Over the last three years I have done TONS of research about writing. I have many books on my shelves and my iPad as well as saved web pages. All to glean as much information about the writing process as I possibly could.
But, the absolutely most important thing I have learned is this:
To be a writer, you have to write! That means you have to stop saying "I wanna write" and start actually writing. Sit your butt down with your computer and type (or get a pencil and paper if you like to kick it old school). It doesn't matter what ends up on that page. What matters is that something ends up on that page. Write first. Revise later.
The second most important thing I learned is that you have to read. Yes, read. Will that waste your precious writing time? Absolutely not. Why? Because you won't only be reading the words on the page. You will be learning how to incorporate flow, timing, plot, dialogue and so many other things that I'm not going to bother continuing. The point is, you will learn writing technique while you read.
Another thing that really helps with the writing process is the ability to think creatively. Most people call this the muse or inspiration. It may start small. You may see a news report about a woman who murdered her husband and start thinking "Well, what if that woman killed her husband because she found out he was a demon?" Pretty soon, you will start seeing plot ideas in absolutely everything.
Just today, the name of my main character (for book 2) popped into my head. So, I opened my computer to write it down. I spent the next fifteen minutes writing down plot ideas for that book. The ideas flowed all because I wrote down the name of my main character.
My point is that you never know what you can do until you do it. Even if you think you don't have anything to say, just try to write for five minutes. You'll be surprised how easy it will come once you start.
And yes, this is my second blog post in less than a week. Shh...quiet! You might scare it away!
