Tag: writing

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Writing and Publishing

Four Steps to Becoming a Writer

In a podcast about writing, the speaker said, “All my life I knew I wanted to be a writer, but I wasn’t writing.”

I’ve met many people like this. They call themselves “aspiring writers.” Some have a dream of writing but will never pursue it. Others, in reality, wish to have written but don’t want to put in the hard work to make it happen. The rest are content to merely talk about writing as if talking equates to doing.

To become a writer, here are four simple steps:

Write

Sit yourself down and start writing, every day, even when you don’t feel like it. As Nike says, “Just do it.”

Share

I’ve met people afraid to let anyone see their work. I get that. Sharing our words can be scary, but to be a writer, we need to have readers.

Revise

As we receive feedback, we hone our skills, either tweaking that piece or applying the lessons learned to the next one.

Repeat

Continue this process—forever.

Yeah, there’s more, but these are the essentials. Don’t worry about the rest until you’re doing these four critical steps.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

What I’m Looking Forward to the Most at the Breathe Conference

This weekend I’m heading off to the Breathe Writers Conference. It will be my third time in three years. There are many things I’m looking forward to, among them:

  • I’m looking forward to my workshop presentation to help and encourage other writers.
  • I’m looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends.
  • I’m looking forward to seeing friends from past conferences, writing groups, and even cyberspace.
  • I’m looking forward to scheduling one-on-one meetings with those who can guide me as a writer.
  • I’m looking forward to buying some books and having them autographed.
  • I’m looking forward to attending the general sessions and many workshops.
  • I’m looking forward to learning more about the art and craft of writing.

Mostly I’m looking forward to being in the company of other writers, to share and learn, to encourage and be encouraged, and to grow as a writer.

Perhaps I will see you there — and then we can do all these things together.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Four Reasons to Set Goals

It’s important to set goals, both for our work and for our self.

Goals move us forward

Without goals, it’s easy to drift from day to day, week to week, month to month, and year to year—and nothing really changes. One of my goals is to attend two writing conferences each year. This helps grow me as a writer and meet others in the industry.

Goals give us clarity

Goals reveal what’s important to us. Activities that aren’t relevant to our goals need to be given lower priority or even eliminated. One of my goals is to write every day.

Goals reflect our focus

Without goals, we can easily go in four directions at once, never accomplishing anything. Another of my goals is to watch less TV, specifically, I will not idly view it, and I will not begin watching any new series. This gives me more time to read, write reviews, and do other things to advance my career as a writer.

Goals facilitate success

I want to publish my books, but that won’t happen just because I wish it. I need to work at it. One critical step is to present my writing to agents and publishers, often in the form of a query. For my books, I’ve been putting this off, but last year at the Breathe Christian Writers Conference, I set a goal to query a book (or two) at this year’s event. Submitting a query will not guarantee success, but failing to do so will ensure failure.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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News

Peter DeHaan and Jerry Barrett Start Writers Group

Kalamazoo Christian Writers critique group holds first meeting and generates excitement

Mattawan, Michigan, July 19, 2012 – Peter DeHaan and Jerry Barrett have started a writers critique group, Kalamazoo Christian Writers (KCW), based in Kalamazoo Michigan. The first meeting was held July 11 at The Point, a non-profit community center located on the west side of Kalamazoo.

KCW materials passed out at the inaugural meeting state, “Though this is a Christian writers group, there is no expectation that all our work must be ostensibly ‘Christian’ writing. Christians who write have a place in virtually every genre, market, and industry; we need to embrace and support that.”

“The response was great,” said cofounder Peter DeHaan. “We talked about the vision for the group, shared the critiquing process, and practiced on a couple of pieces.” Attendees were universally excited about the group and what it will offer to improve their writing and advance their careers.

For some time Barrett and DeHaan have been making an hour drive twice a month to take part in another critique group. When they realized the value of group critiquing and with the uncertainty of winter driving in Michigan, they began making plans to form a local group. Though the two intend to remain connected with the first group, this new endeavor, KCW, will be their focus.

“The main value of a critique group is to help the writer to look at the window of the craft of writing not through it,” said cofounder Jerry Barrett. “The goal of critique is to help one another, as writers, to accentuate what is clear for the reader and to remove possible smudges on the pane.”

The critiquing process is scalable, so there’s no limit to the size of the group – and the meeting room is large enough to accommodate a much larger scope. Regardless of the number present, writers will split into manageable sized groups to maximize effectiveness and minimize time requirements. Critiquing is best when done in groups of four or five, with everyone having a piece to share and everyone providing feedback.

The group meets the second Wednesday of each month. Email Peter DeHaan for more information.

About Jerry Barrett: Jerry Barrett (aka “Jerry Poet”) is a longtime poet and a more recent memoirist. He frequently blogs his distinctive poetry, insightful observations, and compelling commentary at Gerald the Writer.

About Peter DeHaan: Peter DeHaan is a published author and president of Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc.

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Categories
Writing and Publishing

Don’t Just Think About Writing

River Jordan’s book The Messenger on Magnolia Street (which I highly recommend) is not a book about writing, but one of the secondary characters does flirt with the idea.

Regarding this person, River writes, “She had once thought about writing a book and naming it … To the Pacific and Back Again. But she didn’t. She couldn’t think of another line beside the title and that slowed her down some” (pg 158).

We all know people like this character, those who intend to write a book but never do. They may talk about it, dream about it, or even plan to do it. They may have the title, know the opening line, or even have the plot mapped out in their head. Perhaps they don’t even get that far.

