I love getting email! Also, I could talk about writing forever! Yesterday I received an email from a beginning writer seeking advice. Many writers would hit the delete button, but not me. This brings me back to my nursing days. Mentoring a new nurse kept my skills sharp. Same goes for writing. Taking a new writer under my wing keeps my talents and excitement for writing sharp. So, what is my advice for new writers? Here is my top ten pointers for becoming a writer!

1. Like any other business, know all the negative things you will be getting into. Each writer experiences different negatives. I actually love sitting at my desk, with the Sirius playing, motivating me to write. This can be the loneliest job in the world because you are alone, at your desk. This can be a positive if you are your own best friend. The low pay is a negative, but the more your "catalog" (published books) grows, your income will also grow. Keep your expectations low. One book will not make you a millionaire. Maybe 10 bestsellers might, but keep expectations low and be surprised when the positives blossom in your career.

2. When you write a book, you will feel like you're standing naked in Times Square. From the first paragraph to the last paragraph, you expose the workings of your inner mind and bear it for the world to see. I find that terrifying! I don't want to hear someone tell me how bad my book is. I promise you, you will hear this, so be prepared to let a lot of things roll off your shoulder. Even the most famous writers get one star. If a proofreader or an editor makes a mistake and a few blunders, readers will blame you. One of my writer friends had a mixup with which file the publisher uploaded and the one that went out was the one with so many editorial changes and errors. She literally melted into a puddle. That has happened to me too. People will love you or they won't. Of course, you want everyone to love you, but if they don't, its not your fault. Don't give anyone space in your head.

3. Know yourself and work the way that works for you. This is probably the most important. My daughter tells me she thinks I'm a person with highly functioning ADHD. She may be right. My desk looks like it vomited papers everywhere. I have three desks in my office and there is no room for a pencil. But, I can tell you what every paper is and why its there. My personality thrives on stress. I work on my computer and I write two or three books at one time. I never have writer's block. I work on one project until I get bored or reach a place to stop, go on to the next project, then move on to the next, then end up back to the first. Turn your negatives into a positive. I know what works for me and I produce novels. I can also produce them quickly because I know how to adapt to do so.

4. Find where you get your inspiration and use it. It could be a thought, a person, something you see or read, or maybe you are one of the rare few who can churn out a novel without thinking about it. One thing I do when I'm writing a book is I like to find a truth to wrap my story in. For example, when I wrote By Dawn's Early Light, the protagonist in my story was a CIA black op site that was doing mind control experiments on children the agents adopted from orphanages in the middle of nowhere. That became a plot twist of a story that has not been disproven. It's online and is known as the Indian Lake Project. If you want to uncover an amazing story, Google Indian Lake Project Blog. I had so many facts in this book, it literally scared me when I was writing it at my desk at 4 am. My protagonist was detonating a nuclear bomb in the sewer under the New York Stock Exchange. It did rattle my core when someone was arrested in planning that exact plot. Life and books really come together. Expect the unexpected.

5. A very prolific writer I have the utmost respect for said write with a heart. She writes in my crazy genre too, but I know exactly what she was saying. In everyone of my books, my secret sauce is hope and love. Not everyone will have a happy ending, but give every character you invent the gift of hope. When the characters in your book are read by other people, they will pick up on your hope and it feels good. You want your reader to have a good feeling about how you treat your characters. 

6. Learn from your characters. In every book, I have an outline from the beginning to the end. I will bet you $10 that by the time I am nearing the end, I hit the brakes. I'm thinking, "There is no way my character would do that!" When you have that experience, congratulations, you are now a writer. Putting yourself in listening to your characters will give your reader a positive experience with your story.

7. Surround yourself with people who have your back. Everyone needs someone in their corner. Writers are no different. This can be tricky because you don't want a yes person. The person who tells you that chapter was incredible is not someone looking out for you. I would rather someone tell me that chapter was a pile of stinking garbage. This ties back with #2. If your person told you it was crap, you would have never stood naked in Times Square. Have that one person who will always pop your balloon. For me, that person was my mother. She's gone now, but I could always count on her to knock me down a few pegs. It's only through these actions you become a better writer and a stronger, more confident writer.

8. Most importantly, have fun! Make your writing a pleasant and fun experience! When I get in my writing mode, when I am typing without thinking, I am having so much fun! I have fun with my characters! I just enjoy every single thing with writing! Your readers will know you are having fun by the quality of your writing. Every time I see how many pages I wrote. It's your baby! Enjoy it! Creating something from nothing is kind of a heady rush. Embrace it! You worked for it!

9. Remember you are a writer when you sit down and start producing. You are an accomplished writer when you finish your project. Own being a writer. Hold up your head and be proud to identify as a writer. I am so proud with my accomplishments. If you don't toot your own horn, no one else will do it. I've lost count the number of times I hear, "Wow! You're an author! I've written a few pages, but I just couldn't do it."

10. Be humble. This is worth repeating...be humble! All the time. You became a published author because people you don't know spent their hard earned money to buy something you wrote.  They spent a week with you, maybe spending more time with other books. They let you entertain them. They brought you into their life and home. Be humble...