To become a writer. Creative professions: how to become writers

Ask others: how to become a writer? What is required for this? The vast majority will answer: literary talent. What is talent? Innate data? To some extent, yes. But how absolute pitch does not make a man a musician, nor natural ability to literature will not make the author a Master.

If talent were the key factor, then at the age of sixteen Tolstoy would have written "War and Peace": why wait if everything is already with you?

The role of innate abilities

Writing ability, or rather, the tendency to express thoughts in writing, is an important, but far from the only condition. Life experience, education and skills play an equally important role.

It is impossible to put on skates for the first time and immediately win an Olympic medal. In the same way, it is impossible to sit down at the table and immediately, without preparation, write a good book.

The Role of Learning

It seems to many that if you read enough, then this is a guarantee that you will be able to write well. But no one will play the piano after attending someone else's concert; no one learns to draw after viewing an album of reproductions of great artists. The same thing happens in the field of literature: if we want to learn how to write, we need to go through the learning stage.

Theory and practice

Like any art form, literature is based on clear rules. Some writers learn them intuitively - and it takes years, but the same amount of information can be obtained much faster - from textbooks.

Of course, theory alone is not enough: practice is required. We all start from scratch: we learn letters, put words into sentences, but someone stops in development at the level school essay and someone goes further.

What is success in literature?

The golden rule of success: each of your work must be better than the previous one. Then sooner or later you will reach the goal - simply because you will not go out of the way. This can be achieved only in one case - if you passionately love your work. Love not just to write, but to grow above yourself and constantly learn new things.

Survival in the art market

The master does not work for money, not for fame - he works out of love. But art always takes a lot of time, and the author has to solve the age-old dilemma: if you earn money, then there is no time to write for real, and if you write and do not earn money, who will feed the family?

What should an aspiring author know?

Today book market zataren: there are far more books and writers than he can consume. Therefore, it is incredibly difficult to stand out from the crowd. You will spend years writing the Life Book, months, if not years, you will attach it to the publisher, and it will come out in three thousand copies and dissolve in the book flow. So that iron nerves- an absolutely necessary quality for a writer: otherwise one cannot survive in this profession.

It would seem that it is not great happiness to be published in a tiny circulation for ridiculous money. But it is by no means easy for a newcomer to break into print, even if he has an excellent manuscript. The only thing that will help him knowledge of the publishing market. Then he will act exact calculation understanding who and under what conditions can buy the rights to his work.

Extremely important businessman skills. A manuscript is a commodity, and one must be able to sell it. And not only to the publisher, but also to the reader. If you do not actively promote your work, it is quite possible that only employees of book warehouses and a few hundred random buyers will know about its existence.

How can the Writer's Handbook help you?

The Writer's Handbook is what I've learned in 15 years of writing. You will not find abstract theories here - all advice has been repeatedly tested by experience. My point of view may not coincide with classical literary criticism, but I do not speak here as a literary critic. My goal is to provide useful information.

Of course, I am not saying that it is necessary to write only this way and nothing else. The writer's reference book is the landmarks that you should pay attention to, and the author himself must decide which way to go.

This site is for those who want to make a career in literature. Who is in love with his profession, who cannot imagine life without drafts and author's copies. For those who are ready to learn, overcome difficulties and achieve the impossible.

Currently, short lists of tips on how to become a writer are very popular on all kinds of graphomaniac resources and social networks. Personally, I can’t imagine how miraculously someone’s ten paragraphs can make pen and keyboard geniuses out of you, but the engine has already picked up speed, so it’s a sin not to jump on the bandwagon. What is the reason for the popularity of such posts? Perhaps modern man perceives large amounts of information worse and worse. Someone will see in this the symptoms of clip thinking, I don't know. But for some reason, it is much more convenient for us to read a post with a dozen tips than an article of the same length, parsing only one of them by cogs. Although the benefits of the latter will not be an example more. Unfortunately, stereotypes still tightly hold us by the neck, and the new in half with the complex is perceived very tightly, so from now on I will try to alternate articles for beginners and things with a claim to depth that require a certain outlook and preparation.

Today we have one of the easy, non-committal entries.

(or go to a lunatic asylum)

1. Read every day. The bigger, the better.

First and most important rule(in my opinion, it is even more important than the indisputable rule number two) with which any writer begins. After all, in order to learn how to write, you need to learn (obviously), to watch how the masters do it. This argument lies on the surface: apart from good books, no one will teach you how to write. Reading allows you to: a) expand day by day vocabulary; b) to get used to the space of the artistic style, to adopt a peculiar manner of speech, which is very different from the usual colloquial; c) notice the tricks of accomplished writers; d) have a pleasant and useful time.

And, of course, do not forget to keep a notebook handy while reading (see paragraph 4) - suddenly a brilliant idea comes to mind or you want to write down a quote.

