Writer's Growth

Last week, I blogged about my memories being a writer, so I thought it would be fitting to share the growth I've had as a writer. If we stayed in one place, we wouldn't be much of a writer, would we?

I've learned so much over the years. A lot of things I learned on my own through trial and error. Some things I learned from books on writing. Other things I've learned from other writers. I am always learning. As we all should.

I was just a kid when I started out. I lived out in the country, miles from town. Back then, the internet hadn't been invented yet, and cell phones were just beginning, and they were expensive, and you couldn't text yet. That meant libraries were where you got most of your information. I relied on librarians to help me select the proper books because I had no idea which books I should read. I studied these books, taking in the information, and used them in my own writing. Stephen King's "On Writing" was one of my favorite books on the subject. I read others, but I don't recall the titles. It's been a while since I read them. This was back in the 80s. I was eleven years old.

One of the biggest things I read was "write what you know". I didn't know much. But I liked that it said you could learn new things, and then you could write about them. But what I wanted to write about wasn't real, so I was unsure how to learn about fictional things. I kept reading. This was while I was writing a book about a boy who died and went to the wrong part of Heaven. This story was all over the place, and there was a lot of chasing. That is one story I never finished.

After reading several books, I started writing one of the books I have published today. I put myself in the story in a way that I hadn't seen in other books (at least I thought I hadn't). I made the character look exactly like me (only prettier), with my personality and likes/dislikes. I also wrote in first person. The POV was everywhere. When I "edited," I would rewrite the entire book, changing scenes and everything. I really wasn't sure what I was doing, but I was enjoying it. Today, I know better. I know what I was doing wrong--you can write in first person, but you don't know what's going on in other people's heads when you do that, just like real life. This pushed me into writing in third person. I also learned that you have to keep things the same throughout, otherwise it can get confusing, so if you write in more than one POV, it should be in sections or chapters so the reader can figure it out. And I just wrote a run-on sentence lol. Yeah, I learned about those and sometimes catch myself doing it. I don't do that as much, even with my first drafts. Those have gotten way better, so I don't have to write 100 drafts before the story is "finished".

It was after my second book was traditionally published that I really learned about editing. The publisher had several rounds of editing where I got to choose what stayed and what was changed. They suggested things, and I had to put in the work based on their suggestions. I continued to read books about writing during this process. Now it seems more natural, so the words flow properly these days. Of course, my stories are not perfect during this rough draft--I still misspell words and sometimes use wrong words like "they're" vs "their". I think it's just because I'm typing too fast, trying to keep up with my head. Once the story is finished, I go back and reread everything, fixing those minor mistakes. Instead of writing the entire book, I simply strengthen what is already there. That's probably my biggest growth. And most of what I'm proud of. If that makes sense.

Also, I've grown from using a lot of repetition to using those words a little less. My biggest problem word is "really," and I've lost count of how many times I've used it. It still pops up occasionally, but nothing like it used to. My characters still smile a lot, but that's because they are smiling. I try to capture what I see going on in my head--it works like a movie screen, so I'm literally watching as each scene unfolds. Putting that to words is a challenge, and I'm still working on it. But I have always enjoyed a challenge. That means I'm still growing!

How have you grown as a writer? What has been the biggest thing you can say has grown within your writing?

#writinggrowth #growthasawriter #growth