Is it challenging to be a writer?

I'm often asked, "Is it challenging to be a writer?"

Knowing how many books and short items I've published, would you be surprised if I answered "No"?

Unlike many people, I would definitely answer "No." For me, NOT being a writer would be challenging.

Here’s another way to think about the “challenge” of writing:

Is it challenging to be a talker?

YES, for some people, but NO for most. You have something to say, so you open your mouth and words come out attempting to convey that “something.”

Now, the same frame for writing, at least as it is to me:

I have something to say, so I sit down by myself and words come out attempting to convey that “something.”

I suppose if I had nothing to convey, then writing would be a challenge. So far that hasn't happened.

If you're about to feel challenged, try reading Weinberg on Writing: the Fieldstone Method 

This book has given thousands of writers creative and useful “things to do” when they’re about to feel challenged.

For one thing, the book is full of exercises that can get you going. In the simplest of all the exercises, all you do is take out your writing instrument (computer, pen, pencil, typewriter, ...) and write the word, "The ". Now you've started writing, so all you need now is to continue. Try it!

If you're a consultant, or want to be, you need to read this blog by my colleague, Tonya Price: 

5 Ways Writing a Book Builds Your Consulting Business

I agree with all of Tonya's 5 points, and I'd like to point out one other way writing a book helps you become a successful consultant. Writing a book is not a one-way street, sending ideas from you to clients and prospects. Writing a book is a way for you to learn new ideas and new ways of expressing your ideas.

In my experience, if I want to learn some new material, the best way to do that is to write a book about it. Even if I never publish the book—even if I never even finish it—and don't achieve Tonya's five benefits, I still benefit by becoming a better consultant.

So, even if you're afraid that you don't write well enough to be a successful author, you ought to start writing a book about something you'd like to better understand. And, a good first step is to take advantage of the Write Stuff 2016 bundle of ebooks.

 

The Write Stuff 2016 Bundle

Curated by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Hundreds of writing books get published every year, and most of those books are written by people who have written…a book on writing. I kid you not. These people have a method or a scheme or they teach a writing class—even though I have no idea how they get those gigs. (Okay, I do. They get an MFA, which universities seem to think is more important than actual writing experience.)
Those writing books have nothing in common with the writing books in this bundle. Together, the authors of the books in The Write Stuff 2016 Bundle have more than two-hundred years of writing experience, and have contributed more than five hundred award-winning and bestselling books (fiction and nonfiction) to the world of literature.
We know writing, the writing life, and what makes a writing career. And we want to share it all with you.
Even though the books in this bundle discuss craft, including one of the classic writing books of all time, most of the books you'll find here explore the career killers, things like how to put butt in chair on a regular basis, how to organize your business career, and the all-important (at least to me) how to make a living as a writer.
So if you are a writer, or are simply dreaming of becoming a writer, this bundle is for you. – Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The initial titles in the Write Stuff 2016 Bundle (minimum $5 to purchase) are:

• Weinberg on Writing - The Fieldstone Method by Gerald M. Weinberg
• How to Negotiate Anything - Freelancer's Survivor Guide by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• Stages of a Fiction Writer by Dean Wesley Smith
• Business For Breakfast Vol 2.: The Beginning Professional Publisher by Leah Cutter
• The Rational Writer: Nuts and Bolts by Mindy Klasky

If you pay more than the bonus price of just $15, you get all five of the regular titles, plus five more:

• Creating an Online Presence for Writers by Cat Rambo
• How to Make a Living With Your Writing by Joanna Penn
• Heinlein's Rules - Five Simple Business Rules For Writing by Dean Wesley Smith
• Writing the Novel from Plot to Print to Pixel by Lawrence Block
• The Writer's Business Plan: A Plain English Guidebook by Tonya D. Price, MBA

The bundle is available for a very limited time only, via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub and .mobi) for all books!
Read more.