a LOT is that I don’t FINISH my stories, if you know what I mean. I usually have several ideas….tho right now, I really don’t but I just never finish them. Any tips??! thanks =] I would LOVE to get a novel published some day