2. Write every day. Or edit what you wrote.

The second extremely useful and quite obvious rule. Can you become a writer if you don't write anything? Well, you understand ... Undoubtedly, theory is the most important part of any craft, but practice is a hundred times more important! Therefore, a healthy habit for a young writer should be the habit of writing daily. It doesn’t matter if it’s another story or a chapter of a novel, a blog post or a personal diary. The main thing is to practice writing every day. At worst, you can edit what you wrote. It is also useful, and also develops a sense of the word.

3. Read poetry.

« To develop good taste in literature, one must read poetry. If you think that I am saying this out of loyalty to the guild, that I am trying to advance the interests of my own guild, you are mistaken: I am not a union member. The fact is that, being the highest form of human speech, poetry is not only the most concise, but also the most condensed way of conveying human experience; it also offers the highest possible standards for any linguistic action - especially on paper. The more we read poetry, the less tolerant we become of verbosity of any kind, whether in political or philosophical discourse, in history, the social sciences, or fiction. A good style in prose is always a hostage to the accuracy, speed and laconic intensity of poetic speech.<...>Please don't misunderstand me: I'm not trying to debunk prose. The truth is that, by coincidence, poetry simply turned out to be older than prose and thus covered a greater distance. Literature began with poetry, with the song of a nomad, which precedes the writings of the settled way of life.».

« Let me draw a cartoon here, because the cartoon emphasizes the point. In this cartoon, I see a reader with both hands occupied with open books. In the left he holds a collection of poems, in the right - a volume of prose. Let's see which one he will quit earlier. Of course, he can occupy both hands with volumes of prose, but that leaves him with criteria that nullify themselves. And, of course, he may also ask what distinguishes good poetry from bad, and where is the guarantee that what he holds in his left hand is really worth the trouble. Well, first of all, what he holds in his left hand will, in all likelihood, be lighter than what he holds in his right. Secondly, poetry - in the words of Montale - is a hopelessly semantic art, and the possibilities for quackery in it are extremely small. By the third line, the reader will know what kind of thing he is holding in his left hand, for poetry appears quickly and the quality of the language in it makes itself felt immediately. After three lines he can look at what he is holding in his right hand».

4. Get a notepad.

It's amazing how such a mere trifle, nonsense, can change life or even fate. writing person! How many ingenious and simply good ideas and thoughts come to our minds in the most inappropriate places? And how many of them then find life on paper, reach the reader? Not so much, right? This is where a notebook would come in handy! Many self-confident young men rely entirely on their strong memory, for some reason they believe that they will not miss a single bright thought, not a single glimpse that came to mind away from the desk. And so they go light with the belief that everything is written down on the back. But as soon as you sit down in front of a blank slate, all thoughts carefully folded in your memory suddenly evaporate somewhere! And you can't see them. Or maybe it didn't exist at all? No, they definitely were! On Monday, on the way home, I came up with this! .. Only now I would remember ... And the poor young man has to gnaw a pencil, squeeze lemon juice out of himself, play up, come up with here and now, after all, he has already sat down at the table and prepared, he has to write, and freshness No, I completely forgot everything. Everything that is reasonable, kind, eternal, which so excited the soul yesterday before dinner. It's a shame? Still would! That's why you need a notepad.

Get a notepad, I'm serious. And you will be surprised how many interesting and important things you forget! A writer is not a juggler with word forms; the writer is, first of all, a sage, a storehouse of life experience. Notepad will be a great help in your work, and the next time you sit down at Blank sheet, you will puzzle over how to fit on paper all those thoughts that have densely accumulated in a notebook.

5. Travel.

As you know, creativity requires constant emotional nourishment. Writing without excitement, strain, inspiration is hard and dreary. However, the life of a modern person does not contribute to spiritual uplift, in many ways it is boring and monotonous, and the emotions that it throws up are rarely positive. Therefore, the most the right way to accumulate a positive charge, to shake things up, to pick up new experiences - this is travel. Many professional authors, who are financially able, often and willingly travel the world. The same Aleksey Pekhov and his wife-co-author, it seems, do not get out of trips at all. And the details of travel (images of distant cities, customs and mores) we see in their new books.

So the advice is simple: do not deny yourself the pleasure of flying or rolling somewhere, this will only benefit your creativity.

6. Watch people.

If you still think that writers invent all the incredibly bright and lively characters from scratch completely and completely - my deepest condolences to you. They say that Santa Claus does not exist, and life is more inventive than any fantasy. Those images that we are so accustomed to in great literature, which we managed to fall in love with, are most often collective, and almost always the character is based on real person. Why be surprised? Do you really not have friends about whom everyone says “at least shoot in a movie” (or “at least show in a circus”)? I will never believe. Usually such people are endowed with bright unusual features, facets of mind and character, behavioral features that not every author will even think of. They are not always eccentrics or noisy jokers; there are also very entertaining quiet ones who always hide something from everyone. Is there a little interesting people! Therefore, do not hesitate to observe interesting people, write them down catchphrases and pearls, to then create a brilliant and charismatic image on this basis.

