What I’ve Learned as a Writer

With the rise of the digital age anyone can write and post anything, at any time into vast cyberspace. What does this mean?
You can have eyes on your writing. Great!
You can only hope those eyes wade through all the crap on the internet and find you.
I have no advice to offer, but only lessons I’ve learned through experience. My journey as a writer is solely my own. This is a compilation of what I’ve found most valuable.
- Write whatever you want and screw anyone that doesn’t like it. As with anything in life, you can’t make everyone happy.
- I don’t necessarily want a giant-ass following. I want a tribe, a community of readers I can connect with.
- There are ideas everywhere. Write them down.
- It doesn’t matter what your story or article is about. If you use the words Fuck, Bullshit, Sex, Blowjob or Asshole in the title- people will read it.
- The library serves complimentary coffee and popcorn. Do hang out at the library.
- Read. Read. Read. With that said, if you can make it through reading all 639 pages of Iliad& Odyssey you can make it through reading anything.
- Scientific research has linked experiencing mental illness as prevalent in creatives. Mental illness is not a negative thing. It means we add a bit of color to the world.
- If the writers of the Sharknado movie series can make money so can you.
- When an editor guts, and cuts, and shreds your story before it gets to publishing you’ll feel disappointed, and you should. It sucks and it’s frustrating. Learn what you can from it.
- There will be times when you write a story that feels so good you’re going to be all, “I did It! I’m a superstar!” There will also be times when you write shit. Crumble that shit up and move on.