Kristen Lamb: 5 Steps To Writing Success

Writing Success

Kristen Lamb writes the best posts! I love her writing style; it feels as though just the two of us are sitting together, having a cup of coffee, chatting.

Yesterday Kristen came out with another fabulous post, this time about how to unlock writing success.

1) Passion
Obviously writers need passion, but a lot of the time this ingredient is overlooked. Kristen writes:

This should be a, “Yeah, no duh,” but, sadly, it isn’t. I meet a lot of people who say they want to be a professional author, but the second they face any opposition or criticism they give up. Here is the thing, if we really LOVE it, we won’t give up.

2) Self-Discipline
It may seem counter-intuitive, but my experience has been that the more you write the more you can write. For myself, this has become apparent through blogging. Each weekday I post two blog posts, one per day on the weekend/holidays.

Of course, life happens. But, usually, generally, that's my blogging schedule. And you know what? I've found I can sit down and write more fiction! (* knock on wood *) The blank page doesn't invoke in me the horror/anxiety it once did. Kristen writes:

One of the main reasons I am such a proponent of blogging is that it trains writers for a professional pace. It trains us to meet deadlines. Disciplined people work no matter what, and they finish what they start.

I have a feeling that, compared to Kristen I'm something of a wuss, but she's right: Writer's write.

3) Humility
Kristen says it best:

I used to have a problem with deadlines and self-discipline. I had the attention span of a crack-addicted fruit bat. That was why I began blogging. I knew that those character flaws would always limit me. Even though it was embarrassing to admit I had some deep flaws, it would have been impossible to ever combat that weakness if I hadn’t mustered the courage and humility to recognize where I fell fatally short.

I love that description! "The attention span of a crack-addicted fruit bat." Describes me to a tee! So nice to know others suffer from that particular malady.

My theory is that many writers are held back from writing because they feel they must be perfect, that what they write must be perfect. In my view, as long as someone holds on to that idea the act of writing will be fraught with anxiety. It is when we let go of expectations--those of our parents, those of society and, most importantly, our own--that we can be free to express who we really are.

4) Healthy Relationship with Failure
 Kristen writes:

If we aren’t failing, then we aren’t doing anything interesting. Expect failure. Better yet, embrace failure.

Amen! Another person to preach this particular message is Seth Godin, and I couldn't agree more. I think it ties in with what I said above about letting go of the idea that we must be perfect. We need to allow ourselves to fail. Repeatedly. Unless we embrace failure, we'll never succeed.

5) Be Bold: Try Something New
This point is mine, you can't blame Kristen for it! :p If you've been writing mostly in, say, the paranormal genre shake it up and try writing something for another genre, romance for instance. They say that variety is the spice of life, try something new! Often times doing something unusual or uncommon can refresh our daily routine.

To read Kristen Lamb's entire article, click here: Unlocking Your Great Future—5 Keys to Writing Success

Well, that's it! I hope you have a productive writing day. Cheers!

Oh, by the way, Kristen Lamb has set up an archive of royalty free images over at Flickr called, Wana Commons. Nice!

Further reading:
- Query Tracker: Keep Track Of Your Stories
- Twylah: Turn Your Tweets Into A Blog
- How To Sell 100 Books Per Day: 6 Things You Need To Do

Photo credit: The Grant Goddess Speaks