Regardless they never move forward. Maybe their book is no more than an obscure thought or a romantic notion. They talk about writing, but they never do it.

A book that stays in your head is a book that never reaches its potential. Don’t be one of those people.

Just write. That’s the first step to becoming an author.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Is Quality or Quantity More Important in Writing?

There are some who think you can either write well or write a lot, but you can’t do both at the same time. I disagree. Just as it takes practice to write well and practice to write fast, it likewise takes practice to turn out good work quickly.

However, I wouldn’t recommend pursuing both at the same time. That would be insane. First, focus on quality and then later add productivity to the mix. Of course, we will always need to strive to improve, so don’t wait until your writing is perfect before you try to interject a speed element.

But what you definitely don’t want to do is pursue quantity before quality. All that will do is allow you to churn out bad content faster. And that’s not good for anyone.

There have been times when I wrote well but slowly; there were other times when I wrote quickly but not so well. Now I’m working on doing both at the same time.

It takes practice. There are no shortcuts or easy buttons, just practice.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Why I Like to Mix It Up

In my writing journey, I recently submitted my completed dissertation for review and comment. This had been a concerted effort for several months and once achieved, I took a needed writing respite. This didn’t mean completely ceasing all writing activity, as I continued blogging and whatnot, but I intentionally took a break from big projects.

I then segued into writing meditations (often called devotionals—here is an example of a devotional). The nice thing about them is that they are quite short, 250 words or less, allowing one, or sometimes two, to be completely written in one writing session. I’ve cranked out eight and will pick the best six for submission (the maximum allowed by that publisher).

Another publisher will accept up to three at a time, so I will craft three more for them. My plan is it do that this week.

Each publisher has a different style, requirements, and expectations, necessitating that I study examples and carefully follow their guidelines before submitting—and before writing.

Once I complete this second batch of meditations, I will revert to a bigger project, doing so with renewed vigor and excitement, courtesy of a three-week break.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Have You Written a Million Words?

I recently blogged about the 10,000-hour rule, which postulates that it takes 10,000 hours to master any craft, including writing.

In parallel fashion, I recently read a post by Kaye Dacus, who wrote, “I’ve heard it said that no one can consider himself a “real” writer until he has written at least one million words.”

A million words seems like an insurmountable goal, yet doing some quick math, I have surpassed that mark:

  • blogging: 1500 posts about 300,000 words,
  • five book and book-length works: 200,000 words,
  • several hundred articles: 500,000 words,
  • technical writing: perhaps 50,000 words,
  • business writing: another 100,000 words or more,
  • freelance writing: 100,000 and counting
  • other writing: even more words, too many to reconstruct!

One million words divided by 10,000 hours, results in 100 words per hour. That was about my rate as I completed my last dissertation, but my typical pace approaches 500 words an hour. And when I’m really in the zone, I’ve clocked out at over 1,000 words an hour—granted I can’t sustain that speed for much more than an hour, but it’s fun while it lasts.

Although penning one million words or logging 10,000 hours may not guarantee success, I do think we need to put in the time and effort to hone our craft. And regardless if you are close to hitting these marks or just starting out, remember that each minute spent writing and every word typed brings you one step closer to becoming an accomplished writer.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

The 10,000-Hour Rule

Malcolm Gladwell, in his 2008 book Outliers, advances the “10,000-Hour Rule.” He asserts that to be successful in any field, it is largely a result of putting in a requisite amount of time practicing a task and honing that skill. How much time? Ten thousand hours!

I have no idea how much time I’ve logged writing and what activities count, but I suspect I am still shy of the 10,000-hour mark.

I think I can count any type of writing I do, including blogging and keeping a journal. Revising and editing what I have written would surely apply, too. But I’m not sure about revising and editing someone else’s work—which I do quite a bit in my day job. Does attending a writing conference, lecture, or book reading count? Probably not. Lastly, as I’ve mentioned before, writers are advised to spend as much time reading as writing. Does reading count? Again, I think not, even though it does serve to aid in overall development.

This 10,000-hour rule likely explains why many novelists are not able to publish their first book, they are still amassing the requisite time, and their craft is not yet perfected enough to be marketable.

Though there is no way I can reconstruct a log of time spend writing, I do believe that I am nearing the 10,000-hour plateau, so I am encouraged.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Writing and Publishing

Do You Struggle With Writer’s Block?

I’ve been wanting to talk about writer’s block for quite some time, but I don’t know what to say. Actually, I do know; it’s just that I don’t want to irritate readers because I don’t think I’ve ever truly had writer’s block.

That doesn’t mean everything I write flows effortlessly and without delay. It doesn’t mean I never find myself stuck composing an ending, an opening, or a transition—or that I never struggle with tying in an example, illustration, or point.

All those things do happen. It’s just that they are generally short-lived. I am usually able to work through them rather quickly, in a matter of seconds. Or sometimes I take a short break—measured in minutes, not hours or days—which allows me to attack my dilemma from a fresh perspective, with new insight, or a creative solution.

As I write more, I’ve observed these situations occur less frequently and are more easily overcome. I assume the same is true for writer’s block: that practice and persistence prevail, but I can’t say for sure.

So I can’t offer much in the way of useful advice for those who struggle with writer’s block, but Google does give eleven million matches for “writer’s block,” so I’m confident there is plenty of help out there from those who actually know what they’re talking about.

Regardless if your writing is blocked or not, my wish for you is to write well.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.