Trust Your Own Words
During the final semester of my MFA experience, I was working directly with a prof on my creative thesis which eventually became my first novel.
He suggested (rather insisted) I make all these cuts, telling me the words didn’t “propel the story forward” (those four words are red flags for, “this is why the college pays me. To tell a young writer his or her words aren’t propelling the story forward” when I have no fucking clue if they propel the story forward or not).
So then comes graduation day.
I go home, add back in every single word I wrote prior to showing it to my MFA prof.
The book sells to Delacorte a few months later for $250K, and then is republished down the line and sells 100K units in 4 weeks.
Now that it’s with a third pub (Thomas & Mercer), I’m about to enter into a fight to get the rights back and relaunch once more under my own imprint, Bear Media.
But the point is this: I guess early on I was beginning to trust my built-in shit detector.
But the only real way to develop your talent is by NOT listening to the MFA profs or a book doctor or a writers workshop (God, how I hated those useless gatherings) or anyone else who thinks they know your manuscript better than you do.
Instead, put in the hours and develop your own unique style, brand, and craft.
You will come to trust your words. Every single one of them.
______________________________________
Thanks for reading. For a FREE novel, go to WWW.VINZANDRI.COM
You can also pick up The Girl in the Window and The Devil Won’t Have You, two brand new short thrillers!
Grab the brand new release: Desperate Measure: A Short Thriller Collection!
Grab the first novel in the bestselling, award winning Chase Baker Thriller Series: The Shroud Key!