So I was wondering if any of you budding writers, or those of you who already have published works, have any words of wisdom to share with the rest of us?

Finding time every day to write is sometimes a low priority for me. Sometimes nothing will come to mind, no matter how much I wrack my brain. Sometimes everything I write seems completely unreadable. I’ve tried to stick to a specific schedule – but you know how the saying goes – man makes plans & God sits back & laughs… I happen to agree with this. As big a planner as I am, sometimes you just can’t factor in everything.

Is it better to set a certain time frame aside? Or to decide to write a certain amount of words each day? I’ve found that sticking to a certain number of words a day does help to get the job done, but it doesn’t always guarantee the best writing.

Writing a novel takes more discipline than anything I’ve ever done. It’s also a total learning curve – you have to try things without knowing if they will work. I’ve tried writing a novel based only on a basic idea and vague characters – which didn’t work out well. For some people, this is the only way for them to write – to simply do it, without stopping to think too much. Definitely didn’t work for me. I’ve discovered that I need to plan absolutely everything, from finish to end, before I can write anything half-decent; but then I get impatient with the planning and usually dive head-first into writing – and then hit a brick wall because I haven’t planned beyond a certain point.

Any thoughts, anyone?