Hitch Your Writing Wagon to a Star #writing tips #The five Ws and How

Want to be a better writer? Consider the "5 Ws + How."
 

In 1862, a Ralph Waldo Emerson essay advised people to "hitch your wagon to a star." His advice is as applicable today as when covered wagons and horse-drawn 
 conveyances gave way to station wagons, sports cars, and SUVs


Both beginning and established authors are sometimes confronted with the age-old question, "What should I write?" The 5 Ws + How may help. 


1. Who are you? Mother or father? Son or daughter? Brother or sister? Friend? Who do you hang out with? Who is or was a great influence on you?

2. What do you know? What makes you unique? What do you enjoy or dislike? What kind of books, articles, or stories do you prefer?

3. Where have you been, physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually? Where are you now? Where would you like to be in a year? Five years? Ten?

4. When did you last consider your strengths and weaknesses? When did you decide to do something about them--build, or overcome?


5. Why are you stymied? Two possible reasons are that your interest or creativity well has gone dry. Or it is so filled with ideas you can't decide what to write next?

6. How can you overcome writer's block? Focus on how far you have come and dream of where you want to go. 

In the late 1970s, while working at Bonneville Power in Vancouver, WA, I attended a goal-setting seminar. We were to let our imaginations run wild--to focus on a long-held dream, one we believed could not come true. "Draw where you are now concerning the dream," the instructor said.

The only D I ever got in school was in Art, but I managed a discernible bookcase holding my one published book. 

"Now visualize yourself where you long to be five years from now," we were told.

My heart pounded. I drew the same bookcase and filled a entire shelf with imaginary titles. Five years later, the dream had become reality. I was a full time author. One by one, my  bookshelves filled with titles I had only dreamed of writing. Friends felt I had it easy. Not true. Scottish-Irish determination and knowing I was called to write got me past enough rejection slips to insulate my house. And enough income for my needs, but not all my "wants." Many times I shed tears--then sent returned manuscripts out in the next mail. Some of my finest books took 50 submission attempts over 15 years before selling and winning praise.

I never had a covered wagon to hitch to a shining star. Or an old-fashioned wagon. I did have a treasured 1990 Toyota Corolla wagon for 26 years. It carried Mom and me on numerous driving trips, providing information for my 5Ws + Who categories. 

Reaching beyond myself and for the stars keeps hope alive. As long as there are editors to read my work, I will submit. How sad if  I retire a "homing pigeon" and the very next submission would have been a sale!

A New Year. New opportunities. May you make the most of them.

Colleen

Colleen's books