on writing...

My first and most important piece of advice for new writers is to remove the cats from your desk. Get a second desk, put the cats on that one (see picture) and get to work on desk #1. But above all...persist! Persist in keeping those cats on their own bed. Persist in following your dream of writing, even on the days when you have to drag the words out with a meat hook. And persist in trying to sell your work if that's the path you choose. Don't let those rejection letters get you down. Instead think of all the interesting things you can do with them: wallpaper your bathroom, make a collage, start your very own paper airline, or toss each letter one by one onto a burning blaze while you cackle gleefully and dance naked around the flames (check your city's bylaws first). Whatever works for you. Just remember, we've all had 'em.

My second bit of advice is to carry a notebook with you at all times. A couple of years ago, I was on my way to Home Depot (I have a weakness for new lumber and power tools) and I had to walk across a field to get to the store. As I was swinging my way merrily through the grass, I got an Idea. A Fabulous Idea. An Idea That Would Forever Change the Face of CanLit. Did I have a notebook with me? No. Do I remember what this idea was now? No. Can I still go happily to Home Depot to salivate over the latest cordless drill? No. Not without remembering that I had a great idea in that stupid field and now it's gone. So... always carry a notebook! Stuff one in your backpack. Put one in the bathroom. Keep another at your bedside table. It's amazing the things that come to you at the oddest times. In my notebooks, I might scribble down plot outlines, names for characters, bits of descriptive narrative, even a conversation or two. You never know what will trigger a creative outpouring.

My last piece of advice has to do with the physical act of writing. In his book, Telling Lies for Fun and Profit: How to Write Fiction, Lawrence Block expressed it best when he wrote that, as far as he knew, the only way to write is to apply bum to seat and fingers to keyboard. Sometimes you have to force yourself to do it, sometimes you'll hate what you're writing. Resist the urge to go for the delete key. Give it a day, then read it again. You'll be surprised at how much is salvageable and how much is just pretty darn good! Read books about writing if you want to, attend creative writing classes if you feel you need them, but the best way to learn how to write is to read a lot and sit down and write.