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I’d Be Published, But… Part Three by Mary DeMuth

I’d Be Published, But I’m Trying to Learn

Lisa B said…

I’d be published but … I’m too busy learning how to write instead of just writing. 

Lisa,

There is a balance between the two. You do need to study the craft by reading excellent writing books and magazines. Perusing classics or exceptionally-written modern book helps too. Listening to teachers, attending conferences, doing online courses, and putting your stuff out there for critique will help tremendously.

But truly? The secret to my publishing success lies most in volume. I’ve simply written and written and written and written. Lots of writing. Gobs of it. For years and years. To become proficient and compelling, there’s no simple formula other than to exercise your fingers across the keyboard over and over and over again.

So, yeah: learn. But practice too. Think of writing like training for a triathlon. You could read all the triathlon books in the world. You could scrounge the Internet for useful tips. You could listen to triathlon lectures forever and ever. But none of that will prepare you to finish that triathlon. You must swim, bike and run. A lot. You must do the thing you’re learning about. That’s how improvement happens:

Practice + Learning = Achievement.

So exercise those writing muscles! Set a weekly word count goal and GO FOR IT!

Mary DeMuth (www.marydemuth.com) loves to help readers and writers turn their trials into triumphs. A nonfiction and fiction writer, Mary has two novels and three parenting books on the shelves with three more novels and a memoir slated to release in the next year through Zondervan. Because she’s passionate about mentoring writers, she recently established The Writing Spa: www.thewritingspa.com

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 16th, 2008 at 17:04 and is filed under Mary DeMuth- I'd Be Published. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “I’d Be Published, But… Part Three by Mary DeMuth”

  1. Lynn Rush Says:
    October 17th, 2008 at 17:21

    That equation Practice + Learning = Achievement. Wow, is it really that simple? Such a neat, tidy equation. Three little words connected by a plus and equal sign…..

    But, it’s true. I like the triathlon analogy. It helps my sweet hubby is a triathlete…so i can relate. I write, he runs. I write, he swims. I write, he bikes…Ok, I bike a little too, but you get the drift.

    Thanks for your posts, Mary. I’ve enjoyed them.

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