Greer Macallister Raised

How do you keep track of your book ideas? Write them down in your phone’s Notes app, on a white board, in a notebook that you keep close, on a notepad on your nightstand? As with so many things about the writing process, there’s no wrong answer. What works for you works for you. But while I’ve had a habit of keeping my ideas separate, starting a new note in my Notes app every time I think of something that might turn into a book, I’ve recently tried something new.

You can do anything. You can write a book. You can get an agent, if that’s what you want, a real powerhouse. You can get a great advance. You can click with your editor in a life-changing way. You can emerge from the editing process with a beautiful book, a wonderful book, a book readers will love. You can write a bestseller. Then you can write another one, a second book that readers embrace just as warmly as the first. You can do this over and over. You can be a career writer for the rest of your life.

As I started circling this topic for this month’s post, I figured I’d start it with a question: can good writing be taught? But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I already knew the answer: no. Good writing can’t be taught. But a willing writer can always learn.