If You Want to Write...

I will be launching a blog series (new stuff every Wednesday/Thursday) of which this is the first one. Every week, I'll post a some short thoughts on a different aspect of "If You Want to Write." This is for the little things that you can do. I know what it's like to really, really want to write but it seems like there is never time or hope enough. This is for little solutions that can slowly solve bigger problems.

The 10 Minutes a Day Rule

When I started Innovative, I got lots of comments and questions about the entire submissions process. I can answer almost all of them. Believe it or not, that's not a gene that is passed through literary bluebloods. When I was younger, I submitted the same poem (the same poem!) to about eight different magazines, regardless of what they published. Surprise, surprise: due to my lack of poetic talent and then-lack of business sense, I got about eight rejections.

The ten minutes a day rule is for the business side of writing. If you want to write, spend ten minutes of your day web-surfing different writing sites or reading a writing e-zine or magazine. Learn at least one new thing about the submissions, querying, etc. process. Learn about a different form of writing. If you don't want to just Google: "writing zines," here are some good blogs and sites that I read.

www.kidmagwriters.com The October issue came out on (surprise) October 1.

www.writersdigest.com/writersperspective/ This is Maria Schneider, editor of the biggest writing magazine Writer's Digest, 's blog. She posts about writers and writing. I also read her blogroll, and have found excellent stuff.

www.jakonrath.blogspot.com The Newbie's Guide to Publishing. Also on Maria's blogroll.

www.writersweekly.com The largest-circulation writing e-zine in the world.

This is just a start, but if you start, then you continue, and then you're off.