What Makes a Good Writer?

Different Tastes in Writing

As anyone who has ever entered a writing competition will know, whether or not you like someone's writing is intensely personal. A lot of it depends on the temperament of the reader.

For example, someone who is a go-getting daredevil will probably prefer action stories, adventures, something fast-paced that will keep them turning the pages. They're probably not going to be a big fan of Joanna Trollope's aga-sagas.

Having seen The Apprentice, I don't imagine that Sir Alan Sugar buys many Barbara Cartland romances, but you never know!

I myself love crime books, but I wouldn't dream of reading Agatha Christie's cosy crime novels. The whole point of these whodunnits is to try to work out who did it - but to me, the enjoyment of a crime novel lies in its realism, atmosphere, setting, characters, and often the inner turmoils and troubled personal lives of the detectives, as well.

Lots of people adore Tolkien, but I have had three attempts at trying to read The Hobbit in my life and never made it past the first quarter. I wouldn't even attempt to read The Lord of the Rings, but I enjoyed the films.

And there are some books that I have had to give up on, like Vanity Fair. I tried reading it when I was young, but I couldn't get into it. I felt I ought to read it because it was a classic, but I just didn't like it. Maybe I was just too young when I tried it.

I think what you enjoy reading will also depend on what sort of mood you are in and how tired you are. You might hate a book one day, but enjoy it a couple of months later when you are feeling a bit fresher.

The Characteristics of a Successful Writer

So it's just about impossible to come up with an ideal book that will please everybody. What sort of talents should a writer have, though, if they are to make it as a writer?

Being able to tell a rattling good story is an obvious one. This is an area in which Catherine Cookson, former queen of the library listings, excelled. She was a born story teller. I do think that some people are more natural story tellers than others.

Being good with words is another obvious trait. Some people love words and have a feel for language. But there is quite a lot you can do to develop this side of your writing. Reading extensively and studying poetry will definitely help a writer to improve as a wordsmith.

Originality is a controversial one. Obviously, it's boring to read a book which is too predictable, a clone of loads of other books. Unfortunately it's all too easy for writers to jump on the bandwagon too, hence the plethora of Da Vinci Files look-alikes these days.

On the other hand, readers often like to know where they are with a book, so it can be unsettling if a writer departs too far from the conventions of the genre. And books that are startlingly original may be clever and admirable, but they won't always hit the best-seller lists.

No, it would be quite hard to come up with a painting-by-numbers identikit picture of the ideal writer. What's more, the qualities that a good writer really needs to succeed aren't ones that will necessarily show up in the pages of their books. But they are ones they will need if they are to get their book published in the first place.

A Successful Writer's Unseen Qualities

The unseen qualities are the strengths of character which enable writers to risk trying to write and to persevere till they get published, in spite of setbacks and rejections. The ability to receive crushing rejection letters, yet pick themselves up, dust themselves down and start all over again. The tenacity to keep plugging away, writing and submitting books or stories, possibly for years, before they have any tangible success, any money to show for it.

The sheer bloody-mindedness to believe that they have something worth saying and to keep on saying it, even though nobody seems in the slightest bit interested. That, and a very, very thick skin!

It's ironic that many writers are sensitive souls who take rejection hard. It's that sensitivity which often goes hand in hand with a vivid imagination, that sensitivity which makes them fascinated by people, but also that sensitivity which can make life so hard for them when things aren't going well.

So if you want to be a good, successful writer, you'll need to be a good storyteller with a feel for words, the ability of Zebedee to bounce back, and the hide of a rhinoceros.

Oh, and there's one more factor which can determine whether or not a writer is successful, whether or not they are good at what they do - luck! Being in the right place at the right time, producing a certain sort of book just when it is coming into fashion. Meeting an editor who you click with, who loves your work, even though twenty others hated it.

Yes, luck can play a part. Though as someone once said, 'It's funny. The harder I work, the luckier I get.'

Work hard on your writing! But I wish you luck as well. Just in case!