My passion is to write.  If your passion is the same as mine, here’s some tips to get you started or keep you motivated.

When you are starting to write or get writer’s block, the smartest idea is to write about what you know about.  Otherwise, you are going to be doing a lot of research.  While research is something you may want to consider in the future, novices should begin with writing about what they already have experienced or know best.  It helps you to improve your writing skills, while not worrying so much about the subject as you begin to improve your craft.

Get to know your best writing self.  Do you write best alone or with others in the room?  Can you concentrate with music and television blaring in the background or do you need dead silence.  I write best when it’s quiet, but my husband writes more words an hour with his favorite inspirational music playing softly in the background.  Not me! If I hear a song while I’m writing, I am thinking about the words of the song, not the words on my computer.

A lot of people have asked me about my writing process. I always tell them, “writer’s write.” Most people talk about writing and don’t actually write; but to complete a book you need to write, write, write. As my daughter says,  “a book is a lot of words!”  Writing is not easy nor for the faint of heart.

I believe God gives the heart and vision for the story or article. It also takes talents and gifts, but you can’t pull off an article or book without determination and discipline. You write one word at a time just like you play the piano one note at a time. You can do it, if you put your mind to it and overlook other distractions.

Practical Ideas to become the next Pulitzer Prize Winner:

Treat writing as special as you do reading.  I act as though my writing time is very important. Give yourself big challenges in the writing area, perhaps you are asking too little of yourself. Do you only believe you can do what you have already done or do you truly believe you can do more?  You need to believe you can climb some higher mountains than what you did the last time up the slopes.

Give yourself a reward for each writing completion each week or each month.  Sometimes I let stay at the pool for an extra hour in the sauna or buy a coffee mug that looks like a Hemingway mug.

Make lots of great stories available to yourself in a variety of ways. Do everything from checking out from the library old Fibber McGee radio shows to buying tickets to that community playhouse you always drive by.  Tell stories to your children each night to keep expanding your creativity, vocabulary, and fun quotient.

Always edit your work the next day, never the same day. A fresh perspective always helps. Keep reading books about writing so you learn all the tools you need for writing, not just the mechanics of writing. For example, you also need to be an expert on other things, like your audience and how to understand the genre.

It is a writer’s joy to fan the flames of the written word within themselves and others.  Do you have a mentor in the writing field and are you mentoring new or young writers?  Both keep you honest and fresh.

Cheryl Moeller
Stand up comic, syndicated humor columnist, and author
Check out some writing samples or buy books at www.momlaughs.blogspot.com