Many teachers who read Ask a Tech Teacher are also authors, so once a month I share last month’s most popular post on my writer blog, WordDreams. Here is one that is full of humor while touching close to the heart:
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Sometimes I wonder if I’m missing an essential piece required to be a real writer. I do a lot of good things–
- I read a lot.
- I am an observer.
- I’m a loner (or, on the flip side, I don’t mind being alone).
- I flower where I am planted.
But is it enough? I went looking for other character traits that successful friends could shed light on my never-ending quest to succeed in a job that few can. Here is what I found:
- Writers have selective memory – they forget the bad things people say and remember the good ones. Otherwise, we get depressed.
- Writers know their muse, anywhere, anytime, any subject. It does not matter. When he starts talking, the writers listen.
- Writers are tethered to their voicemail in case a big call from an agent comes in. If there is no call, they check that their voicemail is working properly.
- Writers understand the importance of taking a break to do something fun, like reading a book. If they are one of those unlucky people who have writer’s block, that will do.
- Writers never show fear in front of their computers. It’s like a dog, it senses our distress. It will then do nasty things like crash in the middle of a scene or corrupt your file.
- You can tell a lot about a writer by how well they handle three things: rejection, fame, and a change in schedule.
- In golf, one of the 14 clubs has to be the right decision. In writing, all 14 are wrong because readers want to be unique.
- Writers don’t want to be judged on what they do between the lines.
- Writers believe in the impossible, in miracles and in Santa Claus. They will spend hours on a paragraph or sentence and consider it time well spent.
- To rephrase Voltaire: “No problem can withstand the onslaught of a writer’s sustained reflection.”
- Where the engineer takes his equations as an approximation of reality, and the physicist thinks reality is an approximation of his equations, the writer thinks it doesn’t matter if the prose is elegant.
And #12: The most prevalent trait: We are dreamers, positive thinkers, and we don’t know how to quit even if it would be in our best interest. It is first and foremost part of the heart and soul of so many writers I admire.
And you? What defines your experiences as a writer?
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, man versus nature which explores the milestones in human evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also the author of Thrillers Rowe-Delamagente and Build a wannabe