Ask the Author: Caryn Green
Answered Questions (2)
Caryn Green
Great question, I've sure thought about it. But I guess what that journey imprinted on me was the drive to continually...um...seek out new life and new civilizations. (Apologies. That was screaming to get out). So my next such journey would be to all the places I chickened out of back then - plus some countries Yanks weren't allowed into in those days! Something very cool to contemplate at year end, thanks for asking and happy New Year!
Caryn Green
Here are a few of the steps I took that I think transformed me from being 'someone who writes' to a writer:
Go public. Blog, go to workshops, conferences, take writing courses, join critique groups. Expose other people to your work in progress.
Read. What is it you want to write? Who does it best? Read that. Critically, observantly, with no distractions. Then read lots of other stuff. Cut back on the amount of time spent staring at screens spewing mindless drivel.
Find your zone. Experiment with writing in different surroundings, at different times of day, towards different ends. You might find you do your best editing in the morning at your desk, whereas the creative, new content generating side of your brain might kick in mid afternoon at the library. At your favorite table on the second floor facing the river. As an example.
Always be working on something. Storing some half-fleshed out ideas or the first few pages of something on your hard drive doesn't make you a writer. It makes you someone who should clean out your hard drive.
Go public. Blog, go to workshops, conferences, take writing courses, join critique groups. Expose other people to your work in progress.
Read. What is it you want to write? Who does it best? Read that. Critically, observantly, with no distractions. Then read lots of other stuff. Cut back on the amount of time spent staring at screens spewing mindless drivel.
Find your zone. Experiment with writing in different surroundings, at different times of day, towards different ends. You might find you do your best editing in the morning at your desk, whereas the creative, new content generating side of your brain might kick in mid afternoon at the library. At your favorite table on the second floor facing the river. As an example.
Always be working on something. Storing some half-fleshed out ideas or the first few pages of something on your hard drive doesn't make you a writer. It makes you someone who should clean out your hard drive.
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