Write
There’s a very old joke:
Q: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
A: Practice!
The first step is deciding what your personal Carnegie Hall is. Many students want to get high scores on the SAT so they can attend their favorite college. Others work to improve their athletic skills in hopes of getting a scholarship. Some writers wish to become published authors. Others want to become best-selling authors. I may even know people who dream of performing music at Carnegie Hall in New York City. My Carnegie Hall is to become the best writer I can be. The road to each of these Carnegie Halls involves practice.
I try to write every day. The hardest part for me is creating the story – getting that first draft down. I love to revise because that’s when I get to know the characters and discover why they do what they do. Through revising, I find connections between seemingly random plot events. Revising lets me eliminate unnecessary clutter in my manuscripts.
Join or Start a Critique Group
Feedback is essential. I belong to The World’s Greatest Critique Group. (That’s our name.) Every member of the group is a fantastic writer. We meet once each month to critique each other’s manuscripts.
You can form a critique group with other writers or join an existing group. Experiment to find out what type of interaction works best for your group. How often do you want to meet? Do you wish to exchange manuscripts in advance? Is it better to meet in person, by audio/video calls or to exchange manuscripts and feedback electronically?
The key to a successful and productive group is constructive criticism. Remember to listen to what your critique group members liked as well as what they thought could be improved. Do more of what they liked.
Be Professional
Join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Attend regional or national conferences. Get to know local members. You’ll learn more than you thought possible about the industry and how to improve your writing. You’ll also meet loads of interesting, creative and talented people.
Read
Read as much as you can. Don’t confine yourself to the genres you typically write. Figure out what other authors do well and how they do it.