What skills does a writer need to develop?

Samantha wrote me this past weekend and asked, "If you were my mentor, what are the skills you would share with me to help me develop a career in writing?" I love the question...may I just create a laundry list as my answer?

1. Develop a writing schedule (i.e., have a time and a place where you write regularly)

2. Have a goal (perhaps "create 1000 salable word per day")

3. Learn to get the words down on paper (you can revise later - it's always easier to edit something than to create something)

4. Create short assignments for yourself (you're not trying to write a book all at once -- if you break it into pieces, you're trying to get each small assignment done)

5. [This is going to offend some people, but hear me out] In the words of Anne Lamott, be willing to create shitty first drafts (okay, forgive the language if it offends you -- that's stolen from Anne Lamott's fabulous book Bird by Bird, and it's one of the best writing lessons ever. So what should I say? "Poopy" first drafts? First drafts of deep doo-doo? It seems weak to say, "Be willing to create first drafts that aren't very good." So...I'll just ask you to live with my colorful use of the language today.)

6. Know what makes a good story (understand what a plot is and how to follow a story arc)

7. Learn to create true-to-life dialogue (nothing keeps people reading more than a great conversation)

8. Establish a place (many novelists has lost the art of establishing a setting)

9. Characters make your story (newer writers often want to focus strictly on plot, but strong characters are what add depth and texture to a story)

10. Understand what makes superb writing (great themes, the deep questions, wrestling with morality, decision making, choices that may not be correct)

11. Learn to organize your life (in the words of management guru Bobb Biehl, everybody needs a calendar, an address system, a filing system, and a "To Do" list)

12. Learn to partner "a big idea" with  "great writing" and "a solid platform" (publishers want all three)

13. What is unique about your idea? (Solomon was right -- the writing of books is endless, so figure out what is different or special or fresh about yours... If you can't answer the "so what?" question, you're in trouble.)

14. Establish your voice (the hardest thing to do in writing, but the single most important step to becoming successful)

15. Network so that you can create strong relationships with other authors, with editors, and with publishers (it's who you know in publishing...just like every other business)

16. Know your audience (books are read by individuals, so know exactly which individual is going to be reading your book)

17. Create perfect proposals (work to create a proposal your publisher can't say "no" to)

18. Seek to understand the market (you don't have to be driven by trends, but it's important to know what they are)

19. Understand what helps writing sell (fiction is for entertainment, nonfiction is for education, but great writing for either should change me)

20. Know how to sell (your book, your idea, your self)

21. Establish a relationship with a good agent (there are some lousy agents out there, but a good agent can help shape your career as much as any choice you'll make)

22. Know how to plan a writing career (how to write, what to write, when to write, who to write to, how to move forward, and when to go full time)

23. Be able to read through a publishing contract (understand what you're signing and what it means)

24. Be able to negotiate (even agented authors need some basic negotiating tools)

25. Work hard at marketing (the author is the person most responsible for marketing the book, not the publisher, the editor, the sales team, the publicist, or the marketing director)

26. Know how to manage your money (writing is feast and famine...knowing how to fill in the gaps is a really handy ability)

27. Understand yourself and your writing (plan your work and work your plan)

28. Politeness counts (express appreciation to others -- success should be matched by grace)

29. Learn to give back (every good writer is a mentor who carries on the craft by investing in a protege)

30. Keep perspective on your life and work (publishing doesn't make you smart or pretty or holy; getting your name in print doesn't validate your life)

There you go -- my list of things I'd share with you. If this interests you, I encourage you to pick up a copy of Carolyn See's wonderful little book Making a Literary Life. In it, she encourages authors to write 1000 words and send a "charming note" each day. If you only did those two things, you'd probably be miles ahead of the pack. Maybe the best advice I know.

Chip MacGregor

Comments

[Iapetus999]

Great list...except for me it's the creating that's easy...it's the editing that's the hard part. Maybe my drafts are TOO shitty :(

[Lauren Sylvan]

Good List. I must get Bird by Bird, it's the only one I don't have.

The colorful language is always a conundrum for me, especially when writing dialogue for characters who would use profanity as a matter of course, not because they were trying to offend. I suppose you could substitute 'crappy', but then, it's the same thing, isn't it? And as a rancher, I frequently discuss sh*t when it is not profanity, but merely a necessary communication on the management of excrement.

The only place I would differ with this list is on the realistic dialogue. You have to make your dialogue SEEM natural and unforced to the reader, while in fact being completely contrived (by you) and stylized. If you wrote dialogue the way people really talk, full of 'uh's 'you-know-what-I-mean's, illogical conclusions and complete non-sequituers, readers would throw the book down in disgust.

