I Don’t Have A Title.

Sometimes, writing scares me. Today is one of those days. You sit in front of the personal computer and you wonder: What would people like to hear? What would interest a human being such that he/she would find the title so interesting not to click? RN, nothing is coming to me, so I’ll just… Wait! What? I’m already writing LOL. Wonder how that happened… Mm.

Oh wait…I think I do—I started! And what do ya know? I have a topic! Myths of Writing! Mm. That sounds dramatic. Ready or not, here we go!

1. Wait for Inspiration Before you Begin.

Say what? It’s like you wantu wait for a long, long time. At the very least, you see what I did with this article. I didn’t have no inspiration, but then I just wrote what I was feeling and… Boom! I had something.

If you put off writing till that day when you feel “divine” inspiration, and that burning desire to put pen on paper—well, those days are kinda rare in a writer’s life.

Remember, Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. In other words, success is almost entirely due to hard work.

2. You need to be born with the Talent.

On one hand, some people believe that writers are born, not made. In truth, writers may be mostly people who love books and read a lot. They start out more confidently than others who just “started to write”, because they’ve already learnt a lot about creative writing from all their reading.

It’s possible that anybody can become a writer if they work hard at it. It may mean reading a lot and writing a lot and developing all the necessary techniques needed, but if you persevere, after some years, you’ll end up a good writer. The important thing is not to be discouraged!

3. Writing is always Fun.

Writing can be fun or enjoyable, sometimes. At other times, it’s sheer hard work. The more serious you are about your writing, the less likely it is to seem like fun. Developing a piece of writing often requires a tremendous amount of effort and concentration.

When you’re truly absorbed in your writing, however, you can experience that buzz of creativity of being “in the zone.” Psychologists call this mental state flow. In this state, you lose all sense of self-consciousness and lose that critical voice in your head that tells you you’re no good.

4. You are On Your Own.

Other person: “So apart from studying, what else do you do?”

Me: “I write.”

Other person: Conjures image of a geek holed up in his cubicle, sitting in front of a laptop all day.

The claim that all writers are introverts who sit on their own all day bashing at a keyboard simply isn’t true. If you’re an extrovert, you have lots more ways to make writing a sociable activity.

Write in libraries or cafes, surrounded by people.
Join a writing group or writing circle and meet other writers regularly to discuss your work.
Keep in touch with other writers to spur you and give you focus.
Find a mentor or professional reader to help you develop your work.

5. You can only write What You know.

If writers set about writing about only what they’re confident in and know much about, half of the books in the world would not exist! Yes. Because most writers set off to write with a What If question at the back of their minds. It’s what spurs them on and what moves the work along.

Ultimately, yes, you need to have at least a general understanding of what you want to write, but, seriously, that comes much later in the work. Don’t be held back by worrying about having to write what you know: write what you want and then fill in any gaps in your knowledge.