7. Collect interesting stories.

Yes, yes, you will be surprised, but life is also an amazing playwright and sometimes throws out such tricks that you can’t imagine on purpose. Surely, something out of the ordinary has happened to you at least once. It happened to other people too. So why not put the real interesting story at the heart of the story? And if she's stunning at all, write a novel! Don't waste the diamond! For some, this will sound doubtful, for some this approach will even seem petty, but many authors do just that. Gather unusual stories other people, inspired by them and even taken as a basis for their own books.

8. Experiment.

When we are just starting our journey along the path of writing, we often do not appreciate this wonderful time, we try to get our hands on it as soon as possible, bring all the small ideas to life and finally sit down for a big form, for something fundamental that can be written for half a lifetime. And we lose precious opportunities to try ourselves in different directions. But we always think: oh, I still have time! And if not? But what if tomorrow is a contract with a publishing house and then on the thumb: one book every six months and a short month for a break? What kind of experiments are there! So, while you are just starting to get comfortable in this forest, do not hesitate to experiment, try yourself in different genres and forms. Do you write fiction? Try a detective, or wrap up a love story, a tragedy, a parody. Are you used to building the plot in one line? Aren't there options? Ringing, dot and inversion compositions, temporal s It’s distortion, you can break it into fragments and mix it up, leave some dialogues or do without them at all ... But you never know, after all, there are options ?! And what are we all in prose, but in prose? Try writing a play. Or a script. Yes, God knows what will come of it, and what facet of talent you will suddenly discover. But even if nothing works out, and you return to where you started, you will still have experience. And he means something to us.

9. Search in dark areas.

The advice is more philosophical. Not even advice, but a point of view on creativity and literature in general. The point is that essays writing have been in existence for thousands of years. And during all this time people have written millions of books, invented millions of stories. The writers of the past have reached such heights of conciseness and verbal formality, they have left such examples of epic, drama and lyrics that it is incredibly difficult to compare with them, to repeat. It's virtually impossible to beat. It is possible to climb a mountain once, but to build the same one nearby, and even higher, is unattainable. Therefore, since the beginning of the twentieth century, writers and poets have been moving into areas that previously remained hidden. The literature of the last century (modernism and postmodernism) revealed to us something new, previously unfamiliar - stream of consciousness, magical realism, intertext, experiments with form and time. Contemporary authors in constant search. They are looking everywhere, sometimes it seems that even in the closet. The prose of Burroughs, Limonov, Palahniuk, and Bukowski can be shocking, nauseating, and repulsive. But no matter how you treat them, these authors are searching, plow the unknown dark areas in search of something new. I urge you to look too! Look for something of your own, unlike anyone else's. Vegetation as an ordinary scribbler in a book series is the path of a galley slave, complete oblivion.

Olga, I do not want to disappoint you, but, apparently, I will have to.

Is it possible to write a screenplay and then turn it into a novel? Well, no one forbids trying, but, in my opinion, the resulting Frankenstein will be very far from serious literature.

The fact is that for many years I myself was an ardent adherent of the idea that literature can be written using screenwriting methods. The entire “Power of Plot” section of the blog is about just that. But the further, the more I write and read myself, the more I am convinced of the opposite. Yes, there are some points of contact, but in general, literature is one thing, and screenwriting is another. Well, you know that movie books are always adapting, rewriting volumes into short scripts; on the other hand, the script as an independent product is not sold on the bookshelf. Read the article "Death of the structure", there are my thoughts on this issue.

My advice ... My advice is simple: practice more, write stories, read a big serious fiction, pay attention to how it is made. And over time, you will understand that literature is much more, it is a completely different degree of freedom. A place where you can write a ten-page description or write a sentence on a sheet, you can write without a main character, without dialogue, without any plot at all. Literature does not even come close to those rigid frameworks that you know from screenwriting. That's the kick, that's the advantage. But until you realize this freedom, you cannot begin to use it. Dig in this direction.

politicsslashletters.live

1. Never use a metaphor, comparison, or other form of speech that you often see on paper.
2. Never use a long one where you can get by with a short one.
3. If you can throw away a word, always get rid of it.
4. Never use passive voice if active can be used.
5. Never use borrowed words, scientific or professional terms if they can be replaced by vocabulary from everyday language.
6. It is better to break any of these rules than to write something outright barbaric.

devorbacutine.eu

1. Use the time of a complete stranger so that it does not seem to him wasted in vain.
2. Give the reader at least one hero for whom you want to cheer with your soul.
3. Every character has to desire something, even if it's just a glass of water.
4. Each sentence should serve one of two purposes: to reveal a character or move events forward.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be sadistic. No matter how sweet and innocent your main characters are, treat them horribly: the reader must see what they are made of.
7. Write to please only one person. If you open the window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will catch pneumonia.

