So Simply Stated

"You can't be a good writer if you don't read; you can't be a good writer . . . if you don't write!" These are the words of Tony Wren, author, columnist, and master gardener. He recently spoke at our monthly meeting of the Riverside Writers, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and brought along several of his published books on architecture.

He has an encyclopedic wealth of information about writing, but that simple statement of his about becoming a good writer, stuck with me like a stamp to an envelope. Tony told us that reading is important, not only within your own genre, but reading all types of books and articles. See how others create characters, and describe feelings and places--even the senses--touch, feel. And then, Write! To procrastinate, to make excuses, hinders your ability to move forward as a writer. The question becomes, "What if what I write is not good?" The response: What if it is?