Topic 23 Commitment for Writers

 

                                                                 COMMITMENT

Greetings,
Happy Valentines Day.
Now that January is over and we've "all" worked on our weight loss resolutions like we wanted to, I think a new concept for February is in order. Call it Commitment Month. We already use Valentines Day to let those special people in our lives know how we feel about them with cards and gifts, but what about ourselves. We as writers could use this month to renew the goals we've set, be it big or small, it doesn't matter. Just don't throw in the towel and stop writing. You've got a gift. Use it.

So many of us feel we're just too busy nowadays with our lives to jot down those creative ideas percolating in our heads day in and day out. But think about it. If we don't do it, what will there be for our children and grandchildren to read in the future. We have wonderful literature and poetry to read only because people like Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, Emily Dickinson, Maya de Angelo, James Michener, Vince Flynn, Agatha Christie, Isaac Asimov, Nora Roberts, and G. K. Chesterton took the time to write their thoughts down and share them with the public.

Throughout the year, I appear at festivals and events to promote my mystery novels to the public, and I've had some wonderful discussions with those readers who visit with me. Can you guess what their number 1 comment is? They've had  this or that story idea on the back burner for years and still haven't done anything about it. "Maybe I'll get around to it someday," they say. And for most of them that someday never comes.

If your hands are too crippled to write or you can't see that well, seek out someone who can do it for you. If you don't feel comfortable with a computer, laptop or Ipad, there are people out there who offer these types of services. Your stories or poems are worth sharing.

Let's be honest, for most writers who have published more than one item the first few things we wrote, be it a short story, novel or poem, didn't quite measure up to what we considered acceptable for public consumption. So what did the majority of us do? Stop writing. No. We made a commitment to continue writing and improve on it, tweaking it here and there as we go.

On this Valentines Day, let's not forget about ourselves. I'm certainly not going to. One thing I found that can slow down our progess is a book cover design. That's what I've been struggling with for several weeks now. Luckily a recent writers' meeting I attended covered that specific topic.
A. Numbers in a title get people's attention. Especially Numbers 1, 3 and 5.
B. Make it simple. Think about the wow factor.
C. Who's your audience? Look at the top ten books in your genre. What do their covers look like?
D. Don't use more than three people in a photo.
E. What's the style of lettering used in your genre?
F. If you can't find the specific photo you're looking for on the Internet, think about taking a picture yourself or hire a photographer.  

Don't forget I'd love to receive your comments on any of my blog topics.

Until Next Time
This is Marlene Chabot
Mystery Author and Freelance Writer