Carrie
Butler, who often gives helpful advice to writers on her blog, posed an
interesting challenge: write a letter to a younger version of yourself, when
you first started writing.
Dear
self:
Right
now, you’re writing as a way to relieve the frustrations and disappointments in
life. Keep at it. One day you’ll finish the novel you’re writing. After that,
you’ll realize you need to get past that and go on to write other short stories
and novels. It’s not that what you’re writing right now is so horrible. It’s
that you’ll grow so much in this skill, you won’t have trouble leaving it
behind to go on to greater things.
Keep
on reading and watching what you love: science fiction and fantasy. You’ll read
The Lord of the Rings again someday,
believe it or not. Make sure to watch the reruns of Star Trek: The Next Generation. (I know, it’s still playing, but
keep an eye out for reruns.) When the SciFi channel shows their version of the really weird movie Dune, watch it and note the phrase, “The sleeper must awaken.” That is what will
happen to your life.
You
will become the person you never imagined you would be: the one who goes to
conventions and conferences and pitches your manuscript to professionals. Watch
out for females who seem to have a sexual attraction to you. This is not ego;
this is a lifestyle among people who travel frequently, and it is a snare to
avoid.
Do
not be offended at the lack of capitalization after colons or the single spaces
after periods in this letter. Fads come and go, even in capitalization and punctuation. This,
perhaps more than anything else, is evidence that this letter is from the
future. No investment or job advice is included, since that would alter the
timeline.
Mark
Mark
Murata
http://suburbanfantasy.blogspot.com/
“I
give permission for my entry to be included in the e-book compilation without
royalties and/or separate compensation.”
Writing is definitely lethargic!!! Great letter full of editing tips we need to forgive ourselves of. Lol
ReplyDeleteI'll need to watch out for those rogue females! Haven't come across that one before. :) And yes, important to recognise that the first book is a valuable learning process, but seldom the one we want to publish.
ReplyDeleteIt's important to keep on reading and doing what inspires you. Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteI haven't yet reached the conventions and conferences stage. By the time I do, I suspect stray females will be far from my mind :) Very thoughtful letter to your past self.
ReplyDeleteAll the posts in this series are nothing short of fantastic! Some good advice here.
ReplyDeleteHaha, love that part you added in at the end about no investment advice. That's what we REALLY would say if we could talk to our past selves. "Invest in this thing called Google..."
ReplyDeleteGood point. We mustn't alter the timeline! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating, Mark!
Great advice! I liked the look back at the past of sci fi, too :)
ReplyDeleteNothing is better for the writing spirit than keeping up with your favorite shows and books!
ReplyDelete