Helen McKenna
  • Home
  • About
  • Bookshelf
  • Bookstore
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Life Story

The Universality Of Writing

9/11/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Let's face it, writing is a tough gig. Especially when you are in the 99% of authors who rarely admit to themselves, let alone the general public, what their actual book sales are during any given month. It's very easy to see successful authors as an entirely different species - the ones who have "made it" and no longer associate with us mere mortals still hoping for that breakthrough novel. So it was a refreshing surprise to attend an author talk with the mega successful author Michael Connelly and listen to his experiences and to be reminded that whether you have sold 70 books or 70 million, as he has, that the writing experience is still the same.


I have long been a big fan of Michael, ever since reading his first Harry Bosch novel way back in the 1990s. So I was there in the double capacity of reader and fellow author. Although Connelly was a journalist, and thus an accomplished writer in that field, he admitted that writing fiction is a different experience. It was interesting to hear that Michael did not even submit his first two novels to any publisher, judging them not good enough and deciding instead to keep honing his craft and keep writing until he came up with something that he did deem good enough. It was great to be reminded too that Connelly did not have massive success until his fifth book, The Poet. Until then he was still working his day job as a journalist, while writing novels in any spare time he could grab. After The Poet he was able to become a full time novelist, writing a book a year as he still does now.

Michael spoke about his daily writing routine and how important it is to have a routine that works for you. He also reinforced an often quoted point, you have to write every day. Whether it is a word, a sentence, a paragraph or a page and beyond, you need to keep connected to your Work In Progress. This really hit home for me because I, like many others, find the longer you leave it between looking at your manuscript, the easier it is to lose touch with it. Days easily become weeks and sometimes even months. You cringe every time someone asks how your book is going, trying to remember the last time you even opened the file. In the week since, I have remembered Michael's advice and done pretty well, only missing one day. Guess what? He's right. Even if you only do the most minor of adjustments, if you add or remove an extra word, you have done something. And more often than not, it's much more than that. My word count has jumped significantly in just one week and I'm hoping I'll stay on this trajectory.

So, for all of us wannabe bestselling authors, the reality is if you love writing and you want to be successful, you have to keep writing. Like any other skill, even with a natural talent, you need to keep practising to improve. And remember, even the most successful writers in the world still have to sit in front of their computer screen with a blinking cursor and let the words flow. There are no shortcuts, nor should there be.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Picture
    Join the Australian Women Writers Challenge
    AWW Book Reviews
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Previous Posts

    • The Universality of Writing
    • Now In Paperback!
    • What's In A Title?
    • The AWW Challenge
    • The Value Of Editing
    • Words That Inspire
    • Write That Life Story!
    • Why I'm Sold On e-books
    • Meet My New Book
    • Why Reviews Matter
    • The Value Of Entertainment
    • AWW 2017 Sign Up
    • To Give Away Or Not?
    • Finding The Positive In The Challenge
    • Don't Forget The Wave
    • Lessons Learned Between Books
    • Documentaries That Make You Think
    • Finally Book No 2 Is Here!
    • The Urban Myth of Anti-Fog Goggles
    • Quick Update
    • Awesome Reading Volunteers
    • Reviews Have Moved
    • Why Amazon.au Is Good For Aus Authors
    • Amazing Community Libraries
    • The Kindness of Kids
    • Getting the 2nd Book Finished
    • Thanks Fellow Authors
    • Dear Amazon, Please Explain
    • The Importance of A Review
    • Amazon
    • Choosing Your Genre
    • The Way We Write
    • Love The Feedback!
    • Beach Magic
    • My Blog Begins
    Tweets by @helenmckenna_

    Helen McKenna's books on Goodreads
    Room 46 Room 46
    reviews: 17
    ratings: 80 (avg rating 3.98)

    The Beach House The Beach House
    reviews: 30
    ratings: 77 (avg rating 3.86)

    The Perfect Proposal The Perfect Proposal
    reviews: 6
    ratings: 12 (avg rating 3.75)

    How Do I Write My Life Story? How Do I Write My Life Story?
    reviews: 4
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.11)

    The Perfect Proposal And Other Stories The Perfect Proposal And Other Stories
    reviews: 5
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.22)

    Archives

    November 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    September 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    July 2014
    February 2014
    November 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    January 2012

Contact:

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture



© Helen McKenna 2019