Hi from Denyse O’Leary on behalf of the Ottawa Christian Writers’ Fellowship, suggesting you join us April 2 if you are in the area, for all writerly things, at Greenbelt Church. We have a great and highly affordable conference, featuring a noted speaker:
Plenary speaker: The Honourable David Kilgour who will be
speaking on Developing your Platform as a Writer
And a choice of workshops:
A1: Memoir Writing
OR A2: Dialogue Writing
B1: Article Writing
OR B2: Editing Fiction
C: Panel Discussion and Q & A
PLUS a special deal on critiques of your work. For $25, a
professional editor will look at your work.
This year, OCWF can provide manuscript critiques (for half
the usual price). For $25, you can submit the first 5 pages in advance, and
book a 15-minute appointment with a professional editor. Don’t miss this
opportunity to find the best writer in you! **
That could save you dozens of wasted hours learning the hard
way.
Now here I am, yer humble hack, to answer three burning
questions people ask about writing in general:
1. Do I have what it takes to be a writer?
That’s not the right question. Probably half a million
people in North America make their living mainly by their ability to write.
Whether you could be one of them depends on whether you are willing to accept a
position like the ones they have. You must start by finding out what genres of
writing are available and whether one would fit you. Newsletters? Fiction?
Non-fiction? Screenplays? Devotions? One must research the field to see where
one’s skills would fit.
2. Can I make enough money writing?
Yes. No. I don’t know. I’ve been a freelance editor and
writer most of my life, and made enough money. But one needs some business
skills to be self-employed, which most writers are at least some of the time.
So assuming that you can find a genre that works for you, consider whether you
can also be successfully self-employed. Writing is a well-developed business
for self-employed persons, but one needs to learn a different skill set from
that of finding a job.
3. Does it matter if I often feel discouraged, as if I am not
getting anywhere with my writing?
Sure. It matters in the same way that discouragement matters
to doctors, preachers, teachers, restauranteurs, and politicians. In each case,
we look to the origin of the problem. Maybe we are not cut out for a writing
career of any sort. But then again, maybe we are not approaching it in the
right way. Maybe we aren’t dealing effectively with barriers and distractions.
The best approach to those kinds of problems is to spend more time with other
writers, listening to and learning form their struggles and sharing ours with
them. That’s why we have an OCWF and a Word Guild.
See you at the conference, I hope! – Denyse O’Leary
