Anonymous asked: Where's the best place to start when it comes to getting your writing out there?
There are a number of steps to follow- including but not limited to these:
- First, you have to go through a myriad of different things. You have to have your heart broken, be the heart breaker, know what it means to be a great friend and know when you fail as a friend. I believe that great writing starts with the scars left behind by your life.
-Second, you must spend extended time away from anywhere you feel comfortable or at home. You don’t have to go away to school, but you should travel, take road trips, etc.
-Next, try to write something…three words, three hundred words, three thousand words. Just start writing.
-Next, read. Read books, poems, lyrics, DVD covers, blogs, articles, magazines, anything …read two books at once…read interviews and learn how people talk to one another. Read action movie screenplays.
-Look at that first thing you wrote. How do you feel about it? Chances are…you don’t feel good about it. Don’t throw it away. Tear it out of a notebook, put it away somewhere.
-Now think of the best night of your life. What did that feel like? Where were you? Who else was there? What did it feel like/smell like? Was the air heavy or light?
-Write about that night …but remember the details. Remember how people talk to each other. You can write it in a poem, in a song, in a book…just make every word count. As soon as words stop counting for something, stop writing. Make them believe it. Make them feel like they were there.
-Start another Tumblr blog. No reblogs. No filling it up with everything imaginable. Write in this blog. One piece at a time.
-Anyone you know who can help you spread the word- call them. Ask if they’ll publish an excerpt of your work in their zine, on their t-shirts, wherever. Make stickers and temporary tattoos. People like those.
-Don’t stop writing when you don’t get thousands of followers overnight. Don’t stop writing when no one will publish you. Don’t stop writing you when someone tells you that you’re wasting your time. Don’t stop writing if you lose your job…if you have to work a crappy job. Don’t stop pushing what you love doing.
-After all this, you may end up with a few readers…maybe a lot …maybe none. But you know what? Your writing will be out there …which is better than keeping it couped up inside you.
