You Might Have Commitment Issues as a Writer If…

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Choosing to be a writer can be a daunting prospect. It involves courage, creativity, and yes, commitment. When we’re unwilling to make that commitment, we can destine ourselves to failure before we’ve had a chance to succeed.

This post isn’t meant to beat anyone up, but rather to make us aware of some of the things holding us back on our writing journey.

You Might Have Commitment Issues as a Writer If…

1. You’re unwilling to write on a schedule. Notice I didn’t say write every day or write every morning. There are some who other commitments in addition to writing that make scheduling a daily writing time unreasonable. HOWEVER, we can all make a commitment to certain times during the week to write.

2. You’re unwilling to spend time writing. This seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how creative writers can be when it comes to thinking up reasons not to write. Beyond that, you’ll find writing groups and gathers populated with scores of people who want to be writers, but have reasons why they can’t right now. The truth is we all have reasons in our lives not to take the time to write. It all boils down to priorities. We make time for the things that are most important.

3. You’re unwilling to invest in learning how to write. Talent is great, but that alone won’t get any of us to the top, or even very far above the bottom. We have to learn how to apply the talent we’ve been given. That means reading books and blogs as well as attending classes and conferences.

4. You’re unwilling or defensive about being critiqued. I’m still not the best about enjoying a good critique, but I’ve learned how to accept it. I thank the person critiquing me, and even if I don’t agree, I look it over and try to take what I can from it. Especially with in-person critiques I’ve learned that being defensive and trying to explain or justify is counterproductive.

5. You’re unwilling to join a writers group. There are those in the industry who disagree with me, but not many. I’ve found that for me, and the hundreds of writers I’ve worked with, that we’re all stronger together. We need others to encourage us along the way. We also need the perspective of those who’ve experienced what we’re going through.

6. You’re refuse to spend time reading. Our business is that of writing. How can we have perspective on the industry if we refuse to read what’s being written? Books are a valuable way to learn and polish our own writing.

7. You’re unwilling to learn the business of writing. There’s more to writing than just putting words on paper. We need to learn the language of the publishing industry. We need to learn the etiquette of the publishing industry. We need to learn the marketing and social media side of the business, and how things work.

8. You’re unwilling to be patient. Writing is a craft. It’s not something learned overnight. We often come into this business with something we’ve written and expect it to be publishable. That’s just not reasonable. A concert pianist can’t expect to be performance-ready before his first lesson, and neither can a writer.

9. You’re unwilling to submit your work. Yes we want to write with excellence. We need to do the best we can right now, but not let perfectionism get in the way of submission. There are two truths in this industry we each need to embrace:

• No matter how hard we try, we’ll never be perfect.
• No matter how much we revise the piece we’re working on now, the next one will be better.

10. You think everything you write is publishable. There are going to be some things we write that just don’t fit the market—any market. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad. It could be the wrong time or place for such a piece. We need to know when to move on to the next thing.  

11. You’re unwilling to accept advice. I don’t think we should accept every single piece of advice we receive. Likewise though, I don’t think we should ignore every single piece of advice we receive. When someone

12. You’re unwilling to stop looking at yourself as the exception to the rule. There are certain ways that things are done or not done in the publishing industry. There are also exceptions to almost every single instance. But there’s a reason they’re called exceptions. It’s because those specific set of circumstances rarely happen that way. It’s fine to dream and hoped, but we also have to be diligent, disciplined and do our part to make our dreams come true.

13. You look at every other writer as competition. There is plenty of work to be done. Especially as believers who write, God has room for each of us. We need to celebrate the successes of one another, share what we’re learning, and never gloat when things go well.

I’m sure this list could go on and on and on. I’m at the end for me, but I’d love to hear what you’d add. Be sure to leave your thoughts in comments section below.

Don’t forget to join the conversation!

Blessings,

Edie

Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains ChristianWriters Conference and the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy. She’s also the Military Family Blogger at Guideposts. Com, Social Media Director for SouthernWriters Magazine and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook. Don't miss her new book from Worthy Inspired, WHILE MY SOLDIER SERVES.

Step Out of Your Writing Comfort Zone

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Add life to your writing
by stepping out of your comfort zone!

