How to Be A Writer 101: Bum in Chair

And speaking of writing tips, bestselling mystery author and former journalist Betty Webb recently offered some no-nonsense general advice for those who are considering becoming writers. The biggest take away here: writing is hard work and, as I’ve often said before, if it isn’t hard, you’re probably not doing it right.

Here are some of Webb’s thoughts:

If you're meant to be a writer, you are already writing a minimum of 10 hours a week. Note -- that’s MINIMUM! Writing is very hard work -- you must DAILY apply the seat of your pants to the chair, and your fingers to the keyboard. If you “don’t have time” to do that every day, you’re probably not meant to be a writer (otherwise you’d structure your time to make sure those hours are available to you, even if it means getting up at 4 a.m.). 

One more thing -- writers don’t ask for “permission” from another writer to write: writers write. Period. Every day. Regardless of what's going on and how crummy they feel.

Now, clearly, Webb knows what she’s talking about here. Her popular Desert series, featuring Scottsdale-based sleuth Lena Jones, has enjoyed a wide and enthusiastic following. In 2008, Webb added a second series about a California zookeeper who solves mysteries. The most recent of these, The Llama of Death, came out in January of this year.

You can learn more about Betty Webb and her books here.