Snehashree
Guest blogger
Writing is a journey, a never-ending one for some, or it’s just a single stop for others. Whatever it is, we need to admit that it is not an easy one. Whether fiction or non-fiction, every story takes a lot of time, immense effort, and a never-ending zeal to move from the beginning to its very end. Meanwhile, the writer goes through million stops, and every time there is a stop, a writer ends and begins fresh.
I think no one can deny that even though the writing is the loneliest of professions, it still isn’t a one-person show. You need a lot of people to create a book, write, and give shape to your thoughts.
Now that we are discussing so much let me ask you.
Who is the first person that comes to your mind who would help you in your writing? Apart from your editor, publicist, book publisher, and even your agent, do you know who can help you the most in times of need? It has to be someone who can help you with the writing journey.
But who, you may ask?
A buddy, of course, a friend, a mentor, a guide, and anyone who can pull you out of those difficult times when you feel writing is not for you, though you know within your heart that it is something you have been wanting to do for ages.
A buddy has many names, but the work they do for you is ultimately just one – bring help to your desk when you need them, and even when you think you don’t need them.
Starting from providing moral support to developing your script and even suggesting ideas, they are the best ones to get you rid of writer’s block.
A writer’s block can hit you anytime, and your buddy is the only person who can help you out. But your buddy can not lift writer’s block, the person can do a lot of other wonderful things for you.
Sometimes your idea of the book is just inside you, and you know what you want to write, but you don’t know how to put things in the correct order.
With a mentor, you can learn to pass through difficult times and also know your strengths and weaknesses. The most crucial part of getting a mentor in my life has been at the point where she taught me how to make words alive. How to play God!
Yes, a writer wins the day they know how to blow life into those dead words that hardly make any sense for anyone in this world. Some of the good mentors do teach you that very skill and, honed with that skill you can do wonders with your book.
You, however, need to keep in mind that just not any random personality can become your buddy. There need to be many more things that must fall in place before you call a person your buddy. These factors are crucial in developing a bond between you and your mentor.
1) A bond of faith,
2) Trust,
3) Respect,
4) Understanding,
5) Confidentiality and
6) Compassion
These factors create that jelly-like factor between two people known as bonding.
Once you are sure these factors match, you can create or begin a deep relationship that is instrumental in making life easier for both in some way or the other.
Now that you know what a mentor can do when you have a hurdle to surmount, you must also understand what benefits you can derive from them. Of course, you can learn the very art of writing from your mentor. They exactly know your weakness, and every time you go to them, they can show you the right door.
1) A mentor is someone who can forecast
They can see through things the way you don’t and can make crucial analyses about your book’s needs. Since they can observe, analyse and implement practices that you cannot even think of, it is imperative you know they can help you pick up the tricks of the trade.
Their experience has brought them where you want to be, and by taking their help, you can learn those factors that can make you walk further. So, a mentor will thus be a person who can gauge and predict your work’s future in a way you can’t. If you are writing a book on a topic, your mentor can tell you the gains you have in store from the book as they can see through your book’s future better than anyone.
2) Experimentation becomes easier with a mentor around you
When writing a book, nothing works better than experiments. Most writers are scientists who are not restricted to a laboratory or a single research facility but a bigger laboratory- the human mind. With so many available variations, it is up to the writer to strike the chord but before one right chord is hit, there will be a row of failed experiments. When you experiment, things can go wrong terribly since control is an art that comes with training. In this circumstance, if you experiment with a mentor around you, the negative outcomes might vanish, giving way to more positivity and power.
Let’s say, you want to try a new group of audience for your book, you can get back to a mentor or a guide who is an expert in handling that kind of audience group in your niche. They can tell you how you must present your idea to the crowd and gain out of that mass.
3) A mentor can chisel your skills
Mostly we know what we want but most of us don’t know whether we have it in us; we can do what we want to do and how to go about it. When wanting to write a book, most of us are not sure, if we can even pull even halfway through the book.
With a mentor, chiselling your skills, the journey might seem easier. They can always pull you out of your doubts. Sharpening, brushing, and effectively developing your skill sets are the job of a mentor. No one else will do it for you and no one can see it the way a mentor can see it in you.
Making them work on various fronts in the right way is essential and a mentor alone can help you with it.
One day when I showed up my writing to my mentor, she looked at it long and said, “don’t you write your stories like a doctor’s prescription? Where are the emotions? How do you connect with the readers; based on facts?”
She returned the pages and I had to find the right emotions. While finding emotions for my characters, it’s needless to say I found my emotions too midway. That very moment, I resonated with my writing and when I showed it to my mentor the next time, she too resonated with it.
4) A mentor keeps you accountable for your deeds
Taking accountability is what makes you shine but holding oneself accountable for all the good and the bad is not always easy. A mentor can keep you on track and can do what others cannot – keep a track of stuff you are accountable for and remind you of your tasks every time. As writers, we can get into those tantrums where we stop acknowledging the facts, we are accountable for. It could be anything, from crossing lines in writing to crossing lines in real life.
5) Your voice is safe in the hands of a mentor
Some can imitate your voice, steal it off and make it difficult for you but with your mentor, your voice is safe. They do not allow tampering of it and keep it original.
Your voice gets the sanctity of your mentor, and that is how the world knows it’s your original voice. Similarly, they also cannot steal it since someone is sanctifying it on your behalf.
If you are on a mid-road and you need proper direction as a writer, you can find a mentor for yourself. But before you do that, you must be sure of what you are looking for. This article is a guide to how it all works but your road is your responsibility and you need to decide prudently on your parameters, ends, and means to your writing journey.
[Featured Image by Thought Catalog on Unsplash]
Snehashree is a content writer by profession, and she writes on almost all the niches. She writes poetry, a book is also available on Amazon, called “A Hiatus from the Loaded Past”. She also regularly writes on her blog: https://www.rollercoasterrideonlife.blog/ and on her website, https://www.writersnehashree.com/. She is a part of IndieITPress and Talking Zebras Group.
About A New You:
We all deserve to have everything in our life exactly the way we want it.The first step begins with believing that every moment is bringing an opportunity to be a new you. As a founder, I provide tools to elevate all dimensions of your life and I teach you the art of writing to reach to your true potential.
Vandana Sehgal | Founder – A New You
