by Ngozi Obanye-Stephen

Created on: January 29, 2009   Last Updated: November 27, 2009

Writing, like any craft, takes time to master. Becoming a writer takes practice, dedication and discipline. A writer goes through three stages before embarking on a writing career.

The first stage is writing for enjoyment. At this stage, the writer works at her own pace, without deadlines. She generates ideas, but lacks the drive and commitment to take them further. One idea turns into a project, which grasps her full attention. She completes the project, although she is not working towards any goal beyond personal satisfaction. The completed project is clasped neatly in a fine looking lever arch file, but is not pursued beyond that. The writer tells herself she is not mentally ready to face the vast world of writing opportunities. "After all," she thinks, "who would buy my work?" So she continues working at her own pace, enjoying the fact that she is learning a new craft.

At the second stage, the writer feels the need to expand her horizons. She feels there is more to life than tossing her writing from file to file. She wants to advance her writing career. To do this, she may decide to join a writing group, read a creative writing book, or surf the Internet for writing advice. She realizes that writing a story is not simply a case of putting together a beginning, a middle and an end. It involves creativity in its entire spectrum. She realizes that she has a lot to learn, but she wants to start systematically. She begins to compare her work to other writers and feels shy of pushing her project forward. At this stage, a writer's dreams can start to fragment. She tells herself that her work is not up to standard. Her fear of failure comes to the surface and takes control. Stage two can last for any length of time. To move past it and get published, a writer must set goals.

The third stage arrives when a writer acknowledges that her work is of a high standard. Fear has crept to the back of her mind and she is now able to move forward. She may have attended the necessary writing groups to enhance her writing and gain new skills. She may have started a blog, or even published a story. She is now able to receive feedback in the form of positive criticism, and knows how to correct her errors. She also knows that this stage is not the end. Being a writer means embarking on life-time process of continually learning towards mastery of the craft.

Once a writer eliminates the fear holding her back, a new world of writing opportunities opens up, and she advances as a writer.

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