Growth of a New Writer

Recently, I had an old friend and co-worker ask me to mentor him in writing. Me? I just learned how to crawl and you want me to what? Okay, I will do it!

Having this mentoree makes me think about back to a year ago. Fifteen months ago I self-published my first book Trail Swap. I have published two short novels, written two books, and learned a lot about social media and marketing. I have learned and grown a lot in my short fifteen months as a writer.

Think of a newborn (I know that a writer is no way as miraculous as a baby). If you compare a newborn to a fifteen month old there are huge strides being made. Think of the physical changes and changes in ability that go on in those fifteen months.

Think about vocabulary of a human. At eighteen months a baby knows about fifty words, at twenty four months about 250 or 350 words, and at thirty months about 600 words. That is amazing! In year they increase their vocabulary by 500%. How many words do adults learn a year? I don't want to even know? (I need to start subscribing to more word-a-day calendars).

I hope that I keep learning, and find partners in this learning process.

What do you do to grow as a writer?
What has been the biggest skill you have learned?
What is your best resource?