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Do You Dream of Being a Published Writer?
My dream is to be a published writer but I had no idea where to start. The first thing I have always done -- when I have an interest in anything new -- is to buy a book on the subject. Writing couldn't be different, could it?
So I enrolled in the Writer's Digest Book Club. First, I bought a copy of Writer's Market, then a book on copyright, and then a stylebook.
My first software program to help me brainstorm for ideas was IdeaFisher, which I assumed would be invaluable in fending off writer's block should I become one of its victims. It has proven to be my best purchase after Writer's Market.
Writer's block is an annoyance that can be taken care of with several methods to help in releasing creative juices. One I have found helpful is free-writing or free word association:
I feel I am very good at being self-taught, but I like interaction with people when I decided to take a writing class on the Internet. There are many sites that offer writing classes. Once I became comfortable dealing with a Web class, I was off and running.
Compared with a class at a local university, Internet classes are often compressed. I soon learned that my ability to govern my time well and discipline myself by planning my writing no matter what was a perfect fit for the Internet teaching method.
I've taken several writing classes on the Web, and written several non-fiction pieces as assignments. I am planning to put together a portfolio for editors who might ask for my as-yet non-existent published clips, and I'm hoping to wow them with my unpublished expertise.
One method of finding a niche in the writing industry is by joining email lists. By staying in touch with other aspiring writers via email, you'll learn a lot about how to approach editors with that all-important query letter.
Email lists allow you to ask published writers questions. It's important to keep a positive attitude while you're learning your way around the writing world.
Writing can be a lonely business and staying in touch with other writers who will encourage you in your work is important!
Lyne Royce is a freelance writer living in the desert east of Phoenix. She lives with her devoted husband and six spoiled and previously stray cats. She's fervent about Native American history and enjoys reading books on the subject when she has the time. After 15 years teaching software classes, and two years doing Web site design, Lyne decided to listen seriously to her muse and has participated in writing workshops and clinics on the Web, including the Writer's Digest Workshops' Fundamentals of Non-Fiction Writing, Focus on the Non-Fiction Magazine Article; WriteRead.com's Query Letter Clinic; Writers.com's workshop Writing and publishing Magazine Articles; the humor clinic, Writing from the Left Side of the Brain with Jane Combs; and Secrets of the Professional Freelancer at Coffeehouse.com. She belongs to several writers discussion groups but her favorite, Writers Pad, is where she enjoys learning from her writer friends on a daily basis that it is possible for a writer to become a published writer.
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