the craft. no skipping steps.
There is no skipping forward to the good part. Remember when Issa said that in the mirror in that episode of Insecure? If that was the case, I’m sure all of us would be hitting that fast forward button. It’s funny because at this point in my career, I realize how much wisdom I’ve been gaining this whole time about how to be a writer, and what you don’t always know is that it takes doing, to get better.
I don’t know about you, but I’m one of those people afflicted with the disease of wanting to be great at something before I even start. This is nonsensical thinking when you peel back the layers, but I know I’m not alone. Whether you’ll admit it or not, is another story. Often we think we can watch from the sidelines, pick up all we need and all of a sudden we’re going to be Michael Jordan when we step out on the court. And sure, you can study the moves, you can watch the tape, but eventually, it’s going to take you lacing up those sneakers, getting out there and probably looking clunky and awkward when you do it.
Writing is much the same. You can’t skip steps and think that you’re going to be able to compete with the other writers who have truly built their craft piece by piece. Natural talent is a factor. I personally believe I’ve always had a knack for writing, but having a knack and being good aren’t necessarily one in the same. Being good takes practice. Being good takes doing.
What’s important though, is honoring whatever stage you may be in as a writer. Often in our year-end survey, we’re asking what type of writer you are. Novice, some publishing, seasoned, etc. We include that question because we want to know how best to serve you, and to do that, we need to know where you are. For example, you cannot serve caviar to a baby. First they need milk. Then they go on to solids. At least from what I’ve heard, you know? It’s step by step.
It’s much of the same with writing. It’s truly a balance when I am helping another writer with their work. As a forever student, I’m always learning so much more about the craft. My mind is constantly being blown on how to improve and better approach things. It’s a bit of an obsession at this point, which I personally think it takes to be great at anything, but I digress. Either way, I cannot start spewing what I’ve learned, ten years into my writing career to someone who has just finished the first collection of work they’ve ever done in life. It’s figuring out what's most pertinent for them to know at their particular stage and passing that along. If I were to start regurgitating everything I picked up at my last writing residency, their brain may likely ooze out of their ears.
Do you know what stage of writing you’re in? Do you know what you’re here for and how to best utilize the resources available? So often, we tell ourselves that if we could just get more help, we’d be able to do whatever said thing, but when someone says to us, “what do you need?” We freeze.
As a writer on submission, and trying to write my next thing so that I don’t obsess over whether or not someone will buy this book, I knew I needed the community and the instruction of writers who were much farther along than I was. It was everything I needed to go learn from Chris Abani, Laura Warrell, and Kwame Dawes. I was soaking up all the game and came back so refreshed and overflowing with new ways to approach my work. I had a renewed sense of excitement about getting back to the page and out of my head about all the business of what it means to be a published author.
I honor where I am currently because it took so much to get me here. From blogging for free on the weekly basis to writing articles at like $30 a pop to finally getting paid $1 a word for feature work, I’ve done the work to get here. Now, I sit, as a published fiction writer, working diligently to figure out how to build a debut book into a career. How to get my name out there more in the literary world, and continue to cultivate a community of readers who care when and if I release something new. While I’m striving to manifest some of the things that the writers I admire have achieved, I know that there are no skipping steps. I’m taking each one as it comes, committing to only getting better before I move on to the next.
My question to you is, what do you need at this current stage of your career, and how can Permission to Write be the bridge to help you get to it? I mean it, reply to this email or drop me a line in the Slack community.
Writing Opportunities
The Department of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position as Assistant Professor. We seek a teaching practitioner in the genre known sometimes as “creative nonfiction,” sometimes as “literary journalism”—a genre encompassing the essay, the lyric essay, the reported essay, the personal essay, the graphic essay, and reportage.
Gigs For Writers is looking for real stories from working writers, particularly personal essays between 500-800 words that are brilliantly written and shed light on the world of writing for a living. (It can be anything related to your experience as a working writer.) They’re accepting pitches on an ongoing basis and all stories are paid a flat rate of $200. If you think your voice would be a good fit for this publication, you can pitch at gigsforwriters@gmail.com.
Canary Media seeks a copy and production editor to join our editorial team. Are you a detail-obsessed wordsmith who loves to make writing clean and clear? Do you thrive in the daily tumult of a newsroom? Do you want to be an integral part of an ambitious journalism nonprofit covering the clean energy transition? ($70-85k)
NPR is seeking a skilled and creative journalist to serve as Producer II for Weekend Edition and for the weekend version of Up First, NPR's daily news podcast. Weekends are special, and NPR's Weekend Edition digs into the news of the week with a distinctive, thoughtful approach that goes beyond the headlines to provide context and insight. ($105k)
Block Club Chicago is looking for a News Editor with a passion for community journalism. Applicants must be comfortable supervising a group of reporters and freelancers, line editing and helping reporters find sources and make their stories better. They will work with Block Club’s leadership team to ensure we’re providing interesting, relevant and impactful coverage of Chicago’s neighborhoods. ($80k)
