If You Really Want to Know How to Become A Writer

If you would have told me in college that someday I would be a writer, I would never have believed you.

After all, I went to college with aspirations to be a doctor. And after earning a bachelor’s degree in biology, teaching high school biology for a bit, and returning to complete a bachelor’s degree in nursing, I have worked as a registered nurse for over fifteen years.

I’m a left-brained-math-and-science kind of girl. I love balancing a checkbook, organizing things, and seeing all the details. When I draw, I draw in stick figures and find the act of imagining or dreaming to be a challenge. Let’s just say right-brained activity isn’t really my thing.

Don’t get me wrong. I never hated writing, per se. I’ve journaled on and off all my life. But  I will say, I had a strong distaste for English and literature classes. To me, the books I was forced to read were cumbersome and uninteresting … and when it came to writing, I thought my papers were well written and insightful.

But my professors always found something wrong … whether it was a grammatical technicality, an APA format violation, or their subjective view of my “underdeveloped” content. That didn’t sit well with this perfectionistic-only-an-A-is-good-enough girl, and I still recall my sheer joy celebrating the last English class I would ever take.

But then years later … I discovered blogging.

A way of writing that wasn’t graded or scrutinized at all.

Just my own blank slate to share my own ideas with the world. 

A place to write where my own thoughts could connect with the thoughts of others.

A venue for interacting with wonderful people who I otherwise would never have had the chance to meet.

When I found blogging, writing came alive for me. Blogging opened up a whole new world. But there was one major problem. I lacked confidence as a writer.

And so began my desire to become a more confident writer. I read books and analyzed other people’s writing. But between caving to comparison and discovering all the rules of writing, I quickly became overwhelmed.

Much to my surprise I was supposed to kill my adverbs and never use adjectives. (I began to escalate right there.) And then, I discovered a crazy-number of punctuation rules to follow, and not only that but there was also this thing called your “voice” (which I didn’t have the slightest clue how to even begin to find!)

Wow. I hung my head as my writer-confidence deflated. And I wondered … should I even try to continue writing at all?

I remember sitting in front of a blank screen, starting to write and then deleting, starting again, and then erasing once more. I couldn’t even get going. I became paralyzed by all the rules … frustrated and overwhelmed. Because after all, I’m a detail-girl, remember? And far be it from me NOT to follow the rules!

So one day, discouraged and about ready to give up, I called my friend Denise after only several months of blogging.

We had met at church over a decade before, during some of my most difficult years. And right away, we connected! She was a teacher, I was a nurse. We both had children from previous marriages, had both been pastor’s wives, and loved to go to tea.

She had been teaching and writing for years, and when I first discovered blogs she encouraged me to start one. “I’ll read it,” she said. She believed in me. And that’s how it all began.

So before I completely gave up on blogging, I gave her a call. And I’m so glad I did. We hadn’t talked shop about writing much, but I’ll never forget how she set my heart free that day.

She took down all the fences and shattered the rules by her pep talk to my fledgling-writer-heart. And after that I began to write with a freedom and confidence I hadn’t known existed.

And guess what? That very pep talk she gave me face to face that day, is now available to every one of you. And I can’t be more excited to share her with you!

Denise has written an amazing book! On Becoming a Writer: What Every Blogger Needs to Know is as practical and informative as it is inspiring. Not only does she bring hope to every discouraged writer, she provides tools and insight to the most experienced writer.

In this book she answers thirty-four of the most important questions fiction writers need to ask, and ends each chapter with an interactive and practical short writing prompt, which is sure to get you writing. She distinguishes between the creative steps of writing and the later steps of proofreading and editing–a distinction that is so freeing.

Denise is a professor of English and composition at Azusa Pacific University  and holds a Master’s degree in Rhetoric and Composition. But don’t let that scare you! She is far from the kind of English professor I ever had.

Denise is not only a champion of writers, but in this book, she becomes your personal mentor and guide, cheering you on every step of the way.

And so today, if you long to become a better writer, you MUST get this book. Because I’m sure your confidence and your writing will never be the same. Trust me, I’ve had the pep talk, and I know!

Today and tomorrow, Denise is giving this ebook away for FREE.

If you REALLY want to know how to become a better writer, RUN and get this book today. I promise, you will be so blessed by not only her writing expertise, but by her heart too.

Did you like English class when you were in school?

Whether you’re a journaler, note-jotter, or blogger, what has been the most difficult aspects of writing for you?

If you could ask Denise one question about blogging, what would it be?

To get Denise’s book for FREE, click HERE TODAY!

 

**I was provided this ebook for free, for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

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