Jibber Jabber - What Are You Saying?

My son is 18 months and he's progressing well for his age, however, there are times when he says words I can't understand. I want to understand, but because he's still learning, things are not as clear.

Have you ever heard a baby try to form a sentence? They try really hard and they believe you understand what they're saying, but you don't.

It's frustrating for both you and the baby because:
1) You really want to help, but you can't.
2) The baby wants your help, but can't tell you

As writers, we need to understand the one thing that will determine the success of our writing careers: our readers.

People are just like babies because they need your help, but in order for you to help them, you will need to write a clear message in order to reach them.

Here a some things you need to consider when writing:

• Have a specific target group
• Understand and meet the needs of your target group
• Solve their problems
• Get your work edited
• Make the revisions after it's been edited
• Do this for all of your writing projects

Let's face it, what good is your writing if you can't reach your target audience?

One Size Doesn't Fit All!

Do you ever remember purchasing an outfit or an article of clothing labeled "One Size Fits All"?

You take the item home only to find out that you are not included in the "All." Maybe your arms are too long or maybe the robe is just a little too snug for you. It's disappointing to say the least.

What happens when you don't seem to fit the mold of the "typical writer"? Maybe you're not sure what direction to take, or maybe you're not apart of the writer's group everyone is raving about. To make things worse, you've just received a boatload of rejection letters for the manuscript you worked months to perfect. Because of these situations, you begin to question your ability to write and you wonder if you still need to write at all.

Wait! Before you close your laptop or retire that pen, understand that every writer has a different pathway. Take some time to ask yourself some questions, so you can reevaluate your situation.
Consider the following questions:

• Is this the best time for you to write?
• Are you writing in the proper genre?
• Do you have a specific target group who needs to read what you're writing?
• Are you passionate about what you're writing?
• Do you need to start with smaller projects?
• Have you had someone to edit your writing?

Now step back. It may take a few days to answer these questions about yourself. Once you've taken some time to answer these questions honestly, I'm sure you'll see the writer in you reemerging with a vengeance.

Just because one size doesn't fit all doesn't mean you can't keep searching until you find the right fit for your passion to write!