Modern British writer, very popular among fantasy fans. Moorcock's key work is the multi-volume cycle about Elric of Melnibone.

1. I borrowed my first rule from Terence Hanbury White, author of The Sword in the Stone and other Arthurian works. It was like this: read. Read everything that comes to hand. I always advise people who want to write fantasy or non-fiction or romance to stop reading those genres and go for everything else, from John Bunyan to Antonia Byatt.
2. Find an author you admire (Konrad was mine) and copy his stories and characters for own history. Be an artist who imitates the master to learn how to draw.
3. If you are writing story-driven prose, introduce the main characters and main themes in the first third. You can call it an introduction.
4. Develop themes and characters in the second third - the development of the work.
5. Complete topics, reveal secrets and more in the final third - the denouement.
6. When possible, accompany the introductions to the characters and their philosophizing various actions. This helps maintain dramatic tension.
7. Carrot and stick: heroes must be pursued (by obsession or villain) and pursued (ideas, objects, personalities, mysteries).

flavorwire.com

American writer of the 20th century. He became famous for such scandalous works for his time as Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn and Black Spring.

1. Work on one thing until you're done.
2. Do not be nervous. Work calmly and with joy, whatever you do.
3. Act according to the plan, not according to the mood. Stop at the appointed time.
4. When work.
5. Cement a little each day instead of adding new fertilizer.
6. Stay human! Meet people, visit different places, have a drink if you want.
7. Don't turn into a draft horse! Work only with pleasure.
8. Deviate from the plan if you need to, but come back to it the next day. Focus. Be specific. Exclude.
9. Forget about the books you want to write. Think only about what you write.
10. Write fast and always. Drawing, music, friends, movies - all this after work.

www.paperbackparis.com

One of famous science fiction writers our time. From his pen came such works as "American Gods" and "Stardust". However, they filmed it.

1. Write.
2. Add word by word. Find the right word, write it down.
3. Finish what you write. Whatever it takes, finish what you started.
4. Set your notes aside. Read them as if you were doing it for the first time. Show the work to friends who love something similar and whose opinion you respect.
5. Remember, when people say something is wrong or not working, they are almost always right. When they explain what exactly is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.
6. Correct the mistakes. Remember, you'll have to let go of work before it's perfect and start the next one. is the pursuit of the horizon. Move on.
7. Laugh at your own jokes.
8. The main rule of writing: if you create with enough self-confidence, you can do anything. It can also be the rule of all life. But it's the best for writing.

moiarussia.ru

Master short prose and a classic of Russian literature who hardly needs an introduction.

1. It is assumed that the writer, in addition to ordinary mental abilities must have experience. The highest remuneration is received by people who have gone through fire, water and copper pipes, the lowest - nature untouched and unspoiled.
2. Becoming a writer is very easy. There is no freak who would not find a mate for himself, and there is no nonsense that would not find a suitable reader for himself. And therefore, do not be shy ... Put paper in front of you, pick up a pen and, irritating the captive thought, scribble.
3. Becoming a writer who gets published and read is very difficult. For this: be and have a talent the size of at least a lentil grain. In the absence of great talents, the roads are also small.
4. If you want to write, then do so. Choose a topic first. Here you have complete freedom. You can use arbitrariness and even arbitrariness. But, in order not to discover America a second time and not to reinvent gunpowder, avoid topics that have long been hackneyed.
5. Let your imagination run wild, hold your hand. Don't let her chase the number of lines. The shorter and less often you write, the more and more often you are printed. Brevity does not spoil things at all. A stretched rubber erases a pencil no better than an unstretched one.

www.reduxpictures.com

1. If you are still a child, make sure that . Spend more time on this than anything else.
2. If you are an adult, try to read your work the way a stranger would. Or even better - as your enemy would read them.
3. Don't exalt your "calling". You can either write good sentences or you can't. There is no "writer's way of life". What matters is what you leave on the page.
4. Take significant breaks between writing and editing.
5. Write on a computer that is not connected to the Internet.
6. Protect working time and space. Even from the people who are most important to you.
7. Do not confuse honors and achievements.

People read books, sometimes with interest, and sometimes with delight. Other literary works are quickly forgotten. Sometimes stories and novels remain unread. But in any case, the author, whose name is printed on the cover, seems to be a romantic person. To an ordinary person who goes to work at nine o'clock, it often seems that this is an enviable lot - to work when he wants, not to listen to the boss's tedious remarks, receive large fees and live in a special world where fantasies reign, conflict fictional characters and happen mysterious events. In order to get there, you need to know how writers become. But the writers themselves are in no hurry to share this secret of theirs, although they seem to be hiding nothing in words.

If you can, don't write

Sitting down at the desk, everyone who has chosen literature as a profession for himself should remember this responsibility. But it is not enough to make this choice yourself, it is necessary that the love for art be mutual.

