Becoming a Writer - Good Ideas Are Only Half of The Process

I enjoy reading a good story every now and then. When I finish one, usually I don't feel satisfied. Usually I want more. After I'm finished reading a good novel, I feel a sudden emptiness. It's as though I need someone to tell me what to do next. I immediately begin to miss the characters.

There are a lot of novels out there. Fiction has come a long way, but most of it doesn't interest me. Published or not, there is too much bad fiction. As a reader I've had to go through a process of trial and error before determining good writers from bad ones. That's why I like to write. It was all because I wasn't satisfied leaving great creativity to chance.

Ideas aren't easy to come by. I've spent years developing my skill. But in a day and age when it is a hassle to get published, among excess mediocrity, I felt obligated to make my mark. Currently I am working on my first novel in a series. It has grown as I have. Eight years ago I began this project. Today, I finally have a solid direction, and things have been smoothing out.

Good ideas are only half of the writing process. Creativity with words is a whole new subject in and of itself. Then there was the challenge of creating something new. At only twenty-eight years of age, countless writers have come before me. In some cases I like to joke that, "they took all the good ideas."

Thinking outside the box is something all the greats have been able to do. If those who came before have taken all the good ideas, it is only because they made ideas good. An immense amount of thought, concentration, and time goes into developing creativity. Creating a world is a full time job that never stops. As you meet knew people, or listen to a sermon, creativity is there, waiting.

No experience can be overlooked. Making the pieces fit is also a challenge. The countless thousands of hours I've spent writing and rewriting sometimes wears me down. Sometimes it seems like I've hardly made progress. Sometimes it seems as though I should just stop.

But I'm creating a world that readers may want to visit for the next twenty years. It has to be perfect, and worthy. According to some of my favorite writers, they don't set aside time every day to write a little. They set aside a little time every day to do everything else. I've found that most of the best writers are typing, plotting and planning from eight to fourteen hours a day. Most of them write five to seven days a week.

There was a period of four months, recently, in which I was doing this. My writing improved. Now that ideas don't come so readily, I don't spend so much time writing. However I reread my writing constantly.

I have set a finish date. I know getting published is going to be just as tough as writing the book was, but I have hope. I have hope that it won't take eight years to see my novel on shelves in the bookstore. I have hope that millions will enjoy my hard work.