As a whole, writers consistently struggle with self-confidence. Part of that comes, I believe, from working alone. Another contributing issue is the fact that writing is creating. We bring something tangible out of nothing and it carries our creative DNA. Both of these factors make it hard for us to have accurate perspective, so we err on the side of negativity. We tend to think less of our writing—and our abilities—than we ought. 

Hand in hand with this comes our unwillingness to leave our comfort zones. We’ve each built a safe place, populated it with safe people, and do only safe things there. But as comfortable as we are, this gated community can prove to be  stifling to our creativity.

We’ve got to find ways to break free from comfortable and embrace the new and terrifying.

Why & How to Step Out of Our Writing Comfort Zone

1. Trying new things—hard things—will stretch us and grow us as writers. Even if we choose not to continue with what we’ve tried, that experience will add to our abilities.

2. Leaving our comfort zone gives us a new perspective. When we only view something—writing—from one vantage point, we deny ourselves. For example, writing fiction, after years of writing nonfiction, can add depth and life to both endeavors.

3. We need to change locals to meet new people. Maybe you only write at home, or have a single critique partner. Move location, write in a coffee shop or library. Exchange your writing with someone new to get a different type of input.

4. Write in a different genre. If you write fiction, try your hand at article writing. If you write articles, give poetry a whirl. Wherever you are, try something different.

5. Visit a new group or conference. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and only attend the same group or go to the same conference every year. Instead, be brave. Strike out on your own and visit a new group.

6. Enter a contest or sign up for a critique. It’s important to keep our writing fresh and current. Competing and asking for feedback is a perfect way to do that.

7. Try a writing prompt. There are a lot of books out there with writing prompts, but you can also just to an internet search. Set a timer and let creativity take over.

8. Take part in a write-off. This is a timed writing event. You can challenge another writer, or meet together as a group. The goal is to see who can write the most words in a set time-frame. Pushing yourself with a word-count goal will help turn off your internal editor. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it the fact that you tried that brings the benefit.

9. Ditch the computer and write long-hand. I know, we’re in the twenty-first century, but there’s something ultimately creative by touching pen to paper. You might be surprised how enjoyable it is sometimes. And if you’re one of those who does write everything long-hand, you should give computer technology a try. Not because either is better, but because different leads to discovery.

These are my suggestions. Now it’s your turn to add to the list. What have you done to break out of the writing comfort zone? How has it worked?

Don’t forget to join the conversation!

Blessings,

Edie

Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains ChristianWriters Conference and the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy. She’s also the Military Family Blogger at Guideposts. Com, Social Media Director for SouthernWriters Magazine and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook. Don't miss her new book from Worthy Inspired, WHILE MY SOLDIER SERVES.

Twitter ABCs

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Sometimes we tend to overcomplicate social media, especially Twitter. Today I'd like to share the basics with the ABCs of Twitter.

A is for Accessibility. It’s important to be easy to find on Twitter. This means your twitter handle needs to be as close to your own name as possible, and your avatar (picture) is recognizable as you.

B is for Bio. Even though your Twitter bio is only 160 characters long, it’s prime real estate. It tells your audience what to expect from your tweets. You can include hashtags, but don’t make them the only thing you list.

C is for Connections. The point of Twitter is to connect with other people with similar interests. It’s not your private station to broadcast commercials from. Keep self-promotion to a minimum and you’ll find some valuable relationships through this social media platform.

D is for Discipline. Small consistent steps will result in a strong Twitter platform. It’s not enough to share updates several days a month. Instead, set a goal for 4 – 6 updates on 3 – 4 days a week. It won’t take much time, but it will pay huge dividends in visibility and reach.

E is for Evaluate. Evaluate what you’re sharing on Twitter. Is it valuable to your audience or are you just adding to the noise? I share one of four types of updates:

• An inspiring quote or Bible verse.
• A thought provoking question.
• Something funny.
• A link to something I (and hopefully my audience) finds helpful.

F is for Focus. Even though I vary the types of updates I share on Twitter, I keep my message (and my Twitter personality) consistent. People who follow me know I post about writing, social media and things for military families.

G is for Grandmother. I’m convinced that my grandmother would have enjoyed social media. It’s a digital neighborhood that she would have understood. There’s a give and take here, and a willingness to courteous and helpful.

H is for Hashtags. Hashtags are one of the best things about Twitter. Do your best to limit yourself to no more than two (at the very most three) per update. And take time to do a quick search on Google for the best hashtag for the topic you’re tweeting about.

