Some people know from the time they are young what career they want. I am not one of those people; therefore, my career history is varied. Super varied. One of the constants has always been an appreciation for and dabbling in writing.

A couple years ago I started to write a story while I waited…and waited…for my kids to go to sleep. When I finished, I added what should have happened before the part I wrote. And all of a sudden, I couldn’t stop writing. I thought about it even when I wasn’t doing it. I made time to work on it early in the morning, late at night and even arranged time away from home to be able to focus on it. The thing morphed into a full-fledged novel.

Now I have officially entered the writing world since my manuscript has been rejected by a publisher (is this a yay! or a boo! ?). Even though this really knocked me on my butt, I learned that I wasn’t ready to give up on getting it “out there” someday. I also discovered that I really enjoy the process of writing, I enjoy and crave that creative outlet. On top of all that, I’m starting to formulate another story in my head.

This leads to a two-pronged approach for me right now. On the one hand, I love writing and have been told by impartial sources that I am good at it, so I would like to write for ongoing publications, i.e. magazines, e-magazines (“zines”), websites, etc. On the other hand, I am drawn to the richness of what a novel can offer in terms of theme and character development.

Blogging seems to be a good way to get connected to other writers, since often times I feel I am writing only for myself. And maybe we can help each other along the way. I’ll share what I learn, and maybe others will chime in and we can pool our collective intelligence.

The first tip I think is so practical and yet so challenging comes from Anne Lamott’s classic book on writing, Bird By Bird. In it she lays out a thorough attack plan, and what I’ll call …

Tip #1: Get your fanny in the chair and do the thing.

http://twitter.com/ANNELAMOTT/status/228366902668439552

Nothing earth shattering and yet so hard to actually do.

So for today, that’s what I’m going to keep going. I’ll keep chipping away at the creative process of writing, and I will also chip away at learning about the business of writing. These are two totally different parts of my brain, and it makes me a little crazy to hold them both in my head simultaneously, so I will choose one to work on first, then set that aside to work on the other.

Do you have any helpful quotes that keep you motivated? Do you have a suggestion for a book on writing that people must read? Please let us in on your secret! I look forward to hearing from you. Now go do some damage to that keyboard (or whatever you use to write) of yours. Best of luck!