All fiction writers would like to do what it takes to be successful. Unfortunately, this means that most of us will have to step out of our comfort zones to make it happen for ourselves.
You need to look at the traits found within winning fiction writers and take note of those found in practically all of them.
Think about the fiction market and the massive competition that writers face today. The chances of getting your novel published via traditional means are way less than 10%. And with the explosion of self-publishers, the marketplace has been flooded by free and very low-priced books.
Seven winning traits of winning fiction writers
Successful writers today must be willing to step out of the box and find ways to stand out among the crowd. Think of it as an animal species that has to evolve to survive in a changing environment because that’s precisely what is happening.
White-hot desire to write
Success writing means that your desire fuels and sustains you over the long term. You have to be willing to sacrifice several things in your life, such as time, money, and doing something you enjoy. Any one of those you submit to will slow down your momentum.
In the end, there are just too many different ways to quit and throw in the towel. Your level of desire will have to overcome all of those.
Discipline to write
As with most other careers, there’s always a solid correlation between success and discipline in a writer’s life. This involves developing a writing plan or roadmap and staying the course. Successful writers establish a daily quota and hit them with regularity.
Writers should create a productive writing schedule and stick to that quota. If your word quota is too easy, then increase it by at least 10%. Your priority should be on hitting your weekly quota, as this will allow for a day or so of falling short.
Perform up to excellent writing standards
As writers, our skills should improve with time because writing is nothing but a skill. This means that when you write with regularity, your skills will be more proficient. We often hear writers claim that writing has gotten harder for them. This is because their standards keep rising.
Do what you must to keep raising your standards. This begins with using tools like Grammarly to check your word usage. After that, you must diligently edit and re-edit your manuscripts. This should be followed by getting a high-quality editor to review your work.
Possess the required patience
The things that we want to accomplish which will validate us as a successful writer take time. And we must be willing to put in the time. This is hard for many new writers who are full of desire but are not yet battle-tested.
When you feel this way, think about how quickly the last year has gone by. Now think about how much better your writing skills would be today if you had begun a year ago – and written your daily word quota without fail.
Now think about this time next year. Do you want to be in the same boat as you are today? Time will continue, regardless of whether you decide to become a successful writer or not.
Be honest with yourself
Arrogance will never help you become a successful writer. In fact, the opposite is more valid.
There can never be any self-growth without first acknowledging the truth. Understand that you are a beginner in the writing industry; you must know your place and possess the corresponding humility (or more).
Always be humble and grateful to those who try to help you get closer to your writing goal. There will always be less talented writers enjoying more success than you, be happy for them – because the opposite will be true as well.
Tough skinned
Trying to succeed in the fiction-writing world is very tough, and it’s not for the meek and mild. You’re going to experience a lot of rejection and a lot of criticism of your work. Yes, it’ll hurt like hell sometimes, but you must learn what you can from those events and keep pushing.
The best response is to have as much dignity and grace as possible and then write even better novels as a result. Even after you get published, you need to stay tough-skinned because consumers will then begin leaving negative reviews for some of your books, so remain humble and stay the course.
Don’t lose your humanity
The very best fiction writers have discovered the way of living a balanced life. They also understand the importance of maintaining a healthy long-term perspective.
This means you must not burn any bridges behind you while traveling along the bumpy road to getting published. Never forget that you will have the opportunity to cultivate several meaningful and supportive relationships during your writer’s journey. And many of these future relationships will start on a negative foot – it always happens this way.
In the end, you will want to enjoy success with more supporters than haters in your corner, so treat everyone well. Don’t succumb to the heat of the battle.
