Awhile back, I had the good fortune to be in Amazon's forum for writers when the well-known writer, Anne Rice had begun a thread she intended to help indie writers by offering what she had learned.
That forum grew heated when trolls found it and began to argue with her or try to run out the clock on her thread. They became so domineering that she finally gave up coming. While she was there though, she gave out some helpful wisdom.
The following was not necessarily there in that form but it was what she said again and again. I believe she expressed how it is if you want to write.
On writing, my advice is the same to all. If you want to be a writer, write. Write and write and write. If you stop, start again. Save everything that you write. If you feel blocked, write through it until you feel your creative juices flowing again. Write. Writing is what makes a writer, nothing more and nothing less. —-
Ignore critics. Critics are a dime a dozen. Anybody can be a critic. Writers are priceless. ——
Go where the pleasure is in your writing. Go where the pain is. Write the book you would like to read. Write the book you have been trying to find but have not found. But write. And remember, there are no rules for our profession. Ignore rules. Ignore what I say here if it doesn’t help you. Do it your own way. —-
Every writer knows fear and discouragement. Just write. —- The world is crying for new writing. It is crying for fresh and original voices and new characters and new stories. If you won’t write the classics of tomorrow, well, we will not have any. Good luck. Anne Rice
I am proud to be an indie writer and grateful I have had the chance to pursue my passion for writing without having to fit a niche in a publishing house. Today, thanks to places like Amazon, is a great world out there for writers. Yes, it allows us to make mistakes, but we are the captain of our own ship-- which means we need to learn all we can about where we want to sail.