The writer is the reader

Picking up a fountain pen or sitting down one day at a computer keyboard and trying to express in a literal format the totality of surging feelings is very difficult. It interferes and distracts everything, the words are hard to fit next to each other, thoughts seem beaten and all the time there is a feeling that someone has already written it. There is nothing wrong with that, especially if the new author himself read a lot. Novice writers often want to become Dostoevsky or Chekhov right away, and not everyone succeeds in this. In this sense, it is interesting to observe the metamorphosis of Anton Pavlovich's consciousness, which can be traced in his writings from the first volume to the last. From "Letter to a learned neighbor" to "Bishop" "a huge distance" (in the words of another classic). A more encouraging effect is given by reading modern writers, but not everyone can endure them for a long time.

An embarrassing business question

The great Russian poet spoke about inspiration and a manuscript that can be sold, and it is difficult to disagree with Alexander Sergeevich on this. But in this age of continuous marketing and management, supply far exceeds demand. Not all novice writers listen to the above advice about not taking up the pen without unnecessary need, therefore, without exception, the editorial offices are inundated with manuscripts, most of which are doomed to oblivion. A talented author will need the main thing personal quality for any person - patience. At the same time, you need to remember that the book should be interesting. Publishing houses are commercial enterprises, their goal is to make a profit, their products must be sold. Before you sit down at the table, you should soberly assess the readership potential of your future work and draw up a psychological portrait of a potential reader. Managed? Happened? Then get to work!

What to write about?

What kind of fiction is being read today? It is believed that in each publishing house there is an expert who knows the answer to this question. His job title is Publisher. Theoretically, he can predict the speed of circulation sales, its volume, in other words, what determines the "commercial potential of the product." Probably, publishers are often mistaken, but it is very difficult to check this.

Children's writers are rare in our time, and it is not for nothing that the books of Suteev, Nosov, Prishvin and many other classics of the genre withstand numerous circulations, and the demand for them does not fall. The most popular genres are melodrama, detective, mysticism, fantasy and some others that fall under the definition youth culture. Read today housewives (not all, of course), students and intellectuals of the Soviet conscription, not yet finished with perestroika-shootouts of the last two decades. Modern writers, if they want to become famous, simply have to take this fact into account when choosing the stylistic direction of their works. They must create for their readers. There will be no others, and these are becoming less and less ...

How to write

All our fellow citizens went to school. So everyone can read. And write too. But this does not mean that the profession of a writer is public. It needs to be learned, it's an art. And like any art, it consists of two main parts - talent and craft. There is also a third ingredient - labor, but more on that later. It is possible to dream of being creative from childhood, especially if you have the ability. But where to study as a writer? The answer to this question seems obvious: of course, at the philological faculty! There certainly teachers know how to express thoughts! Yes, they know, but most often about how it is impossible. Graduates of literary faculties are fluent in theory, they know how to correctly compose phrases, they are familiar with the rules of linguistics, punctuation and, of course, spelling. That is why, apparently, they themselves most often do not write anything.

non-professionals

And writers of the past, and contemporary writers, as a rule, come to art from completely different professions. Detectives compose former employees law enforcement agencies, melodramas are created by educators or engineers. Chekhov was a zemstvo doctor, and Tolstoy an officer. Does this mean that they did not learn the craft? Far from it. They simply comprehended its subtleties, not sitting at a student desk, but in completely different places. Self-education - best view education. How writers become today is a special topic. Literature has become a business, not everyone is allowed into it, and the artistic merits of works are not always the criteria. But about old days Ivan Shmelev said. "How I Became a Writer" is a story filled with humor, but it also has very serious moments. It truthfully describes the first semi-childish “creepy” story, the received fee of 80 rubles (quite a decent amount at that time) and one’s own surname on the treasured page of the Russian Review, which seems alien. It is clear to the reader that since the events described, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, and there have been many changes in the author's worldview.

About words, living and dead

As a rule, work on a literary work begins with an idea. In the life of every person there are moments that deserve to be told about them. Not everyone has a need for such a presentation, but if there is one, it is worth thinking about the technical side of its implementation. How writers become can be judged by what they must be able to do. First, there is such a thing as a good syllable. It presupposes compliance certain rules, among which we can mention various rather formal points and the most common mistakes allowed by novice authors (for example, in the case of a hat that fell off while “passing by station N”). As a textbook, you can use the good book "The Word of the Living and the Dead", written by Nora Gal.

There is also such a thing as identity. It is manifested in the features of the speech of the characters, their recognition. A woman speaks differently in life than a man villager different from the speech of a city dweller. However, there must be a measure in this, otherwise it will be difficult for the reader to be given the text. Good taste and captivating narration will give the book undoubted merits, and in this case it will become loved by many.

