An Author's Bloodletting

The pen is my sword.
I slash with it.
Every blot is blood I shed.
Every period, a warcry.
Every stroke is a freed slave.
Every piece done, a kingdom conquered.
I shall never tire from hack and slay.
I don't care whose skin I flay.
I shall never sheath this blade.

And this is where my writing career starts. For those who want to pursue their dream of being a writer, there is one important word for us: START. One whole night of writing could actually make a lot of difference. If you have the passion for it, one sitting could mean a whole outline of the book or a finished prologue. I'm already furnishing the prologue of my book and while I was writing, I found these tips very useful: (You may add to these tips when you comment)

1. Always bring a pen. That's your main weapon after all.

2. Always bring a notebook with you. You'll never know when an idea pops out of your head like a surfacing bloated corpse on a lake, wreaking of maggots with stench like that of a... nevermind.

3. You may skip 1 and 2, but you'd better be praying (no, storming the gates of heaven) for a MAC/laptop/palmtop. Bring anywhere. Write anywhere. Edit anywhere. This is what technology can do. "Thank the Japanese," as they say. (You could actually ignore this advice.)

4. Always remember: 'Writers are made.' A not-so-good writer with oh-so-great ideas can make history. Writing comes with training. If writing ability only runs through the blood, I could kiss granny right now. And she's dead.

5. Do not be afraid to share your ideas no matter how crazy they are. Everyone laughed at Nicolaus Copernicus when he said that the sun is the center of the solar system. Guess who's laughing now.

6. The sixth one could really be painful for our pride: Surround yourself with great writers (people whose talent you trust and admire). Get ready for criticisms. You have blind spots and you need people to see these. People love to criticize but hate to be criticized. We think we lower our guards when we do, but actually, we take bricks to build our own stronghold. Who knows how many bricks we need?

7. Ultimately and most practical of all: Ask the Lord about what to write, how to write, when to write or if He wants you to write at all. Pray. This is where stupidities, deception, blasphemies, legalisms and lawlessness, etc. may be stopped from getting out of hand. Remind yourself: "Hey, you're not the one who calls the shots genius!"

Now...

I call upon all the brave bloodletters of this generation:
"Get your pens up people. The bloodletting STARTS NOW!"