The Town Hall Writers’ Conference began this morning with an introduction to the five Ambassadors who are on hand to answer publishing questions over the weekend. They each gave tips that they wished they’d known at the start of their careers. Young Adult fiction Author Chris Morphew suggests:
- Do some writing! Reading about writing, attending conferences and festivals; tweeting, talking and texting about writing is NOT writing.
- Don’t stress about what the market wants
- Be honest and be yourself and you’ll probably end up being more original than had you really set out to be original
- Know where you are going in your book (unlike Stephen King who say life is plot-less so stories should be; I think life has meaning and purpose)
- Share you work with some trusted readers/writers/editors to receive advice that is helpful
- When you receive honest feedback, you are bound to disagree with it at some point. When this happens, you don’t have to compromise, you can find the 3rd way through; a new path that can satisfy both writer and the one reviewing your draft.
- Don’t let writing define who you are – you are more than your writing. If you write to achieve fame or money, you will never have enough fame, or enough money, to make you happy.
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