By
Davalynn Spencer
Last
week a former student from the college where I teach asked me to meet with him
to discuss career direction. He wants to be a writer.
The
first thing I told him—in spite of my usual rants on originality—was, “Don’t
quit your day job.”
Cliché,
perhaps. Truth, absolutely.
He
nodded and chuckled. Not exactly the sage advice he was hoping for from a
professional writer. However, I figured if I started with the hard cold facts,
everything else would be warm and fuzzy.
Right.
The
young man admitted to the also-cliché quip of “I write because I have to,” and
we discussed the long, slow start some writers experience.
“If
you’re writing for money, you’re going to be disappointed,” I told him. He is
interested in creative nonfiction along the lines of commentary, so I
encouraged him to approach the editor of his mountain-town weekly about writing
a column.
“Give
him a couple of samples to see if what you have to say is a fit for the
community,” I said. “Then ask what the budget allows for columnists.”
However,
there might not be a budget, and he might have to give away the first few
things he writes. But he’d have a byline and something in print to add to his
credits.
He
saw the value in that.
Some
days this aspiring writer tells his family to give him room because he just
needs to get away by himself for a couple of hours and write.
Really?
A couple of hours? By himself? I wish.
“You
have to write every day,” I said, brushing away the warm fuzzy for some more
hard cold. “Whether you want to or not.”
Whether
it’s nice and quiet or not. Whether the TV is blaring in the other room and the
dog just knocked left-over cereal off the kitchen counter or not.
He
looked as if I’d insisted he make his bed every morning, help with the dishes,
and take out the trash.
“Make
yourself write even if you don’t feel like it. Determine a number of words—250,
500, 2,000, whatever—and discipline yourself to write that amount every day.”
Hoping
to end our meeting with a softer bit of advice, I tried adding a touch of fuzz
to the cold.
“There’s
someone out there writing what you want to write. Read them. See how they do
it. Read everything you can get your hands on. Study the craft. Sign up for
email delivery of blogs and newsletters from literary agents, successful
authors, and writing sites.”
Immerse
yourself in the writing culture, I told him, because that’s about as warm and
fuzzy as it gets.
But
above all, build on the hard cold rock of reality and “Just write.”
When the handsome, dark-eyed cowboy sauntered into Davalynn
Spencer’s life, the gate to adventure swung wide. So began her journey writing
for national rodeo markets and winning awards in the process. Her writing has
also taken her from the city crime beat of a mid-size daily newspaper to
college classrooms and inspirational publication with David C. Cook and others.
When she’s not writing western romance or teaching as an adjunct professor, she
enjoys speaking and leading worship at women’s retreats. She and her former
rodeo-clown husband have three children and four grandchildren and make their
home on Colorado’s Front Range with a Queensland heeler named Blue. Her latest book is "The Cowboy Takes a Wife." Connect
with her online at www.davalynnspencer.com, Twitter @davalynnspencer www.Facebook.com/AuthorDavalynnSpencer.com
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