Writers on Writing: Walter Mosley

Writer's Perspective: Lessons from Walter Mosley 

When a class comes to a close, I believe that it provides a chance for people to reflect on the lessons learned and the resulting outcomes.  After a term of learning how to write in various formats, I think my writing skills are where I’ve improved the most.  This growth has culminated in this week’s assignment, a review of an author’s perspective featured in the Writers on Writing series. Aspiring writers can often get distracted by competing personal and professional commitments, Walter Mosley’s advice of continuing to practice the art of writing daily is valuable for anyone hoping to entering the field.  One of the best tips a writer can abide by is to continue to practice the habit every day.  This is the first important lesson the writer must learn. Writing a novel is gathering smoke. It's an excursion into the ether of ideas. There's no time to waste. You must work with that idea as well as you can, jotting down notes and dialogue.

I think this advice is applicable and feasible now more than ever, in today’s social media environment.  Writers today are presented with the opportunity to find large audiences with varied interests and social media sites such as Tumblr and Twitter offer an opportunity for writers to express themselves as often as possible to their followers and audiences for free.  Writers’ information can be shared with the world instantly, without the approval and edits that had to be run by an editor in the past, enabling a writer to maintain their own individual voice.   With the opportunity freely disseminate information, the only limitations modern writers have in the world of new media are self-imposed.  The scope of one’s writing and readership are controllable, more now than ever, and the key to successful writing in new media is targeting the write audience and providing meaningful content.