I think I’ve been a writer most of my life. It is second nature to me. In many ways, I’m addicted to writing. I can’t stop. Today, as I was thinking about topics for my blog, I thought about the many things a writer HAS to have to write successfully. (And I am also going to give you something for free!)

Can you guess what a writer needs?

On the practical side, a writer needs a computer, or a typewriter, or a pen and pencil (for the actual act of writing.)

But before that process begins, an author needs ideas. Where do you get ideas? The stock answers are: the news, your observations, your experiences, your dreams.

And once you’ve had an idea, a writer needs imagination to come up with a plausible story to develop around that idea.

Then, a writer needs time to make the words work. Sometimes it’s only a few hours (for flash fiction or a short story). Other times, it might take years to write, edit and fine tune an entire book.

But once whatever a writer writes has been written, there are still things a writer needs. The number one thing is READERS.

A writer craves readers who ‘get’ them. A writer wants her/his words to move their readers, to touch them in some way. Make them scared, happy, sad, curious. Make them want to know more, to expand their world, to learn about something the writer touched on.

Truly, it’s not all about fame, or becoming a household name, or even having your works in a bookstore.

We write because we want to share. We are seeking an audience.

Blogs are no different than a story or a book. We want readers. I’m hoping you will be mine.

Now, on to something free! Visit my website at http://www.marycoley.com. Fill out the contact form and I will send you the prologue and first chapter of my brand new mystery, Beehives! I will also enter you into a contest to receive a great item from Burt’s Bees!

Beehives will be available for purchase in November. Once you are on my list, I’ll send you a completely new story (not yet published!) every month absolutely FREE for the next six months!

I hope you will be my READER!