Jerry-Myers_12_26I could make light of this topic but I will endeavor to behave myself.  The fact of the matter is all it takes to be a writer is confidence, the confidence that you can tell a story.  The other big factor is that you are able to take some criticisms.

We humans come from a long line of storytellers.  Most all of what the ancient ones believed about the world around them came from stories told to them by the elders of their group.  I wondered why some of these stories were believed to the point of becoming the foundations of religions around the world, and some of the misconceptions that we still use as figures of speech to this day.

The term “Sun Rise” for instance; we now know and have known for centuries that the Earth orbits the sun and the “Sun Rise” is an illusion that occurs as the Earth rotates.  It all comes from a point of view.  We do not feel the rotation of the earth, it feels as if we are standing still and everything else is moving so we have “Sun Rise”.

The point is you tell a story from your point of view, even if you use a proxy such as a character to tell the story.  Some beginning writers make the mistake of attempting to emulate their favorite author.  At first glance this might seem to be not such a bad idea.  The problems that you encounter attempting this are multi-fold.  To put it simply; you are not them; you are you.

What you need to do is write out your story, and rewrite, and rewrite until you have told your story from beginning to end.  It is at this point where most successful writer enlists some help.  A “Proof Reader”; simply put someone you trust will read your story and give you an honest opinion.

Why a proof reader?  Writers have a blind spot when it comes to what they write.  In some cases a writer might have meandered off a plot point and redirected the whole story confusing a reader as to what is happening in the story.  Been there, done that.  The bottom line is a reading, even by a trusted friend, can help point out such items.

You can do it all yourself, but you need to take your time.  Set the project aside for a while, and then read it.  The time you take off from the story will reset your head and you can read like a reader.  Yes; taking your time and you too can be a writer.