Goodreads
Goodreads asked Angela A. Wix:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Angela A. Wix Read. Read more. Read more again! Part of learning your own writing style and voice is seeing the voice and style of other writers. By reading others' works you'll figure out what you like and don't like. You'll also be more aware of what's already on the market, so that when you go about writing your own material you won't just be repeating what others have already said. Find a gap in the market and fill it.

Also, write what comes to you as it comes. Sometimes it's about practice, and other times you might unknowingly be creating the breadcrumbs that are leading you to a future project.

In my case, I always knew there was a book in me that was waiting to be written, but I could not figure out what it was. I tried a lot of dead-ends in various genres. I would dive in, fully passionate, only to find the project fizzle out usually early-on. I found that writing from my own experience was where I was most inspired and for my first book I ended up digging back through old journals to mine various details for stories. I became grateful to past me for all the random writing I could pull from!

At one point I wrote a memoir that, at its conclusion, was shoved into a drawer for almost a decade. When I started writing my second book on spirituality and intuition, I unexpectedly ended up going back to that memoir and pulling out the strongest stories for use. Even though I'd considered that memoir an exercise of sorts, it became invaluable all those years later.

You may find yourself at a million dead-ends. Don't give up. If you feel a book inside of you that's wanting to be written, then keep trying. One day your muse may unexpectedly strike with something you never considered before. Until the day my muse struck I never once thought unicorns (the topic of my first book) would be what I'd be writing about!

The book inside you that's waiting to be written is probably hidden in your interests. Pay attention to what you're drawn to. Try writing articles for magazines you like. Take writing classes and join writing groups. Accept constructive feedback and work with it. Learn how to give good feedback for others. Read what you love and then read some more. Notice what your favorite authors are doing. Find the publishers they are writing for and learn about what those publishers require for submission of new work. Keep going...

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more