One of the many pieces of advice I found, and continue to stumble upon about writing is telling people you write. It’s good for you, confession is good for the soul. All writers know about the classic advice “Show, Don’t Tell”. Even me…

There is a draw back when you tell them- if they need writing done – in any genre any type – they will ask you. It’s like being a Canadian in the United States. They know someone in Toronto and ask if you know them. You are from Edmonton which is three days of driving away. So far, I am writing for a video game and a series of five minute plays for summer camp.

Both of these are great for me. One is with a bunch of friends who are tired of easy video games, they want to bring about the return to hard video games. The second is with my son for a summer camp he is working.

Your first reaction will be that you don’t have the time for this writing and time for your other “more important” writing.

This is simply false. SAY IT, “THIS IS SIMPLY FALSE!”

We always have the same amount of time. Every day it is the same amount. It is only a matter of priorities. Don’t blame your other “Important” writing  for not being able to do other writing. You need to show these people what you are writing or talk about the process of writing, what your goals are, what your struggles are…and what are the happy moments in your writing are. (I am happy this month that I didn’t have to kill off one of my main characters. I am so relieved and so is he.)

Ask if you can show some of your friends that you trust, some of your work. I did that this week, scared the ever livin’ crap out of me. One of the people is an excellent poet and writer in his own right, the other likes to read almost anything. Now I have to get it ready for them.

Once they read it, I will spend some money and get a professional editor to look at it. With her notes and theirs’ I will revise for my presentation of these pages to the writer’s group that I attend.

After the writer’s group has critiqued it, and, I have incorporated this additional commentary into my work I am taking those first precious pages to a writer’s conference I am attending this summer. I may even be brave enough to show them to an agent.

The only way I can get to the point to have the courage to show my writing to an agent, is by practicing. Practicing by showing to my friends, fiends and an editor.

Be not afraid, nor ashamed of what you write for the journey of a 100,000 words begins with a single word. In my case that word will be “The”.

Be Well – dcd

P.S. If you didn’t guess, this is a pep talk to myself…