9 Things I Wish I'd Known at the Beginning of My Writing Journey

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about my early years as a writer. I had no idea what I was doing and I was so eager to learn. I took courses and went to critique groups and attended conferences, all in an effort to figure out how to do this writing thing right. And do you know what I remember most about that time?

Being confused.

There are so many different books, different authors, different opinions.

Here are a few…

• Outlines are a must. Outlines are evil.
• Read everything. Don’t read much at all.
• Write in the morning. Write at night.
• Write every day. Write 1000 words a day. Write 2 hours a day. Write at the same time every day.
• Edit as you go. Finish your first draft before you revise a word.
• Use Scrivener. Only use Word.
• Critique groups are a must. Critique groups are a waste of time.
• Join ten different professional organizations. Don’t join any.
• Get an agent. Don’t get an agent.
• Traditional! Indie!

Are you confused yet? I know I certainly was. As a card carrying member of the Perfectionistic People Pleasers Club, all the different opinions made it very hard for me to figure out what *my* writing process was. I was terribly afraid that someone was going to find out how I was doing it and they were going to tell me that I was doing it ALL wrong.

You can read the rest of this post over at The Write Conversation. I hope you'll click over and join the conversation!