The Education of a Sidetracked Writer: Part 1 — Read

Image by sarah sosiak via Flickr

If you are in your 30s, 40s or (pick your decade) and are not yet the writer you want to be, you are likely sidetracked. According to Merriam-Webster, sidetracked refers to diversion “to a position or condition of secondary importance” to the main one, in this case, writing. I take exception to this definition because, of course, parenthood, career or whatever life has thrown at you is obviously of primary importance, or you would not have sidetracked your writing in the first place. But sidetracked is okay — sidetracked does not mean sidelined.

Having a writing career is not impossible, no matter how many years have passed. That’s what I keep telling myself. Six years ago, I decided I wanted to write again. I didn’t start with a plan — I just started down the road. I plodded along for a while. Now, I’m building up speed. Did I say it’s a dirt road? It’s bumpy and dusty and full of ruts. It gives me a headache — and, dang it, I’m still not where I want to go, but I have a Costco-sized bottle of Motrin in the cabinet and a hanky to wipe the dust off my face, so I’m good.

Though my path has seemed haphazard to me, after consideration I can see that I began with re-educating myself. My degree put me one up, I think. At least I wasn’t starting from scratch. But, after a couple of decades, my skills were a bit rusty.

My first step was to READ. I am a huge reader, so I did what I always do when I want to learn. I read everything about writing that I could get my hands on. I tried out books full of writing prompts and books on journal writing. I read essay books and freelance books and grammar books. I was somewhat surprised at how much I needed to brush up on my grammar.

Because I am a nonfiction writer, I concentrated on learning all I could about writing for magazines. I knew I could do it. What I didn’t do, funnily enough, was read a lot of magazines — big mistake, which I have, of course, rectified. If you want to write for magazines, you have to read magazines. The same goes for other kinds of writing. You have to read what you want to write. Reading and writing go together like peanut butter and jelly (my favorite).

In my reading, I also ran into the “new” writer’s conundrum: to sell an article, I needed clips, but how could I get clips if I couldn’t sell an article to get them? I kept reading, hoping one of those published authors would let me in on some magic way to break in. They didn’t, because there isn’t one. Hard work, persistence, and excellent writing are the only way to get in the door, they said, and by the way, bring a basket when you go knocking, so you can catch the rejection slips that come back at you through the mail slot. Hmm.

For a long time, I read only about the writing side of writing. It didn’t occur to me to read about the business end of things until several months ago. Yes…it was a long time before I got that clue, but I’ve realized I won’t get anywhere if I don’t know the business protocol and what editors and others expect of me as a writer. I feel like I’m just getting started on that and have a long way to go.

Meanwhile, I keep reading. The most important thing I’ve learned? I can’t wing it. If I don’t have my @!%# together, the editors will know. They are omniscient.

I will work on adding  a list of books I’ve read to the side of the page. I don’t know which side, because I keep changing my theme. I’m also not quite sure how to go about adding things. So, the first book on my list? WordPress for Dummies, by Lisa Sabin-Wilson.

Are there any books about writing that you would recommend? I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Next up: Surfing