Giver of Grand Advice

Believe it or not, I've been asked twice in the last week for advice from young novelists who are just beginning to wrap their heads around the notion that they might actually have this addiction/disease called writing. Oddly enough, they have both asked me the same question. It's a question I never asked anyone, partially because I think I am such a solitary soul that I just wrote, never bothering to validate my work with anyone along the way. I salute these two young writers for having the guts and the presence to do what I did not, and I sincerely hope that I can give them some advice that encourages them along their curse/addiction/gifting/path/guilty pleasure. Maybe I will be in one of their acknowledgement sections one day. I hope so. Story-telling is a beautiful thing.

Here is the first one, from Jon T, a brilliant song writer and musician in his own right, now forming a world of words of a different sort. Here's a snippet of our first conversation:

        Jon T:

• Hi Heather!
  I've been rolling a story around in my mind for a couple of years and I have most of it worked out. I'd like to ask you a million questions about writing, but I think I'll restrain myself to this one: I'm fairly sure the writing will take a lot of time if I want to do a good job, so how did you make sure you had time to do it?


• Heather Dickson
• Hey cool! Go for it! Writing is something that is very hard to escape if it's been on your heart. For the longest time, I 'stole' time - at night, during weekends, on days off, but now, with it actually becoming something that I am doing as a sideline occupation and soon-to-be actually published novels, it is becoming more and more legit, time-wise.
  
  There are two pieces of advice that I've heard over and over, and have seen proven true in my own life. 1) Dedicate 20 minutes a day. If you can do more, great, but like exercising, it is a discipline and is best to start slowly and build as your strength improves, and 2) make sure your spouse is on board. If Kathleen doesn't get it, it will be hard. If she is supportive, then carving that 20 minutes will be a blessing for both of you.
  
  I'd be happy to answer more questions! This has been a brilliant journey for me, and I'm still at the start, but encouragement is my gift so I'm eager to help out a fellow writer!!!
  
  And the second came just tonight from a young woman I've know since birth, Hannah Leila. Here's how this has started:

• Hannah Leila T.
• Hey! 
  First of all I would like to say that I finally have time to read your novels and I am already hooked!! I have not forgotten my promise to review them on Amazon. I was wondering if you could give me a bit of advice about writing? What are your tips for a first time novelist who is slaving over their computer, equal parts loving every minute and trying to keep her head off the desk? 
  Any help you can offer would be SO appreciated. 
  Hannah
  
  
• H. Leighton Dickson - AuthorI think the best advice would be discipline. Try to write 20 mins a day. Think of it like exercise. 20 mins to start. Soon, you will be building your writing muscle and writing more each day, until you will need to schedule days when you do not write, so your brain can rebuild!
  
  Also, be okay with revising and editing. After you write a chapter, leave it for a few days and then reread and edit as you go. After a few months, reread the entire thing from start to finish and edit as you go through that as well. be okay with changing things. Have an idea of where you want to go but be okay with getting there by a completely unexpected route than previously imagined. Your novel will start telling you what, when, where and ultimately why. Be okay with that. Let your characters become independent of you. They will write their own story and sometimes, you will read something you've written and go, wow, did I write that? That is genius at work.

Interesting, isn't it? The storytelling is a part of us all, but the writer's craft isn't. That is something we need to learn and sharing that process is one unexpected and amazing part of this literary journey that make me so happy. Maybe it's my age, maybe it's my personality. Either way, I love to talk writing. The world needs more story-tellers. If you have questions, comments, criticisms or anything else that starts with a 'k' sound, shoot it my way and we'll engage. I'm game. It's all about the journey. Let's get 
talking!