Monday, November 22, 2010

Newcomers

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye
serve the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24
***

I have to admit, watching new writers makes me smile. They are just like I was about eight or nine years ago when I began to take this journey seriously; alive with creativity bubbling over their cup. Oozing with frothiness, layers of imagination whipped up for the course.

Some newcomers I sit in awe of as they have a natural ability to putting pen to paper and creating a dashing piece of art, not just words in a novel. The most fun part of being a new writer is learning. Learning new words, new techniques, grabbing ideas, tapping at the keyboard into the wee hours of the night, and being one with a new character. But the most fulfilling, is completion, I have to say.

Although when you complete your novel, you’re sitting there scratching your head wondering what to do next. We can’t go back and do revisions, it is too fresh in our minds, we won’t see anything wrong at least until a week later. So what is a writer to do?

Start a new story, new style, learn new words, different techniques. There’s a world of knowledge to be gleaned from the writing pool. As I sit in the stages of revising my nearly sixty thousand word novel, which will more than likely be more after revision, I think of where all this writing began.

Like many before me, writing was and is a part of  every day living, always has been and always will be. It began at a young age when I first held a pencil, albeit a fat one, in my tiny hand and began doodling. Ahh, fresh untouched paper, like a newly fallen snow with not one footprint, a firm wooden pencil clutched in my hand like the baby-blankie I gripped in the other hand; scribbling thoughts that surfaced, images, words, the love of pencil and paper began. Those were the good old days.

As I grew, the words took on new meaning, they shaped either a poem or a story and all throughout school, before I ever typed on a computer and had the luxury of internet access, I was born to write. I didn’t stumble upon the written word and think, “Hey, this is cool.” No, I read, read and read some more. Wrote, wrote and continued studying the craft of writing, all throughout my childhood and early adult years.

After my hand developed callus's from writing, my hands ached from the old style typewriter, then out of nowhere a computer fell into my lap and changed my world forever. That was almost nine years ago, and I still persist in writing, whether pen or keyboard, I still write.

The best advice I can give newcomers to the field, is persist. Don’t write for a year or two and give up, that does not make you a writer, nor just because you pen words on occasion, does it make you a writer. A writer exemplifies, PERSISTENCE! We’re a tough breed and I’ve learned that the writing community is more than a community of artists, it is a home away from home.






Welcome to the writing world F2k alumni! You completed lesson six, in the shroud of NANO, and now move on, to PERSISTENCE!

6 comments:

Melissa Sugar said...

Good advise. I am a new writer and while I love to write I too often find myself skipping days.

joni said...

teehee I'll be honest, I skip days too.

Gotta let that carpal tunnel syndrome have a little rest now, don't we? :)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Von said...

Awesome post Joni! This session of F2K was wonderful. I am a better writer because of it. The lessons taught me, my classmates taught me, and the mentors taught me.

I ended up with 2 short stories, a voice for a character in a novel, and a bunch of new friends. I think this was my hardest time yet, not because I know less but because I know more. The more tools I gain the better I want to be. Amazing experience.

I hope all is well in your world. I hope the writers were kind to you. --Von

joni said...

Congratulations Von!
It seems this session even I walked away with more skill. Can you imagine, after all these years there possibly be something new to learn?

There is always something to learn and new experiences to be had! I was a great session! :)

Thanks Von, and again Congratulations on your completion of the course!

June said...

Great advise for newbie writers!

Isn't it inspiring to work with those starting out on this journey? I know it renews my writing spirit...

joni said...

Yes June,
I love watching them go from writing a so-so sentence and turning that into a something of a story! :)

Yup the growth is what I like to watch. :)

Write on writers!