JasonKoivu

At 12 I started writing my first novel. After a hundred pages in I realized I was writing a slight variation on The Hobbit. I went on to study "professional writing" in college and worked on newspapers before concluding I wasn't interested in writing about little league games or that I didn't have enough callousness in me to interview people who've just had their house burn down. I gave screenwriting a shot and soon realized its limiting nature didn't suit me.

So I'm back at square one, trying my hand at novels again, but THIS time I'm eliciting the assistance of veteran wisdom! I've read some helpful, encouraging stuff from the likes of Ray Bradbury, Stephen King and Anne Lamott. I've also read some not so helpful stuff (and I'ma lookin' at you Natalie Goldberg) that was, nonetheless, encouraging. Then I've read some not so encouraging stuff (take [b:77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected|11455340|77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected|Mike Nappa|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348114553s/11455340.jpg|16389351] for example) that was actually quite helpful.

This time around I gave crime fiction writer Walter Mosley a go. His This Year You Write Your Novel is a solid how-to for beginning writers that fits very closely to my helpful & encouraging category. You won't find much difference between this and the countless other books of its kind (I.E. they all rightly tell you to write, write, write!), but Mosley's approach spoke to me more than others I've read. It's nothing more than a personality thing, nothing to do with writing prowess or anything of that nature. Which is not to say he didn't do a nice job with This Year..., it's just that, regardless of its simplicity, I took his message to heart.