5 Surefire Steps To Success To Becoming a Writer

If you’re serious, here are some ways to win.

Saying you want to be a writer is easy. Actually going through with it is hard.

Hard, but far from impossible.

That said, while the desire to become a writer is essential, there’s a bit more needed. There needs to be a willingness to do the work.

The good news is that the most important aspects of the work revolve around imagination, practice, and discipline. You don’t need a fancy school or MFA program. You don’t need to own a $300 pen and a journal made of silk. You don’t even need to own a genuine vintage Royal typewriter (but wouldn’t that be neat?). I’ve been a professional writer for many years now, and I don’t own a single turtleneck.

Here are some of the most crucial steps to becoming a writer. Whether or not you want to be a professional writer is up to you. Not every writer seeks to get paid. But if you’re going to be any kind of writer, consider the following.

Build a habit

No one expects brilliant prose to pour out of your fingertips right away. You’re not likely to have iron discipline.

Not at first, anyway.

But as the old adage sayeth, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Can you make your first step a commitment to write for ten minutes a day? No? How about 20?

Back in the day, when I was starting to build my own writing habit, I wrote every morning after breakfast but before beginning work. I had a day job that was located next to a diner. Every morning I’d stop for eggs, toast, potatoes, and coffee. Once I wiped the yolk from my chin, I’d take out my notebook (a paper notebook at first, and eventually a notebook computer) and write for the half an hour I had remaining before I had to report to work.

When situations changed, and I was no longer at that job, I wrote for an hour or two every evening after dinner. I did that for years.

For you, it could be the ten or twenty minutes of a coffee break at work, or a half-hour in the afternoon, or an hour at night. Whatever works for you.

But try to do it every day so that it becomes a habit. An almost thoughtless habit.

Some days will be easier than others, but once writing daily becomes a habit, you’ll find it more natural and comfortable, and that will be reflected in your words.

Learn the basics

What are the bare-bones minimum requirements every writer needs to know? I’d say these:

• Basic grammar
• Basic punctuation
• How to write a beginning, middle, and end

You are less likely to find an appreciative audience if you can’t express yourself clearly. I’m not saying you memorize the MLA handbook, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep a copy of Strunk & White’s in the bathroom for a casual thumbing through.

If you have plans to be an experimental sort of writer who openly flouts convention, more power to you.

But you can’t break the rules if you don’t know the rules.

Get a good handle on the language you’re writing in. Get a good idea of how to structure a piece. Get some practice in both, then you can try breaking the rules.

You can be an artist but know your art first.

Explore new ground

As a new writer, it makes sense that you’re going to focus most of your writing on topics you’re comfortable and familiar with. You don’t want to break the flow of words pouring from your fingertips to stop for research, right?

Eventually, you’re going to run out of things to say about the topics you are already familiar with. When that happens, it’s time to start exploring new topics.

What is something you’re interested in but don’t know much about?

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It could be a TV show. It could be a type of sport. The point is to pick a new subject to write about, do some research, get some practice on doing research, and then write about that.

Your research can be as simple as reading a good book on the subject you want to learn more about. It could be watching a TV documentary or listening to a podcast. You don’t even really have to take notes if you don’t want to.

Enjoy yourself. Learn something new.

Write about it.

Repeat.

Be yourself

There’s nothing wrong with studying another writer’s style.

I once tried writing a story in the style of Neil Gaiman.

When I showed it to a friend, she responded, “This reads like someone trying to imitate Neil Gaiman. Badly.”

Ouch. She wasn’t wrong.

Eventually, I got around writing stories in which I didn’t consciously imitate someone else’s style. To my surprise, I managed to sell a few of those stories.

What did I learn?

Study other writers as much as you want. I learned to be a better storyteller by studying Neil Gaiman. I also learned from W. Somerset Maugham, J.P. Donleavy, Fran Lebowitz, and J.D. Salinger.

But don’t try to be any of them. Be yourself, instead.

Learn to trust your own voice, and believe that your voice has value.

It may take some time to develop and mature that voice. However, by the end, you can take great satisfaction in knowing people are reading something more reflective of you than someone else.

Keep at it

You’re going to get discouraged. You’re even going to get lazy from time to time. Your determination will falter, and you will question your passion.

This is perfectly normal. The real question is, what are you going to do about it?

Are you a writer and realize this is a temporary feeling that you will push through? Can you deal with the rough parts of being a writer? Is being a writer that important to you?

If you cannot envision a life without writing, then keep at it.

Get your ass in that chair whether you’re in the mood or not, and at least give it an honest shot. You may find yourself backsliding a little to your starting days. You may just sit there writing pure garbage for ten or twenty minutes, but at least you’re doing it.

You’ll bounce back. It may take a few days. It may take a few weeks. You’ll get back into your writing groove and be a stronger writer because of it.

Write every day. Perseverance pays off.

Many people have said they wanted to be writers who never stuck with it. But many people have kept the faith and succeeded.

I see no reason why you can’t be one of those successes.

Cheers!

Thank you for reading. I’d love to share more with you via my Bi-Weekly Word Roundup newsletter sent to subscribers every other Sunday. It will feature news, productivity tips, life hacks, and links to top stories making the rounds on the Internet. You can unsubscribe at any time.