1) My first and most important piece of advice is that, if you want to be a writer, you’ve got to write. It’s the single truly essential element. Write, even if you don’t know what happens next. Write, even if your characters won’t behave the way you want them to. Write, even if you haven’t got that last sentence completely the way you want it to sound. Write, even when you don’t feel like it. Write, even when you think you’ve lost interest in the story. Write, even when you have to choose between writing and sleeping. Just write. The more you do it, the better you’ll get. And when you think you’ve lost interest, you may surprise yourself by getting interested again as you work on it. Enjoy the writing as much as you can. Trust me - the hard part comes later.
2) My second piece of advice is to not listen to “Literature Snobs.” Most English professors fall into this category, though not all. As I worked on my Bachelors Degree in Creative Writing, I was told repeatedly that 1) all genre writing was substandard and less worthy of attention, and 2) even if the stories and themes in a few fantasy and sci-fi novels might have worth, the writing style completely devalued them, because 3) in order to be “real” literature, it had to be packed with metaphor, allegory, and deep meaning that would be hidden from the unwashed, common masses. As you might guess, this didn’t sit well with me.
3) Don’t become obsessed with “newness.” A lot of writers think they need to come up with a “new idea.” Unless you’re bound and determined to write the next great American novel, that obsession with doing something that’s never been done before will only get in your way. The truth is that cliches exist because people like similar kinds of stories and characters. They want it the same, but different. That’s why archetypes have so much power. It’s also why Hollywood keeps doing remakes of books, old TV shows, and fairy tales, not to mention sequels. However, if you do want to avoid the cliche in fantasy, I suggest reading “The Tough Guide to FantasyLand” by Diana Wynne Jones. It’ll point most of them out to you, and probably give you a good laugh along the way.
4) Learn about marketing. Like I said, writing the book is the easy part. Getting people to buy it so you can write more - that’s much more difficult. To market your book, you’ll need skills with graphic and web design, letter-writing, and quite possibly public speaking as well. And that’s just the basics. It takes a lot of confidence in your book and in yourself. You have to believe that your book is worth the price you’re asking for it, and that people will want to read it. When it comes to sales, I’d say the best piece of advice is to be excited about what you’re selling, because excitement is contagious. And don’t get discouraged by rejection. The only people who never fail are the ones who never give up.
2) My second piece of advice is to not listen to “Literature Snobs.” Most English professors fall into this category, though not all. As I worked on my Bachelors Degree in Creative Writing, I was told repeatedly that 1) all genre writing was substandard and less worthy of attention, and 2) even if the stories and themes in a few fantasy and sci-fi novels might have worth, the writing style completely devalued them, because 3) in order to be “real” literature, it had to be packed with metaphor, allegory, and deep meaning that would be hidden from the unwashed, common masses. As you might guess, this didn’t sit well with me.
3) Don’t become obsessed with “newness.” A lot of writers think they need to come up with a “new idea.” Unless you’re bound and determined to write the next great American novel, that obsession with doing something that’s never been done before will only get in your way. The truth is that cliches exist because people like similar kinds of stories and characters. They want it the same, but different. That’s why archetypes have so much power. It’s also why Hollywood keeps doing remakes of books, old TV shows, and fairy tales, not to mention sequels. However, if you do want to avoid the cliche in fantasy, I suggest reading “The Tough Guide to FantasyLand” by Diana Wynne Jones. It’ll point most of them out to you, and probably give you a good laugh along the way.
4) Learn about marketing. Like I said, writing the book is the easy part. Getting people to buy it so you can write more - that’s much more difficult. To market your book, you’ll need skills with graphic and web design, letter-writing, and quite possibly public speaking as well. And that’s just the basics. It takes a lot of confidence in your book and in yourself. You have to believe that your book is worth the price you’re asking for it, and that people will want to read it. When it comes to sales, I’d say the best piece of advice is to be excited about what you’re selling, because excitement is contagious. And don’t get discouraged by rejection. The only people who never fail are the ones who never give up.