WALKING WITH THE WISE

Kay DiBianca

November 18, 2019

“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise” – Proverbs 13:20a

Six times in 2019 we had the opportunity to walk with the wise, experts in various areas of writing and publication. It was a great pleasure and privilege to have welcomed these folks to my blog: James Scott Bell, Kathy Ide, Steve Laube, Randy Ingermanson, Renni Browne, Dave King, and K.M. Weiland.

I encourage you to read or re-read the complete interviews and their comments.  Here’s a sample of the responses each person gave when I asked what single piece of advice they would give to new authors.

James Scott Bell (Plot & Structure) “It’s the same answer every time: write to a quota. Get in the habit of writing a certain number of words every week, week in and week out. You have to practice what you learn in craft books and classes. You have to exercise your imagination. You have to produce the pages if you want to make it in this game.”

Kathy Ide (Proofreading Secrets of Best-selling Authors) “View what God has called you to write as a calling—every bit as important as if He had called you to be a pastor or serve on the mission field.”

Steve Laube (The Christian Writers Market Guide) “To quote a line from the movie “Galaxy Quest”: Never give up. Never Surrender. Seriously. This is an industry that demands excellence. Few writers are born as a perfect writer. Instead, most writers are marked by a dogged determination to improve their craft, learn the industry, build relationships, and create great ideas.”

Randy Ingermanson (How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method) “Create a habit of writing every day. You can analyze author success mathematically, and there are four crucial factors. One of the factors of a successful career is production. A habit of writing every day drives production. One of the other factors is quality. A habit of writing every day builds quality. So write every day. Every single day.”

Renni Browne (Self-editing for Fiction Writers) “Don’t self-edit your first draft. Let the story pour out, unimpeded by self-editing points, grammar, anything you’ve read or heard from famous writers, and so on. Story first, style later.”

Dave King (Self-editing for Fiction Writers) “Writing is hard.  It doesn’t take long to learn the basics of writing well enough to write competently, especially if you have the help of a professional editor (ADVT).  But to really develop the writer’s gifts – the insight into people you need to create layered characters, the awareness of how your readers will react to your story, the ability to make all the different aspects of your novel work together – takes time to develop.”

K.M. Weiland (Creating Character Arcs) “Find the process that works best for you. Explore and experiment and figure out what best unleashes your creativity. For example, outlines aren’t one size fits all. My outline won’t look anything like someone else’s outline. So just because one outlining approach doesn’t do it for you, don’t give up right away. Play around and see if you can find the right blend of tools and techniques for you.”

That’s a lot of great information! And there’s so much more in each of the interviews.

Now it’s your turn.

What did you enjoy about these interviews and comments?

Would you like to see more Craft of Writing blog posts in 2020?

Would you like to hear from new authors as well as experts?

Do you have any suggestions or recommendations for the blog for the coming year?

I look forward to hearing from you and continuing this blog as we grow together to become great writers!