Descriptions of some professional moments sometimes require deep knowledge. For example, the actions of a pilot at the controls cannot be described by an author if he himself has never flown an aircraft. Unprofessionalism is immediately visible, so it is advisable to avoid such moments so as not to become a target for fair criticism. However, it is also not worth distracting the reader to acutely special questions, unless, of course, a work of art is being written, and not a textbook.

preliminary criticism

It seems to every author that he made humanity happy with his work, and this is completely normal. After all, otherwise it was not worth taking up the pen. Another question is to what extent the opinion of a young (not necessarily in terms of age) writer corresponds to objective reality. Not everyone has the talent of a writer, but you can determine its presence by letting you read your own opus different people. It should be borne in mind that good acquaintances, friends and true friends are rarely able to say cruel words, such as “you, brother, are mediocre,” or “old man, you wrote a story that is boring to the point of yawning.” Therefore, it is best to opt for those readers who are more free to express their opinions. A great option is a school teacher of literature (and an excellent reason to visit a teacher, especially on Teacher's Day or another holiday). The problem is that she does not always have time, but if the author showed success in her subject at one time, she will certainly read it, and even with a red pencil in her hand, and this is an invaluable help. There are also colleagues at work (if they are not subordinates, of course). In general, here the author has the cards in hand, he knows better who can be a preliminary censor and who is not. And you also need to be a psychologist in order to understand whether the reader liked the work or not. Our people are cultured, even too ...

About volumes

Writing a couple of stories is not all. You could say it's nothing at all. Before becoming famous writer, will have to work hard. This means that only the writer who can offer the publisher a full-fledged book, or rather a few, has a chance for publication. And this is a dozen and a half printed sheets (each of about 40 thousand characters with spaces), up to half a million characters in total (different publishers have different requirements). Two or three short stories can be published in an almanac, but in this case there can be no question of publishing an independent book. Therefore, you need to be patient and work, and without a 100% guarantee of success. Another reason to think about whether it is necessary to make such sacrifices ...

How to achieve mastery

Any skill is achieved by practice. Variety performers believe that singing in restaurants is an excellent vocal school. For a novice writer, journalism or copywriting can become such a crucible of skill and professionalism. The ability to coherently express one's thoughts in the form of text is a habit that borders on automatism. An experienced writer of articles will never use the same words in adjacent sentences (except as a special device), pay attention to style, maintain the rhythm of the story and at the same time develop his own style, characteristic of every original writer. These skills are very important, they will be useful when creating works of art, regardless of genre.

How to publish a book?

And so the book is written. The last doubts have passed, I want to publish it. The author is already in general terms he knows how others become writers, and he wants to try it himself. The desire to send the manuscript to some publishing house seems quite natural, and the hope for a positive decision of the editors regarding publication is equally justified. Novikov-Priboy, Jack London and many other Russians and foreign writers did exactly that. They received fees, at first very modest, and then quite serious. O. Henry, for example, published his first stories while in prison.

But the experience of past centuries is not yet a reason for excessive optimism. The manuscript is considered for a long time, and very often the answer contains the standard text that it is "not of commercial interest." Should I be upset about this? Of course, it's a shame, but you should not fall into despair. In the end, the publishing house can be understood. Printing books is a business, and all business people are unwilling to invest in projects that have dubious financial prospects. Printing is not cheap these days.

The path to fame is winding and difficult, but there are still chances to overcome it. Firstly, there is more than one publishing house in our country. And secondly, success can be achieved in another way (in the case of one's own confidence that the book will be a reader's success). The advantage of our time is that, having spent your money, you can print everything by choosing your own cover, format, and illustrations. If you need the services of an editor, then you will also have to pay for them. By the way, many Russian writers published for the first time at their own expense in the past. There is nothing shameful in such an approach. In addition, if you're lucky, you can find a sponsor who will pay for the services of the printing house. In case of success, it would be useful to return the funds spent to him, and even with interest, because, laying out "hard money", a person (or organization) takes a risk. At the very least, it is worthwhile to stipulate the terms of sponsorship in advance.

It is best to choose a publishing house that has its own network bookstores, otherwise, a situation may arise that plunges many novice authors into awe. The writer receives a large mountain of packages of his own works and does not know what to do with them. In this case, you have to deal with the marketing of literature on your own, negotiating with trading organizations about the sale. Experience may not be enough, besides, many stores are used to working with their own suppliers and sometimes refuse to cooperate, just to “not confuse accounting”. In general, there are many difficulties, and most importantly, you have to overcome them on your own.

New opportunities

Modern writers have access to means to achieve fame that the great writers of the past did not have. Every day, in any weather and almost around the clock, hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions, of people sit in their homes and apartments and look on the Internet for something interesting to read. On specialized sites, any person who considers his work talented can submit it to the general public. A novice writer should not immediately think about a high (and generally some) fee, so there is an easy way to evaluate the success of your own work by publishing your opuses on some popular page for free, based on reviews. After making sure that the reader is interested in the work, you can try to sell the manuscript on paid sites.

