Romantic

I don't know about all writers, but I certainly get delusions of grandeur(I was going to give you a link to Han Solo saying this in Return of the Jedi, but I can't seem to find any straight up clips from the film on YouTube...I shouldn't be surprised). I could see myself sitting pretty atop the New York Times best seller list, or debating whether to sell my movie rights to Warner Brothers or Disney. I might have even imagined an interview on a talk show (it didn't turn out that well).

I don't think we should be surprised if we have these thoughts. As writers our goal is to make money by thinking up creative scenarios that are not always linked to reality.

And who knows? Maybe some of those romantic visions will come true. Nothing's wrong with having goals. But we're accustomed to starting a story where it gets interesting. So much so, that perhaps we forget that the back story really does have to happen before the story can. Let's take a look at what that back story includes.

For most writers a successful career comes by writing....and lots of it. The best comparison I've heard is that getting published is like getting a master's degree. It takes a lot of work, and most people take 7-10 years. I'm not here to tell you that it's not possible to finish sooner, I'm just telling you the average from published writers talking about their own lives.

You may think that you have the skills to write a salable novel right now, but don't downplay the profession. If anyone could pick up writing and pump out hit novels overnight then we'd have a lot less reason to pay for books.

Now, just to make sure that I'm not a complete downer, I'd like to remind you that you do have some skills. Maybe you're good at plotting out stories. Maybe you're great at dialogue. Maybe you're only so-so at everything, but you can do it all.

Writing takes practice. So if you want to write a book, then write a book. In fact, you should probably write two or three. You'll learn a lot, and you will likely write some good stuff.

So start writing and keep writing. When you look at the bottom line, that's the only way to be a writer.

Oh, and then you will need to learn how to revise...