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Yours,
Jonathan,
Editor
Category: Editor’s Pick
Data analysis and psychological studies show that treating writing as a profession is the most important way of achieving success, whether it is dreams of being a writer, blogger, selling online, or any one of the myriad ways we present ourselves through writing.
It’s important then that we act now. Statistics show that in 2010 we presented ourselves and our ideas through writing and other creative means more so than at any point in human history.
Yet while the technology has allowed us to change how we write and produce more, our attitude towards writing has not altered.
Profession and writing
The reason that we don’t think of writing as a profession is because most of us think we don’t need to, our attitudes are still stuck in the 20th century, whereas the range and scope of our writing is firmly in the 21st.
- Treat it professionally.
- Have heroes and study them and their work. Aim to become one yourself.
- Know where you want to be and a rough idea of how you get there – but don’t be afraid to adapt if needed.
- Critique, critique, critique. But don’t feel superior as “there’s an awful lot of rubbish out there”. Of course it’s rubbish, if you’re not the target audience, and if you do deem it rubbish say why.
- Research. Research writing, research themes, research characters, but most of all, research people. I’m more interested in what a sociologist or psychologist has to say about character than an English graduate.
- Have something to say.
Why have them
These are my personal rules on writing and I will no doubt add to them (and the following statements) over time, but these are my core rules. Not principles; rules that I intend to follow for whatever I write – fact or fiction, drama or comedy, essays or scripts.
A convocation is both the act of calling together, and the assembly of, a group for a special purpose. The special purpose of jonvocation is to gather others who take writing professionally.
Writing professionally doesn’t mean earning a living from it, it means that writing is treated as any other job – with the same dedication, investment in time, and development. And like other jobs, the best way to advance and succeed is with the help, support, advice and experience of others.
Principles and focus
Unlike other writing sites, jonvocation has a clear purpose, with principles and promises for you the reader, and clear areas of specialisation: