by Debora Dale
Are you a writer or do you just play one on FaceBook and Twitter?
Show us you’re a writer by writing something. Don’t just tell us you’re working on a manuscript.
Show us by accepting all levels of critiques with an open – albeit sometimes bruised – mind. Don’t tell us the advice of others does not apply to YOUR story.
Show us by looking for ways to improve your work. Don’t tell us by saying you’ll keep sending out queries for the same unedited project until someone recognizes its brilliance.
Show us you’re a writer by learning, teaching, listening and sharing. Show us you’re a writer by reading.
Show us you’re a writer by picking yourself up after each rejection, by revising that already perfect manuscript, by digging deeper until you find the REAL truth behind your hero’s pain or the shocking secrets of your heroine’s dark past – truth and secrets that make you gasp.
Show us by not simply dreaming, but by doing.
Don’t tell us you’re a writer. Show us.