Be a Fearless Writing Warrior

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

Fearless Writing in action: Don’t write what you know. Write what you love.

According to William Kenower, author of Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write with Confidence, “Love is the foundation on which every successful writing career is built.” (page 43)

I can attest to this. I love my over-15-year-long writing career.

Every month for two magazines and their Facebook pages, I write at least five essays and every topic is one I love. While the word counts run from 450-1,000, I can write them on demand simply because I choose topics I love. Words just flow out onto the page. When the words stop, then I rewrite, revise, edit, and polish until I’m happy with the essay and it meets the word count. This doesn’t even feel like work, but it does take a lot of time.

I also write several articles monthly. While I don’t always get to choose the topics, I love writing these articles so readers discover something new or are entertained, or, hopefully, both. In truth, this feels more like work, but it’s work I love so I count myself lucky.

Added to that, I’ve spent over five years writing weekly posts for this blog. It’s never felt like work because I’m writing about writing—a topic I love.

In another example, best-selling author Louise Penny notes she had spent five years writing a book she thought she should write. Frustrated, she looked at her nightstand and saw only murder mysteries, which she loved, and realized she was writing the wrong book.

Now writing a book a year, she is thirteen books into her Inspector Gamache series. She has won five Agatha Awards and the loyalty of legions of fans as well—including me.

Write what you love and you will never be afraid of a blank page.

You’ll also be a Fearless Writing Warrior.

Next post will be on January 1, 2018.

            

Fearless Writing Warrior Moves to Monthly Posts

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

As I wrote last week: I’m at a crossroad. Do I continue to encourage others to write even though Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write with Confidence by William Kenower is the best book on writing/being a writer I’ve ever read? (Frankly, if you want to be a writer read that book. If it doesn’t help you write I honestly don’t know what will.) Do I stop writing the blog and concentrate on my writing projects that have been planned, but now, motivated by Fearless Writing, I’m raring to complete and generate income? Or do I also write the blog as a Fearless Writing Warrior (FWW) as Cheryl now calls us?

I have decided to continue writing the blog as a Fearless Writing Warrior. I am changing this blog to a once a month post as I have a lot of writing to do for my income-generating projects.

Please check in on the first Monday of each month to see fearless writing in action.

Becoming a Fearless Writing Warrior

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

          Cheryl and I started this blog to encourage others too scared or scarred to write. We shared thoughts on every aspect of writing we knew from experience: remembrances as newbies and as current writer/author and writer/editor to show readers they could have writing careers, too.

          I am proud of our posts. When we started, we had long lists of topics which we exhausted. However, the pressure of a weekly blog squeezed thoughts out of us so we didn’t disappoint our readers. Many of those are my favorite posts.

I wasn’t sure when or if I would run out of topics so reaching the fifth anniversary was fun and surprising. I thought I could keep going, but then I read Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write with Confidence by William Kenower.

Frankly, if you want to be a writer read that book. If it doesn’t help you write I honestly don’t know what will.

So I’m at a crossroad. Do I continue to encourage others to write even though Fearless Writing is the best book on writing/being a writer I’ve ever read? Do I stop writing the blog and concentrate on my writing projects that have been planned, but now, motivated by Fearless Writing, I’m raring to complete and generate income? Or do I also write the blog as a Fearless Writing Warrior (FWW) as Cheryl now calls us?

The writing advice that we all first learn—show, don’t tell—makes me think I have told you about Fearless Writing, but I haven’t shown you.

I’m going to give some thought to changing the focus of this blog to Fearless Writing Warrior. I’ll let you know what I've decided next week.

In the meantime, read William Kenower’s book Fearless Writing and become a Fearless Writing Warrior, too.