Jaci Talks Writing - Episode 2

The Working Life of a Published Writer
The Wilderness Years

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• women's
• fiction
• author
• writing
• books
• novels
• struggle
• determination
• people

[muskndusk]

I've just watched this vid again and wondered how to go about finding a postal workshop for writers. Could you give me any advice please?

Thanks so much for these videos.

[Jaci75]

Sorry for tardiness in answering. I think you might find addresses and tele nos of postal workshops in the advert pages of magazines for writers. It might be worth buying copies or going to the library for back issues. Hope you are successful.

Best regards.

[Jaci75]

Hi, Sorry I've taken so long to answer. I think the best place to find postal workshops these days is to check the advertising pages of all those magazine for writers. You could even start one yourself by advertising in these mags. It is interesting when you gather a group together from various places, and when the writers are interested in various genre. This gives a broad scope to critiques. Lasting friendships over occur.

Hope this helps. All the best.

[muskndusk]

Thanks for these vids and advice. Writing poetry is as natural as breathing to me, but novel writing is a struggle. I've written one, which I haven't attempted to publish because it became untopical.

I read lots. Should I read widely (I do), or just the style I want to write?

Look forward to your other vids.

[Jaci75]

Congratulations on completing a novel - that is an achievement in itself.

I am not sure what you mean by a novel being untopical. Fiction is ageless and timeless because it usually depicts some aspect of human nature or the human condition which does not change through the ages. I think people dread the length of novels i.e the massive number of words involved. But one single word follows on another and eventually a novel is produced.

[ingeniousmassacre]

I write poetry and songs and its hard to even get friends to look at them. It gets discouraging sometimes.

[Jaci75]

Don't get discouraged. Apart from anything else I am sure the creation of your work gives you pleasure. Do as I do and as a lot of others do, present your work on video - broadcast yourself. Since I have done that my older novels are selling again!

All the best.

[Jaci75]

Hello Cupnjava

It's good to talk to a fellow writer. And congratulations on your contract. They are like gold these days.

Yes, I found lack of feedback very hard, but my self-belief helped me drive on with determination, and of course, I read a lot. Those round-robin postal workshops I spoke about really helped me. Apart from the advice I received I was also able to judge my standard of writing against others. This encouraged me a a lot.

Best of luck for the future.

[Cupnjava]

Indeed! Keep on writing. The lack of feedback in the begining of a writing career is a huge problem. You don't learn until too late if your were working in the right direction or not.