Maybe it was a story you read or an article in a magazine, a movie or a TV show you saw that perked your interest, and caused you to say, “Hey, I know I can write stuff like that!” Or maybe you simply have something to say, ideas you have been wrestling with, memoirs to leave your loved ones, a story or poem that’s struggling within you to be put on paper. Or maybe you’re just curious about writing but don’t really know how to get started. Well, you came to the right place because this article will help you get started and keep you going on your writing journey.

KEEP A JOURNAL: Professional writers have files or notebooks filled with notes, bits of conversations, cartoons, observations, newspaper clippings, photos, and doodles. They collect like crazy anything and everything. Who knows what poem, story or article is lurking among those scraps of paper.

SET UP A ROUTINE: Writers write every day; that’s their job. Cultivating the essential habit of writing regularly will make writing easier and fun. Carry a notebook – whatever fits into your pocket, purse, briefcase, and glove compartment – use whatever works best for you. Once you start writing, you’ll be amazed at how many new ideas will begin popping into your mind – jot down that good idea, or clever quip before it is lost. Good places to keep notebooks are:

• bedside table
• bathroom
• kitchen
• den or TV room
• car
• pocket or purse
• outside garden or patio

TAPE RECORDERS: Some writers prefer to use small hand-held tape recorders instead of notebooks. Recorders work best in cars while you’re driving or stuck in traffic. Recorders also work well on bedside tables. In no time, you will train yourself to hit the on-button in the dark and talk softly into the recorder without even waking your partner.

WHEN AND WHERE TO WRITE: At first you may need to try writing at different times: early morning, high noon, far into the night. The most important factor is once you’ve found your writing time, stick with it. Serious writers would never think of doing dishes, the laundry, shopping, playing golf, answering the phone during their writing time.

Find a place where you feel comfortable at writing: your room, the kitchen table, an office or den, soaking in a tub, lying on a couch, or while driving to work. Some writers use tricks to get them in their writing mode like listening to music or the natural sounds of the outdoors.

SEVERAL MORE IMPORTANT ITEMS TO HAVE AT HAND:

• a comprehensive dictionary
• an authoritative thesaurus
• an English grammar handbook
• plenty of pens or well-sharpened pencils
• computer or word processor

READ: Begin your writing library with several excellent reference books:

• Building Believable Characters by Marc McCutcheon, Writer’s Digest Sourcebook;
• Creative Writing by Lavonne Mueller and Jerry D. Reynolds, Laidlaw Brothers;
• For Writers Only by Sophy Burnham, Ballantine Books;
• On Writing Well by William Zinsser, HarperPerennial;
• The Writing Life by Anne Dillard, HarperPerennial;
• Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.

RECAP

1. Keep a journal.
2. Set up a routine – when and where you write.
3. Equip yourself with important reference books.
4. Write every day.
5. Get started and keep it going.

Excuse My Dust is a newsletter to help you along your writing journey from first putting words on paper to the published product.

Comments, questions, suggestions: neeliepubl@aol.com