I.W.S.G. Growing a Writer

Meet the rest of the IWSG

3 1/2 years ago, just for fun, I decided to write a book. I took it to my first writers conference where it received a critique for the first time. Not only did I learn it was crap, but there was A LOT of stuff I didn't know about writing like grammar rules, formatting, show vs. tell, passive language, tenses, point of view, etc. I was WAY behind the game and felt completely overwhelmed. Even when others explained things to me and I corrected it on my first page, ten other things surfaced that needed fixing. I think I cried. No, really. I thought I would NEVER be able to remember everything I needed to. It was too hard.

But I didn't give up because writing made me happy. Giddy, really. So I joined a critique group, attended more conferences, devoured books on writing craft, read blogs on writing tips, and most of all kept writing. And when someone critiqued my writing, I didn't curse them and overdose on chocolate. Okay, so maybe I did, BUT THEN I listened to their advice and worked and worked to fix my writing. I learned from my mistakes and kept trying. And my writing got better. Slowly but surely.

It improved enough to land me an agent. And later, a publisher. I still remember the day I sat in my publisher's office and they told me how much they loved my writing and that it was one of the cleanest submissions they've ever received. Um...what? I teared up that day because I realized how far I'd come from the girl who didn't even know what a dialogue tag was to now having a book deal.

I still have a lot to learn about writing, but I know I will learn it. That's the beauty of never giving up. So don't be too stubborn or proud to listen to advice and critique. Accept it and learn from it. Make every word, paragraph, chapter, novel better than the last. And you'll get there eventually. You're growing a writer...and that's a beautiful thing.