In these times of never-ending negative news due to the Corona Pandemic, it is becoming increasing difficult for most of us to focus, schedules have been disrupted, income sources for most of us are becoming uncertain. I am however, a hopeless Optimist and I chose to look at my glass as half full and not half empty.
I would urge you to take on the same attitude and encourage yourself that this too shall pass.
If you are goal oriented like me, I know you had lots planned out to achieve in your writing career in this year. It doesn’t need to change, as long as we try our level best to stay healthy by staying safe during this season and what better way than to stay indoors as much as possible and do what we love doing best. Create!
To get to our goals for this year and the future we need to cultivate some habits.
Here are a few habits I’ve compiled after observing my own habits that have led me to a successful career path, and those habits of other writers I look up to. Read below and get inspired to be the best that you can be!
- They write every day; and not just in the dreamy sense where you gaze into the horizon thinking of all your great ideas. No. What I mean is butt in chair, pushing the word count and page count, outlining stories and seeing characters coming alive…on paper.
- They read every day; Words are your tools of trade. If you are not reading, where are you getting your words from? Successful writers read a wide selection of material from poetry to non- fiction, to fiction, to historical/Period pieces. Successful writers are hungry for information and knowledge which helps them fill up their well of knowledge.
- They never stop learning and unlearning; never stop learning and unlearning things, if you don’t evolve then you will have trouble in this constantly evolving industry. Walk with geographical eyes: Don’t just walk or drive about. Walk and drive about taking in life and observing everything. Ask yourself ‘What if’ Questions from things you observe.
- They watch for learning; once you join the industry of film and TV your first responsibility when watching anything, is to learn from it. On the occassion that you find you watched something and completely forgot to learn from it then that’s the kind of work you need to go back to and analyse thoroughly, what was it about the show or film that took you in so much?
- They have thick skin; Rejection is part of this game, your work will get criticized, by people who are genuine, and others who are simply haters. You need to know how to quickly move on from criticism, don’t let it destabilize you, cry if you must, then move on. The more you put your work out there, the more it is criticized and the more you develop thick skin. You must be your best cheerleader.
- They set deadlines and stick to them: The thing that sets successful writers from unsuccessful ones is the honouring of deadlines. Successful writers are disciplined enough to stop binge watching series’ and get to their projects, hence beating deadlines. They beat deadlines for both paid projects and their own passion projects.
- They tap into a higher source; I believe in God, I believe He is the giver of ability. Just look at this world He created and see just what an artist He is. Beyond the earth into the Solar system…how majestic. This is the source I tap into for great creativity. If He gives me a little of His genius, I am sorted! When you recognize that the genius idea didn’t come from you but is a gift from God, you are able to stay humble, and the humble artist goes far.
Here’s hoping you all the best in your journey to becoming a successful writer!
Happy Creating and Writing!