Education

I Wish I’d Known To Ask The Write Question Sooner

Most of the time, I don’t believe in regrets. There is no sense in looking back at something you cannot change and worrying. To me the past is best left alone. Learn from it, and let it fade away.
However, as a writer there are things I do regret, and wish I had known sooner. I share them with you today in hopes that you can avoid the errors of my writing youth. I wish I had asked better questions. When I started to pursue a career as a writer, I would ask, “how do I get an agent”, “how do I get a publisher”, or “what’s a typical advance?”
Considering I hadn’t finished a manuscript, the answers to those questions were irrelevant to me. I just didn’t know it.
Each time I went to workshops and classes, I wasted my money seeking the wrong answers. What I now wish I had asked instead is how do I make my reader cry or laugh? How do I get my reader to root for my character?
If you have ever been moved to tears when reading a book, burst out laughing, or been so invested in what happened to a character that you stayed up all night reading (please God I hope that you have), then you know what I mean.
All the chances I had to ask how can I do my job better and I didn’t take them. I regret those missed opportunities. I thought I knew how to write a story. After all, I can string words together to form a complete sentence (most of the time).
Writing is so much more than putting words on a page. It’s even more than just telling a story.
Writing must connect with a reader at an emotional level. When a reader picks up a book they are already primed for the connection, like an empty socket waiting for a plug. Whether it’s humor, drama, romance, or horror the reader wants the writer to connect. We have a responsibility to make that connection. Until we understand that, all we will ever have are words on a page.
It wasn’t until I asked the right questions that I understood my job and where I failed. As a fiction writer, my job is to entertain my reader and provide them an escape.
Don’t miss any opportunity to improve your work and find ways to connect with your reader. Learn from my mistakes. Make sure you ask the WRITE questions.

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