A Not-So-Novel Idea
Having lost my job as a derivatives trader, I have been looking at my options and am thinking of becoming a writer since I can afford to take some time off. My friends tell me that my anecdotes are brilliant and I should write them down. They say everyone has a novel in them, so why not me? I notice you have written a number of books and am wondering if you can tell me where to start.
- CB
Dear CB
Do you see Ms Robinson suddenly announcing she wants to try her hand at mathematical modeling? No, you do not. Does Ms R think she can be a plumber because she can turn on a tap?
One of the things that full-time writers hate is people who think they can write; they assume there is little skill needed and just the fact that you can read and spell equips you to write. (It's the same way for people who get Photoshop and think they are graphic designers.)
As for writing classes, the less said the better. You either can or you can’t. You might well have a book inside you, but do keep in mind we have many things inside us: kidneys and a liver, for example, and these are best kept where they are. You see my point CB?
Writing is not about sitting in a cottage overlooking the sea and penning a paragraph or two while looking forward to tea at 4pm. It’s about serious plotting, planning and dedication. The best writers cannot afford to take time off: they are at it day and night. Should you manage to pen a novel, chances are you will be thrown on the slush pile. Even if an agent takes you on, there is still a lot of work to do.
That is why writing is not something you try your hand out, it is a passion. If you had it, you would have written by now.
Here Is The Writer : Ms Robinson
Ms Robinson was once a copywriter who wrote award winning ads and had eight hour lunches. Weary of the sex, glamour and lavish parties, she switched to corporate communications where she held the hands of executives and banned them from writing this execrable sentence: "In this ever changing world, the only constant is change itself." These days she writes for an increasing variety of people and has ghostwritten several books but if she told you who for, she'd have to kill you. Click here to read her blog, Woman of Experience.
view more articles by Ms Robinson
Article Comments & Ratings
Cris Kenneth 3rd Jun, 10:29pm
Continued... William Carlos Williams was a pediatrician. Robert Frost was a poultry farmer. Hart Crane packed candy in his father’s warehouse, and later wrote advertising copy. Stephen Crane was a war correspondent. Marianne Moore worked at the New York Public Library. James Dickey worked for an advertising agency. Archibald MacLeish was Director of the Office of Facts and Figures during World War II."
Good luck!
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Cris Kenneth 3rd Jun, 10:25pm
I think it takes great courage to write a novel, especially for someone who has never done it before, I admire your motivation.
hope this link will inspire you to take the next step. www.peacecorpswriters.org
"Great writers have done it
Yes, you have a job. Yes, you have a family. Neither have stopped great writers in the past. The poet Wallace Stevens was a vice president of an insurance company and an expert on the bond market. The young T.S. Eliot was a banker.
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Ms Robinson 16th Jan, 10:58am
I should add, for anyone who wants to write - if it's fiction you need the whole book usually before you submit or first 35,000 words..if it's non fiction then send an outline of your idea. Publishers are very risk averse so if you're already known for something it helps.
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Ms Robinson 16th Jan, 10:54am
Dear Doog,
Much of what I write is tongue in cheek which I think you missed. However there are a lot of people who think writing is something you dabble in..your comment about ‘competitive industries’ suggests you think the same way. This isn’t about my frustrations - I am one of the few people who make money writing – it’s about the fact that writing is a highly competitive and pressured thing to do, just as hard a slog as anything else and I for one have spent 25 years doing it.
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Doog37 15th Jan, 1:59pm
I have to say this was a real garbage piece. To be so arrogant to and dismissive of someone who asks for help is just plain low class. Writing may be a passion but some (especially people working in highly competitive fields) don't have the opportunity to pursuit there passions or were discouraged from it by close minded families. I know that writing is work and full of rejection but don't take out your past injuries and frustrations on someone asking for help.
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