by Robert Matthews

Created on: October 31, 2010   Last Updated: November 04, 2010

Do you genuinely want to become a writer? Then begin writing and do not let anything stop you. And for heaven's sake, don't fall into one of these five traps.

A lot of men and women say they would like to become a writer and actually earn income doing it. It is doable, but only when you make the effort and work at it. Becoming an author is like becoming a musician. Don't forget the ancient joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall. Practice! And never let anything at all stop you. Just like music practice or physical exercise or anything that is worthwhile but challenging, it is easy to create excuses not to complete it. Here are 5 large pitfalls to steer clear of:

1) Saying you're too tired. Everybody is tired. You have a job and also a family and all the other pressures of every day living to deal with? Who doesn't? People who are keen about what they do are excited by what they love. They are not "too tired" to do it. Too tired is an excuse for people that genuinely don't care that much about it.

2) Waiting for inspiration. If you wait for inspiration, you could possibly be waiting a long time. What do authors do when they are not inspired? They write anyhow. Just decide on a subject and begin to write. Even if you can only think of the most routine things to write. Get started, ideas will come. Activity begets ideas.

3) Blaming editors, agents, critics, readers, and so on for you lack of success. It may well seem like life isn't fair and often it isn't. Your best story or article may be rejected, maybe more than once. Submit it again and if it still will not sell, create yet another one. Just bear in mind, there's lots of junk being published all of the time and your writing is probably better than a lot of it. Grow a thick skin and start writing.

4) Saying you are going to do it tomorrow. No! No! No! Tomorrow is for losers. Writers compose every single working day! Make it a practice to fill at least one page or article per day. One page won't take very long and soon the habit of producing will become ingrained. You will do it just simply because it is a habit and at one page each day you might possibly have a 365 page novel polished off in a year. Remember, write every day!

5) Thinking you're much too old or much too young to start. This one is just foolish. If you have an thought along with the capacity to put words on paper or into a computer, you can write. Your reader isn't going to care how old you might be, he simply wants to be entertained or informed or whatever your particular writing is intended to accomplish. Don't even think about attempting to get away with the too young or too old excuse.

If you want to become a writer, a fiction writer, a blogger, an article writer, a copy writer, or whatever, then write. That's what writers do. Please don't make excuses. Write, practice, get much better and fulfill your passion.

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