Writers are not just people who sit down and write. They hazard themselves. Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake. ~E.L. Doctorow
I think you have to get beyond “yourself” as a writer to be successful. I struggle with this when I’m working on my manuscript yet I am learning the freedom of not doing this as a poet. When you write poetry you wear your heart on your sleeve. I think poetry is intimate and you are inviting your readers into your very personal world. In a fiction manuscript you can say it’s fiction…but I think that readers know that even in fiction a writer usually weaves in parts of themselves.
How much are you willing to give up to become a published author? Could you write intimate details about your life to sell a book? Or do you find yourself censoring parts of your manuscript because you know your family will read it? What do you think is ok to share?
Today, write about the location in your fiction manuscript. What about this location makes it the perfect background for your book. If you’re not writing fiction, write a poem about your favorite place. Look for a market to submit it.Now get back to work!
Lovingly,
The Writing Nag
Oh yeah. The censor.