Sarah Newland
I have two main pieces of advice for aspiring writers.
Number One: Write.
You will always be able to come up with an excuse to not write. However, if being a writer is truly a dream of yours, you won't find the time, you will make the time. I work full-time as a licensed veterinary technician (often 50+ hours a week), spend time with my family, socialize with friends, and even get the husband out of the house for the occasional tennis match (which is a joke, honestly, I'm terrible). But the point is, I made time to write because it makes me happy.
Number Two: Don't follow all of the advice you get.
You are unique. Therefore, the plotting and writing styles that work for your favorite, best-selling authors may not work for you. And that's awesome, isn't it? Humans are so funny that way. For example: my writing style is an organized disaster. I have sticky notes on my walls, notes shoved into drawers, and the same plot spread out over multiple notebooks. Before writing my first draft, I compile all of these flecks of gold into one meticulously structured, color-coded outline. That's just how my brain works. The best thing you can do for yourself (and your writing) is to try it all. Try my method, the J.K. Rowling method, your English teacher's method. Then throw those strategies in a jar, give it a good shake, and craft your own one-of-a-kind writing/plotting/storyboarding technique. It will be beautiful because it will be yours. But you have to follow my number one piece of advice and WRITE to actually discover what is going to work for you!
Number One: Write.
You will always be able to come up with an excuse to not write. However, if being a writer is truly a dream of yours, you won't find the time, you will make the time. I work full-time as a licensed veterinary technician (often 50+ hours a week), spend time with my family, socialize with friends, and even get the husband out of the house for the occasional tennis match (which is a joke, honestly, I'm terrible). But the point is, I made time to write because it makes me happy.
Number Two: Don't follow all of the advice you get.
You are unique. Therefore, the plotting and writing styles that work for your favorite, best-selling authors may not work for you. And that's awesome, isn't it? Humans are so funny that way. For example: my writing style is an organized disaster. I have sticky notes on my walls, notes shoved into drawers, and the same plot spread out over multiple notebooks. Before writing my first draft, I compile all of these flecks of gold into one meticulously structured, color-coded outline. That's just how my brain works. The best thing you can do for yourself (and your writing) is to try it all. Try my method, the J.K. Rowling method, your English teacher's method. Then throw those strategies in a jar, give it a good shake, and craft your own one-of-a-kind writing/plotting/storyboarding technique. It will be beautiful because it will be yours. But you have to follow my number one piece of advice and WRITE to actually discover what is going to work for you!
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