What Writers Want

To quote Huffpost “apparently everything”.

But hey, cut us some slack.

Just because we want things, doesn’t make us greedy.

I think it’s only fair that writers want things. And better, know what to ask for, and how to ask for it.

When I started to try and hack this writer thing, that was one place I struggled. Well I struggled with finding the right words, with using the same words too often, using words like really too often, unnecessary sentences, frequently using too many adverbs, not knowing how to talk about my writing and even what to do with that damn Oxford comma (,).

But as writers we know those are just the basics.

But we all make mistakes.

Even if some of us project that we never do.

And sometimes comparison will steal our joy.

And it’s just better to avoid public opinion, lock yourself in a room and just write.

I think that is where a lot of writers get stuck. I might not be speaking for you, but my desire to be a writer came from sitting alone with my ideas and ruminating on them. Yes, that’s where it all started, but it obviously can’t end there.

It’s all well and good to write things. That’s the art of it.

But then what?

Analysis Paralysis?

Some poor writers might be left with the only alternative to yell into the void, but when nothing answers back it is as if the questions were never asked.

So you might go looking for the answers yourself. Suddenly you are the protagonist on your own hero’s journey.

You are seeking the Holy Grail: What to do next.

Maybe you are past that point. You are grizzled, having been on the journey for quite some time. And yet, you still have questions. And that just feels…wrong.

Shouldn’t you have all the answers by now?

“I did,” You might say, “Or I thought I did, but the answers keep changing.”

Man, I know that feel. The longer you are at it the more it feels like just as you reach your destination the map keeps getting rewritten.

There is a consensus on certain things: How to get an Agent, What to do to get Self-published, What makes a good story, etc.

But as writers we are also told not to break the rules but then break them with skill. To do things in the right order, or to rebel and do your own thing.

To keep up with constant changes while still doing what is tried and true.

End of the day you have to have all the answers, know the right people, be nice and work hard. That’s it.

What if you do all these things and you still don’t seem to get anywhere?

You still feel like you are running on that treadmill.

How frustrating.

Don’t worry, you are NOT ALONE.

Yes, we are well past the dawning of the digital age that threw everything for a loop. And yet we might have endured a decade of those who refused to keep up, who were stuck in their old ways and therefore didn’t have the answers we desperately needed.

They left us to fend for ourselves in this literary dystopia.

But all is not lost.

Some have seen the light and want to point you toward it. And like a conduit, I am here to show you where those people are.

Here is the list you’ve been waiting for!

1. DIYMFA.COM
2. THECREATIVEPENN.COM
3. GOTHAMWRITERS.COM
4. WRITERSDIGEST.COM
5. AMYMARIEAYRES.COM (oops how’d that get there)
6. NaNoWriMo.com

They might not have ALL the answers, but they point you in the directions you want to go in and that’s what writers need want.

We want…

Well?

Here is a list of things I think writers want:

1. We just want a solid dot on a map and steps to get there.
2. We want immediate feedback from people who care about what we are trying to do.
3. We want the freedom to do those things in the first place.
4. We want to learn how to advocate for ourselves and our writing.
5. We want to be a visible, viable part of the writing community.
6. We want to fit in, but also stand out.
7. We want to be successful. (I mean, duh!)

If any of those things are true for you, go to those places first.

They not only know a thing or two or three or four, but the people are approachable.

And you will have what you need want all in one place.

And if as a writer you don’t even know what you want (I see you), this will help you figure that out.