Rita’s Rules for Aspiring Writers
4. Learn How to Use the Internet
Okay, I gotta be hard again. For goodness sakes, learn how to use the internet! Why? Because it’s here to stay, that’s why. Because editors use it and agents use it. Because writers use it, and critique groups use it. Because many publishing houses insist on email submissions, and won’t accept your work any other way.
Be brave; be daring! Empower yourself. Learn to use the net.
5. Learn Your Craft
Writing is a skill, and it doesn’t happen overnight. Every “overnight” success will probably tell you how it took them ten or more years to make it big. So the most important thing you can do is learn your craft. Here are some suggestions:
a. Take a writing class.
b. Join a writing group.
c. Form a group of your own.
d. Check out a bunch of books, read them, then make notes on what you liked or didn’t like about them.
e. Enter writing contests.
f. Subscribe to writer’s blogs.
There’s plenty of stuff you can do to learn your craft, but the most important thing is to get started.
6. The Library is free. Use it.
Don’t have the internet? Don’t fret…just go to your local library. The internet is free there, and the librarians are ready, willing and able to help you learn to navigate. Plus, there are a world of books there, and you can read and research and do all sorts of wonderful things.
Sometimes there’s a line for the computers, and if so, you’ll have to wait. But other than that, the library is definitely a win-win situation. Make use of it!