Margaret Verble: “Writing Is a Craft”

Most people get discouraged before they get really good at that craft

Wake Up and Write is an advice column from Moms Don’t Have Time to Write. Today, we have Margaret Verble — Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of the novel When Two Feathers Fell from The Sky — who shared writing advice on the podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, hosted by Zibby Owens.

“I think my main advice is that you have to keep writing.”

“Writing is a craft. It’s not just like, ‘Oh, I’ve got an inspiration. This interesting thing happened, so I think I’ll write it down.’ It’s a real craft. Most people get discouraged before they get really good at that craft. The only way to get really good at it is to do it every single day. That’s what I would say.

I’ve been up this morning writing. I get up every morning and write. It’s like practicing for a sports event or the Olympics or something. You got to do it every day. You just can’t think about doing it. You can’t just talk about doing it. You can’t just talk to other writers. You got to write.”