Hello members of The Ink Well community. Jayna here. In this installment of writing tips, I want to talk about the qualities that are necessary if you want to succeed at writing fiction. We all perhaps wonder at some point: what is involved in being a fiction writer? If I really want to be great at this, what is it going to take? Well, no one has the exact formula. And that is perhaps good news and bad news. The good news: You don’t have to be like Stephen King, or Jane Austin, or Kazuo Ishiguro, or Anne Tyler, or James Baldwin, or Raymond Chandler, or Agatha Christie or Douglas Adams… or anyone, but yourself. The bad news: There is no formula. One cannot say, definitively, that if you have some certain set of qualities or skills you will be a great writer, or a successful writer (and of course those two things are not necessarily one and the same). So then… what does it take? How can we marry our deep desire to produce words that emote - and create drama, beauty, fear or heart pounding suspense - with the “chops” required to succeed? Let’s discuss. You can actually look this up online and find various lists of the qualities required of fiction writers, but in this post I’m just going to share my personal and humble view on this topic. I have written dozens and dozens of short stories over the years. I have read far more - hundreds of short stories and novels. (I neglected to keep track.) And I have been involved in multiple writing groups and book clubs. This is the background I bring to bear as I assemble my list of attributes that I think you must have to succeed at this. Here is my list: What do you think? What qualities, in your book, are necessary for writing success? Happy writing! @jayna, writer and moderator at The Ink Well. If you're looking to up your fiction game and reach that next level, check out my past writing tips linked below.
Image source: congerdesign on Pixabay
Qualities of a Fiction Writer
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A previous boss [head of a writing centre] told me that:
She felt you could save a lot of time and pain if you understood those things 😍.
It's not bad advice! Ha ha. Thank you for making one of the points I attempted to make in this article, which I think can be summarized as: Every writing professional you speak to will give you a different set of essential qualities required of writers. For example, I can't imagine Stephen King and Sue Grafton received exactly the same writing advice, but they are/were both prolific and gifted writers.
Determination to succeed, regardless of what anyone tells you, may be the one thing that gets you there, at the end of the day.
I think she had had her fill of people who thought their writing was "special" and she must give up her time to read it 😁
I agree, though, determination to succeed and keeping going, one minute at a time!
That is ultimately why I chose not to go into that profession. Nurturing writers is fun, but there are some challenges that come along with it!
Your post has been voted as a part of Encouragement program. Keep up the good work!
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One of these weeks, I will jump in :)
Oh you should, @agmoore!
The line I liked the most:
"The world is not on your side, my friend."