queenoftheskies

I actually had some time to read this morning at breakfast, and I'm almost finished with the current writing book I'm reading, so I was thinking forward to the book I'm going to read next...and writing books in general.

I guess I started reading them over a decade ago, when I really wanted to write and could put stories together, but had no clue how to really write. So, I picked up some Writer's Digest books and got to work.

I actually got a novel out of my work, but, at the time, I didn't know enough to even try to revise it or put it in a form that could even be considered remotely marketable.

And, while I loved the WD genre books and research books, I never really found a book on writing/novel writing/any kind of writing that really spoke to me, that really helped me see where to go or help me find the errors in my writing.

Stopped reading them. Stopped writing for a few years while I dealt with a really bad marriage and abusive husband. Had to spend too much time defending my children to really even have the mood to write.

I spent some time writing fanfic, though, as I had when I was younger. So, I guess I never really stopped writing completely, and I had time to practice and work on developing style and hopefully learned something with the practice.

After I left my husband, I came back to writing and started trying to write YA adult novels cause my older two kids were reading them at that age. Never went back to the writing books, though. Just wrote and wrote and wrote more.

Until I discovered screenwriting, and fell in love with it. I'd never felt that my prose was flowery enough, so discovering a medium where one doesn't have to use lots of flowery words made me happy. I gathered up many screenwriting books and read them avidly. They were much more enjoyable than I remembered the novel writing books being.

And, I wrote screenplays for four or five years, writing fanfic and a few original attempts while I was at it. But, at least I wrote and wrote and wrote. And, then, I suddenly realized I was DYING to write novels again, and back in March of this year, I realized I'd grown amazingly as a writer and had developed a style I liked.

I still don't think I'm a great writer, but I think I'm better than I was. And, everyone says you keep learning if you keep writing, so I've written very steadily ever since. Started a series of novels, but I kinda jumped around on them until the end of July, when I decided the dream of being published could never come true if I didn't take it seriously and turn this into a writing career.

Maybe it'll happen. Maybe it won't. But, if it doesn't, it won't be for lack of trying. I've discovered that taking writing seriously and working on a schedule is very tough when you work a full time job, but it's immensely rewarding.

Then, I discovered three books that changed my outlook on writing and in attempting to make writing a career. I think these books have meant more to me than any writing books I've ever read. All three are by Donald Maas and are:

Writing the Breakout Novel
Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook
Career Novelist

Truly amazing books and I just can't say enough wonderful things about them. Because of them, I look at the craft of writing and developing the story in a different way. And, while I learned a lot, I was also pleased to discover that I was actually doing some things right, too.

I think the first two books will be exceptionally helpful as I go back to rewrite and revise. I'm almost finished with Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook now, and am looking for the next inspirational and instructional writing book I MUST read.

Purchased The Writer's Digest Writing Clinic a month or so ago and it looks quite promising, so I might tackle that next. It'll also come in at the right time, cause I'm hoping to start revising my current novel maybe in mid-November.

Going to let it sit for at least a few weeks while I start the second novel in the series, then come back to it with fresh eyes. I'd love to have it ready to go to a professional editor early next year. A writer friend recommended a gentlemen who freelances and he has great credentials, so I'm hoping he'll take me on. I'm willing to pay whatever it takes to learn and I feel like I need professional feedback to make the next step and know where I need to focus the most in my writing.

I've been pleased, though, that more recently published writing books really seem to do it for me. Or, perhaps it's just that I wasn't ready for what writing books had to tell me back when I first decided I wanted to try to write professionally.

Little did my third grade teacher know, when she encouraged me to write my first "novel" (which was about 35 pages long) that I'd be hooked for life.