If you are sensitive don't read the rest of this post because I'm going to be a little harsh. The most common comment I get at book signings is the person who says, "I always wanted to be a writer" and then they add a but. I give them encouragement because I try to be nice but inside, I say to myself, "Then you're not a writer."
If you are a writer you are going to write, you have to write. It is in your DNA. This is true for any artist. If you are a singer, you're going to sing, if you play a musical instrument, you're going to play that instrument. You can't help it.
Now let's deal with the buts that are stopping you.
But #1 "I don't have time."
I will have to throw the BS flag on this one. If you are a writer you're going to make time to write. You may not have time for other things because you have to write, but you are going to write. You may only write for a half hour a day. What you write may not be important to anyone else but you, but you are going to write. Maybe you write a poem to your spouse or your children, or yourself. Maybe you create a slogan for a refrigerator magnet. Writing doesn't mean that you are Stephen King or Dean Koontz but it is still writing. What I suggest is that you change the narrative and say, "I don't have time to have dinner with my family because I have to write." "I don't have time to play basketball with the guys because I have to write." In other words, build your life around writing, instead of finding left over time to write.
But #2. "I don't know what to write."
This I consider legitimate because we writers are bursting with creative energy but we may not always know where to direct that energy. Dan Brown gave great advice in his Masterclass (which I highly recommend). He has written in a variety of genres. He said you should write the book that you yourself want to read. The old adage write what you know doesn't just mean to write in subjects that you are familiar with, but subjects you are interested in. Dan Brown had a chance encounter with a federal agent and became fascinated with privacy laws, so he wrote a book in which the characters had to deal with the moral ambiguity of privacy vs national security. How many times have you read a book, watched a tv show, or saw a movie and said, "I wish they had done it this way instead of that." Well, you can write that yourself. Dan Brown also cautioned against trying to write what is popular. He said that if you like to read something, the chances are a lot of other people will like that too.
But #3. "I can't seem to get started."
This is probably the easiest to overcome. My advice, write anyway. Write whatever comes to mind. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean stream of consciousness, where you get up in the morning and write whatever comes to mind. I mean, start a project whether you know what you're doing or not. It may be good, It may be crap, but that's the great part about writing. You can always revise. I love the process of getting it wrong, learning more and going back to fix it. You will get better every time you do it.
Finally, my advice is just to write. Just do it. Don't let anything stop you. Those ideas aren't going to leave you alone until you put them down. Writers, write!
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