Okay, so
what do you need to succeed in your writing career?
To keep it
simple, I would say just five things - the first four are
obvious enough but the last one may shock (and comfort)
you.
Let's go
through them in order:
Technical
ability
This
doesn't mean you have to be Saul Bellow or Toni Morrison
before you start but it does mean that there is a certain
level of competence expected of you before you begin
showing your work to the outside world.
But don't
beat yourself up about it. It's an ongoing process;
writers learn all the time. It's an attitude thing. As
long as you're open to the idea that you will need to
improve your understanding of the mechanics of writing,
then you'll be well placed to absorb new ideas, the
teachings of others and learn through reading and study.
Persistence
The past
tells us that writers rarely have an easy path to
immortality. We all must suffer rejection a thousand
times it seems before we are ready for the public to
recognize our efforts.
You may
despair sometimes at the unfairness. You may be
frustrated at every turn by a seemingly uncaring world
but - remember this - all writers have been down this
well traveled road and the best and most persistent
arrive at their destination better equipped to endure -
simply because it wasn't too easy.
Make 'never
give up' your personal motto and you will
succeed - it's the way of the Universe.
A Little
Bit of Talent
Anyone
familiar with the content of my ebooks and courses will
know my attitudes on talent.
Simply put,
it's not some nebulous item that you can pluck out of the
air and consume. Neither is it some innate ability that
only the chosen few can possess.
Rather it
is the courage to 'tell it like it is' and the
willingness to hold nothing of yourself back from your
writing. You will find that the more open and honest you
are (however much it hurts) the more people will describe
you as talented and original. This is because it's your
vision of the world that makes you unique - and unique is
rare and therefore special.
Make it
your goal to always tell the truth in your writing - let
that be your talent.
A Little
Bit of Luck
On the
radio the other day I listened to a Vocational Expert
talking about careers. He'd studied 1000 people and was
surprised at how many lives had been defined by seemingly
chance events. He talked about all the things we're
familiar with: the opportune meeting, that phone call,
the time we were just following a whim, the totally
unexpected break.
His message
was clear. All too few of us take luck into account when
we plan our careers.
The fact
is, I believe, to a certain extent we make our own luck.
We may plan, we may write, we may persist but we must
also learn to let go and follow our intuition. Luck -
being in the right place at the right time - has a way of
happening whether we plan for it or not. I think the
trick is to believe that luck will help you - and, for
reasons great and mysterious, it will!
So
What's the Secret Ingredient, Rob?
Now, don't
groan, or mock, or do that skyward look on me as I tell
you the secret ingredient is love.
Let me
explain.
You cannot
succeed in a vacuum. Success is relative and - in our
world - requires the assistance and support of those
around us to happen.
Love is the
crucial factor that facilitates our success
First, you
must love your writing. Only then will you give it the
attention it deserves and make it the best that it can
be. You must love writing, and the writings of others,
for showing you the way and for providing the medium of
communication that means so much to you.
You must
love those around you for the support they can give you.
If you show those around you hate or anger or bitterness,
they will not want you to succeed and will unconsciously
sabotage your success. Not good.
You must
love the people you deal with in your professional life -
the agents, the publishers and fellow writers. Treat them
with suspicion and resentment and they will not want to
work with you and help you. Love and trust your peers and
your contacts and you'll be surprised how much more they
are willing to help you.
But most of
all, you must love yourself - the greatest love of all,
as they say. Treat yourself kindly, nurture your talent
and support your writing habits.
Start here
and now, loving what you do and who you are and practice
loving everyone and everything around you...you'll be
amazed at the difference it makes.
Use love as
your secret weapon...and success may be just a whisper
away.