The profession of a writer seems amazing: a person creates the world, publishes books, and if they seem interesting, then he gets good money. Domestic practice shows that literary creativity It's more of a calling than a profession. In this article, we will figure out how to become a writer.

Who is the real writer?

Writer is a person who creates works intended for public consumption. For this type of activity, he receives remuneration. Another form of this activity is the recognition of a person by the writing community, critics, or obtaining another expert assessment.

Is it a hobby or profession

The writer must be:

Able-bodied - between the ideas in the head and the book in the cover there are hours of work. Competent - not a single proofreader will fix great amount mistakes. Assiduous - the ideas that have arisen need to be able to present them beautifully. To do this, you will have to spend many hours at the computer. Educated - many authors keep diaries in which they enter beautiful speeches, sensations, skits, etc. They will need this material for work. Be able to express their thoughts, feelings, mood.

A writer can be a person who has talent. Appropriate skills can be developed, a sense of style can be instilled. However, teaching a person to beautifully transfer an idea from head to paper is very difficult. But probably.

Is it possible to make money on this

Usually publishers pay 10% of the cost of a copy, and retailers make a 100% markup. The author receives approximately 5% of the value of the book on the shelf. Novice writers publish works in the amount of 2-4 thousand copies. If the fee per unit is 10 rubles, then from this amount you can get 40 thousand rubles. You can also sell books via the Internet, setting the price yourself. All profits will be fully owned by the author. The circulation will depend on the popularity of the work.

How to start a writing career

Writing, like any art form, is built on clear rules. To become a writer and make a living from this occupation, you will have to drive yourself into the framework of terms and topics. But first, a lot of work needs to be done. 1. Choose a genre and your style A correctly chosen genre is a 100% hit in the target audience. Many authors feel that narrowing the work down to one genre will deprive them of potential readers. This thesis does not apply to novice authors. If the latter does not want to define the genre, then he confuses the potential reader, that is, the buyer. The reader wants to purchase a particular product. If in a matter of seconds the author cannot explain what book he created, then the reader will leave without buying. 2. Make at least 10 attempts Beginning and successful writers alike often face the challenge of maintaining their "unique" view of the world. Before reaching the writer's Olympus, one must study what humanity has already chosen. Then the author's view will become truly original. In an attempt to ignore the culture of mankind, the writer risks being left alone with his vision. You need to constantly write. Lots and everything, try to pick Right words. Try to keep a fresh look at literature. The best way to do this is to use wit. In order not to get lost halfway, you need to believe in yourself and your strengths, write as sincerely and well as possible. 3. Analyze the result Try to keep a fresh look at literature. It will depend on whether the reader wants to study your book and tell others about it. To do this, you need to compare your work with an essay. famous author. This move worked well with the editor. If a person at the first meeting says that he writes in the spirit of Saltykov-Shchedrin, then it becomes clear to publishers that they have an author who seeks to create an artistic and political satire. Finding style icons is important not only for comparison, but also for further learning.

4. Listen to the opinions of others Provide your work for study not only to the editor, but also to relatives. If they offer constructive criticism. Then you should listen to her. Unless you contacted the all-knowing "hacker". You need to be able to distinguish the opinion of amateurs, from people with professional and life experience and listen to the latter. Then work on the mistakes, that is, on editing the style and the availability of the presentation. The editor's tips are very useful. Most often, he receives a raw product with a large number of errors. Its task is to correct the shortcomings and create a stylistically competent and light text. Sometimes it is quite sharp and tough. Because in many respects the final success of the book depends on the results of his work. 5. Listen to yourself - is it yours or not The success of the essay depends on the ability of the author to transfer the reader to the center of events. People don't care about the hardships you experienced as a child. If you can make the reader feel like what is happening, learn a lesson, then the book will be successful. Another question is whether you can do this in an accessible way as an author. You need to listen to your inner voice. 6. Keep writing no matter what Popularity is the result painstaking work over mistakes. Becoming a writer is very difficult. Not everything depends on diligence and “training”. You can sit at least for 6 hours with a laptop and a voice recorder, but as a result you get a dull work. Not always the desire to write coincides with the talent of a person. If you make an effort, improve your skills, read a lot, write even more and try yourself in different styles, then the chance of success is greatly increased. 7. Come up with a pseudonym for yourself An author with a beautiful name is easier to remember. How to come up with an alias:

Determine which part of the name you want to leave, for example, instead of Alexander - San. Choose a name that matches the genre. Initials are more suitable for a fantasy author, and “soft” names that will sound nice for a literary creator. Come up with several beautiful pseudonyms and give yourself time to study each of them. Choose the one that you liked the most.

