So you want to write?

Resources for writing:

I am sure there are many great writing books out there, but I am a big believer in keeping it simple.  If you want to produce incredible creative writing, that is an entirely different animal. If you want to just get your point across and maybe convince others; keep it simple. These are the tools that got me to this point in my writing journey.

Learning to write:

I did terribly in writing classes in college, except for a course I later took in technical writing. There I found my interest. But as I stated in "about" section, I never really learned to write till many years after school, when my mushroom industry colleague, Bill Barber, tormented me and my writing with his infamous red pen. He recommended to me, probably the only book you need to learn to write clearly: The Lively Art of Writing

Writing a lot:

This is a recent addition to my portfolio that I found to be very good. Luckily I already knew that if you were going to be a writer, you need to write. But as Susan Shapiro (she's recommended in the next section) likes to say, plumbers don't get plumber's block. That's what Paul J. Silvia says too. Just set a schedule to keep your discipline. He does a great job of helping you do that with his book How to Write a Lot.

Getting Published:

Now that you are writing, the next step is getting it published. Don't publish anything on a blog or anywhere except for where you want it to be seen. Once you have published it, it is published and no legitimate news outlet or journal will take it. Always send it to your top choice first, then if it is rejected, move down. Don't start at the bottom of your list first. What if the Wall Street Journal would have taken it? Susan Shapiro will show you what to do in The Byline Bible.