[Deek Deekster]

You probably won't write anything worth reading unless you write fearlessly. All words are yours - including profanity, which is often the anglo-saxon heart of our tongue. Apologies are wasted energy. The English language is far broader and deeper than middle-american prurience, thank God.

[Shawn Smucker]

Wasn't it Stephen King who said that profanity in literature is like a dandelion? If you have one or two here or there, they can actually look okay and fit in, but if your entire yard is full of them they just look like weeds.

I've butchered his metaphor, but hopefully the point came across. And hopefully it was Stephen King. Oh well, it's Friday.

[Ellen Gee]

I read Bird by Bird, started a shitty first draft, wrote an entire book off it, and refuse to apologize for the use of the word. Thank you Chip for reading my manuscript and agreeing to represent it. With you I feel free to be myself. Shitty drafts and all.

[Theresa Lode]

Speaking of Stephen King..."The Legion of Decency might not like the word 'shit'...no kid ever ran to his mother and said that his little sister just 'defecated' in the tub." (From one of my favorite writing books, "On Writing.")

I will get See's book; From your description, I already love her philosophy.

[Sharon A Lavy]

Thank you again for a profitable post. Profitable only if I follow the directions given.

[Marianne Peters]

I love this post. I'm going to print it out and post it by my computer. It's so easy to get caught up in all the distractions and lose sight of the basics: know your audience, hone your craft, read, plan, listen, and give. Thanks for the reminder!

Time to Write by Kelly Stone is a good read, by the way. It motivated me!

[Rick Barry]

Terrific question, terrific answer, and all in a concise, non-fluff form that can be printed, saved, and reviewed regularly.

Thanks Chip.

[Ane Mulligan]

Chip, this is one of the best posts you've done, and it's right on the money. I know you don't need me telling you that, but as a writer who is knocking on the door of the publishing world, it's the route my CPs and I have taken. It's proven and it truly works. Great list!

[Stephanie Shott]

As a newbie to the world of writing and publishing, I think this is probably one of the most concise pieces of information I've seen. A simple list I can keep in my office and continually refer to in my pursuit of excellence.

Currently, I've been learning to just get it on paper. Good, bad or ugly. Just write. So, numbers three and five are certainly confirming what I'm seeking to do now.

Muchas gracias for your willingness to mentor us through cyberspace as we await your lessons in our inbox.

By the way - I would have used "crappy" instead. :-)

[Katie Ganshert]

This is the most helpful laundry list I've ever read.

[Gina Conroy]

I think I have #5 covered, but #1-4 was a much needed kick in the pants after an endless month of Genesis editing, but I got my entry in last week! Now I'm ready to start with the small goals again, though for me, at this season in my life a more realistic goal is a monthly word count. I'm hoping to crank out my entire monthly word count this next week. 10,000 words, here I come!

[Jason]

Thank you for this incredible and slightly overwhelming list. :)

[Wilson James]

This is a very helpful list, Chip. Sometimes, we take a lot of these things for granted and we just write. But it's good to sit back now and then, just to see where we're at and what we're doing.

This list has helped me do just that, so thanks!

Wil

[Ed Hird]

I think as Christians that we need to be unshockable. The 's' word is at the low end of the swearing totem pole. Sometimes sexual swearing has become trendy for some Christians to show how liberated they are. I deeply value Anne Lamott's books, but don't value the amount of swearing. Before I knew Christ, it was the culture and air that I breathed. I even did Christ-based swearing without realizing it.

Apart from that, thanks Chip for a great summary of valuable action steps. It reminded me of what you shared with us during the week at Write! Canada.

Blessings, Ed Hird+

[Angela Meuser]

Stole your comment that "success should be matched by grace" and posted it on fb. Thanks for the refreshing and real advice.

[Cheryl B. Lemine]

I love these type of lists because I see a few steps I have already taken, a few I am currently taking and ones I will take tomorrow.

[brandt Dodson]

Great post, Chip.

[Jennifer King]

Fantastic list of sage advice, Chip. This is a keeper--something for the bulletin board, for inspiration. Thank you, again, for sharing and helping writers along in their careers.
-Jennifer

[Simon Cornish]

A wonderful and genuinely useful list, all of which I attempt to juggle in my head with only partial success at any given time.

The only point I might have added was: Avoid browsing the internet for at least two hours out of every eight.

[Natalie Blank]

"willing to create shitty first drafts"
I often will stop mid-draft and think oh god, I have to edit this before I move on, but you're right, it's best to just keep going.

[bookwhirl]

best of all a writer is a risk taker specially promoting once book.