8. Try to publish your creations Publishing a book costs a lot of money. Even after passing through a rigorous selection of works and adjusting the style, no one can provide a guarantee of cost recovery. In addition, the works of beginners are published in a small circulation. Therefore, editors are advised to start with social networks and special online platforms. Electronic publication saves the author from several degrees of stumbling: he can go out to his circle of readers and test various literary works. J. K. Rowling received 8 rejections before publishing the Harry Potter manuscript, and the Austrian publisher found the work of E. L. James "50 Shades of Grey" on a fan fiction forum.

9. Hold a literary evening of your work Another way to find your reader and listen to the critics is to participate in literary evening works. First, you should visit the event of a famous author, get acquainted with the "literary elite", listen to current topics. The evening follows two scenarios: either fans read the author's favorite works, or the "idol" himself reads new works. Meetings are also practiced at which authors writing in different directions speak. Aspiring creators at such events share their sketches and listen to the opinions of professionals, including literary critics. Becoming a writer requires great talent and self-discipline. It is necessary to clearly understand what kind of prose you want to receive, to have an example before your eyes and follow it. The most difficult thing for a writer is to complete the work. This cannot be done without patience. All really good books are striking in their plausibility. The reader seems to experience all the events and emotions himself. Only a good writer can give all this to people.

If you want to write a novel in three parts but don't know where to start, just sit down and start writing. it main advice which can be given to a beginner. This includes not only the creation of works, but also keeping diaries, blogs, letters to relatives, etc.

It is not necessary to describe events in chronological order. The writer is the creator! First you can come up with an ending, and then the story itself. The Russian language is very rich. Try to use unexpected metaphors and comparisons when creating works. It is very difficult to keep more than three characters in your head. So it's better to create short description to each of them. Names should be chosen that are different from each other, but at the same time characterize the characters. Works with unexpected endings are strongly embedded in memory and evoke a lot of emotions. The finished work should be given to someone to read. If it is not possible to use the services of proofreaders, it is better to give the work to friends and acquaintances, but do it anonymously in order to get an objective assessment.

This is how Stephen King creates his works. The author needs to have two copies of his work: a draft and a final version. The first must be created without anyone's help behind a closed door. It will take time to transform all expressed thoughts into a work. At that time, the writer advises to completely change the type of activity or leave to rest. The book must be kept for at least six weeks in a closed box. After the specified time, the first corrections to the text are made: all typos and inconsistencies are corrected. the main objective re-reading the work - to understand whether the text is completely connected. The formula of the second copy of the manuscript = First option - 10%. Only after reaching this proportion, the book gets on the table to the proofreader.

How to quickly want to write if the muse has left you

Anyone can leave inspiration. How to be in this case:

Are you worried about some burning question? Try to understand it yourself and help others to do it. Stephen King recommends writing for one ideal reader. After all, it is no coincidence that the books that have come down to us from ancient times are a letter to one person (“To Myself” by M. Aurelius). There are no bad sketches. The task of the writer is to polish the text well. The source can be anything. Trust your intuition. Inspiration can come at any moment. Try to grab onto it and use it to the maximum, and then work with the result. One more nuance: inspiration comes during work. Work at 110%. Write about what interests you personally. Then other people will find something familiar in the written.

Develop your literary talent all the time

The job of an author is not to create ideas, but to recognize them. There is no Repository of Ideas or Bestseller Island. good ideas literally come from nowhere. The task of the author is to recognize them. When a poet writes, he creates an essay for himself, when he corrects it, he creates it for readers. At this point, it is important to remove all unnecessary. Then the work will become interesting for other readers. The writer must develop his vocabulary. But by reading. A spelling dictionary is best placed on a shelf with tools. Stephen King believes that any work can be spoiled by adding a bunch of long words to it. The author should express thoughts quickly and directly. A good description is the key to success. It is an acquired skill that can only be learned by reading and writing a lot. Description is a visualization of an object, characters, objects, which begins with the words of the author and must end in the imagination of the reader.

How to be a good children's writer

Creating children's books is a trendy but challenging endeavor. The perception of a child is not the same as that of an adult. They do not need trendy, but interesting books. A poet of children's books has a great responsibility. They should not contain violence, cruelty, bullying. The children's psyche is not yet formed, so it is difficult for them to understand irony and sarcasm. Children's author must clearly know the audience. The younger she is, the simpler the stories should be and the brighter the characters. Toddlers perceive fairy tales well, and older children perceive intricate stories.

I want to become a famous writer, how to achieve this

Make sure you really want to be a writer and are willing to work towards it. Without self-confidence, it will be very difficult to move on. Read as much as possible. alternate short stories with serious masterpieces. This will greatly expand your vocabulary. Write a 10-page story in 10 days. Use your imagination to the full. Start a diary for the future "bestseller" and fill out one page in it every day. It doesn't matter if it's fiction or documentary. The diary is needed to hone your skills. Provide your creations to the general public. You can start promoting the book yourself, via the Internet. Listen to constructive criticism. Write down short abstracts for yourself and leave them in a conspicuous place. Try to create real heroes and love your characters. Write about anything that interests you!