I is for Irritating. Yes, there are some people on Twitter who are irritating. And if they waste my time, I don’t hesitate to unfollow them. I encourage you to do the same.

J is for Jump. Don’t be afraid to jump into the Twitter universe. The easiest way to get started it to dive right in and learn as you go.

K is for Keep On. Don’t expect instant results. Like anything worth doing, growing a Twitter platform takes time (and don’t forget consistency). Don’t get discouraged and give up.

L is for Less is More. Even though Twitter updates can be up to 140 characters long, stop at least 20 characters early. This leaves room for retweets and comments.

M is for Myself. It’s critical that we're honest and genuine on social media. We don’t have to over-share but we do need to be authentic.

N is for Nice. Nice a word that is—in my opinion—underrated. I have never in my life regretted being nice, even when the other person didn’t treat me the same way.

O is for having an Open Door Policy. Make yourself accessible and visible on Twitter. Don’t protect your tweets, require followers to be approved and refuse to engage in conversations.

P is for Promotion. Promote others ahead of yourself and you’ll find your Twitter popularity exploding. Promote yourself ahead of others and you’ll always struggle to grow your platform.

Q is for Questions. Asking questions in your Tweets is a great way to get the conversation started. Don’t neglect these types of Twitter updates when you’re planning your social media interactions.

R is for Reciprocate. Twitter etiquette leans heavily on reciprocal relationships. If someone follows me, it’s proper etiquette for me to follow them back. The only reason I don’t is if the appear to be spammers or share updates that I consider inappropriate. Just because they seem to share updates that are far from my topic isn’t reason enough to not follow them back. I’ve found a lot of good connections because I took a chance and followed someone back who appeared—at first—to not share similar interests.

S is for Schedule. Make sure you schedule your daily Tweets. Don’t send them all out at once, but spread them out throughout the day so you reach more of your audience.

T is for Time. Watch the clock when you’re on social media. There’s a law of diminishing returns that comes into play after about thirty minutes on any social media network—Twitter included. Spend no more than thirty minutes a day and you’ll get the most return on your time investment.

U is for Update. Learn which type of Twitter update to send for each situation.

• A Tweet is for something you want to share on Twitter.
• A Retweet is when you repeat what someone else said. It’s not the best etiquette to Retweet a post that mentions you. It’s better to Favorite the Tweet or Reply and say thank you.
• A Reply is when you answer or comment on a Tweet. It’s proper etiquette to Reply and say thank you when someone mentions you on Twitter.
• A Direct Message is private message sent to someone through Twitter.

V is for Vacation. Don’t try to work Twitter (or any social media) seven days a week. Instead, give yourself regular breaks. Your tweets will stay fresh and you aren’t as likely to suffer from burnout and overload.

W is for Wisdom. Be wise online. Don’t share your vacation plans in advance or while you’re gone. Don’t make yourself a target by sharing your location when you’re out. And most of all, make certain any photos you share don’t have embedded geocodes, especially if they’re pictures of children. There are people out there who are looking for such carelessness and by not being wise you are raising the risk of becoming a victim. 

X is for X-ray. Learn the bones of a good Twitter update and you’ll never lack for something to say. I use headline writing techniques to compose my tweets and it’s the perfect way to connect with your audience in short bursts of information.

Y is for Yelling. Writing a Twitter update in all caps is LIKE YELLING. I reserve my use of all caps for the title of a book (since it isn’t possible to italicize in an update).

Z is for Zoo. Yes, at first glance Twitter can seem like a zoo. It can be mistaken for  a series of unrelated updates that make no sense to anyone. But take time to get to know your way around and you’ll find a gold mine of relationships and connections waiting for you.

This is my Twitter alphabet, I'd love to know what you'd add to it. Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below. 

Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie

TWEETABLES
Don't make #Twitter complicated #SocialMedia expert @EdieMelson shares Twitter ABCs (Click to Tweet)

Don't let #Twitter confuse you, #SocialMedia expert @EdieMelson shares Twitter ABCs (Click to Tweet)

Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains ChristianWriters Conference and the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy. She’s also the Military Family Blogger at Guideposts. Com, Social Media Director for SouthernWriters Magazine and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook. Don't miss her new book from Worthy Inspired, WHILE MY SOLDIER SERVES.